THE ‘BATTLE PLAN’

Right then - this is it, the last chapter before you become a non smoker! What this section is going to do is to sort out all the practical information from the rest of the book and put it into the form of a simple plan of instructions from which you can work on a daily basis. When you finish this section you can take your last smoke (if you want one that is!) and then begin your journey into the land of the non smoker. You now have everything that you need to be a success and absolutely no valid excuses to fail. I won’t wish you luck - you wont need it. What you will need however, is to make a resolution to keep plodding away with all the techniques discussed in this book until you find yourself in a position where you feel confident enough to continue on your own, without the need for assistance from your support structures.

This whole stopping smoking process will start off feeling a little difficult at first but with each passing day your journey will become easier. It is of the utmost importance that you hang in there during any rough patches that you may encounter because you can be absolutely certain that they will pass. You will help them to pass easier and quicker by employing the tactics you have learned from this book. If you do so, you will find that in what seems like no time at all you will regard yourself not just as someone who is trying to stop smoking, but as an ex smoker.

If I was to try and identify the single most important piece of advice that will best help you to succeed, I would say it would be this:

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, DON’T PICK UP A CIGARETTE.

Remember, once again that there is simply no valid excuse, not even something as painful as the death of a loved one, and considering smoking for anything less is simply to admit defeat to that little ‘voice’ in your head.

THE ‘BATTLE PLAN’

1 IN WRITING, state that you understand and admit that you are a nicotine addict. If you haven’t already done this DO IT RIGHT NOW!

2 IN WRITING, state that you are going to stop smoking at the end of this book and that you will never smoke again. Sign this declaration and put it on a wall that you will see every day. Your bathroom is a good place to put it. If you haven’t already done this, DO IT RIGHT NOW!

3 SAY OUT LOUD to yourself that you will follow all of the

CHAPTER 7 - THE ‘BATTLE PLAN’

instructions and use all of the tactics in this book, whenever requested or necessary. DO THIS NOW!

4 REMEMBER that you will always be addicted to nicotine, therefore there will be no time when it is OK to have a smoke.

5 AGREE to pay the price of sometimes tolerating some discomfort and know that not only will this discomfort soon pass, but also that it is a very small price to pay to become a non smoker.

6 BE AWARE of the little ‘voice’. Make it your sworn enemy and know that it doesn’t care about your welfare and will constantly feed you with contrived excuses in order to make you smoke. THERE IS NO VALID EXCUSE FOR STARTING SMOKING AGAIN. If you smoke again it is always because you were conned by this ‘voice’ and refused to pay the price of short term discomfort.

7 MAKE A PAIN CHART and put it on your wall. When you feel that the going is getting a bit tough, do a head to toe body check and measure the real strength of your pain. Remember that it is seldom as bad as the little ‘voice’ would have you believe! DO THIS RIGHT NOW.

8 REMEMBER that ‘THIS TOO, SHALL PASS’, if you hit a rough patch

9 ONE DAY AT A TIME when used as a pain management strategy will help to get even those of you with an extremely low pain threshold, through the roughest of patches. If necessary, you can reduce this to one hour, or even 5 minutes at a time.

10 H.A.L.T. Remember never to get too hungry, angry lonely or tired. Do whatever it takes to avoid these emotionally vulnerable mental states.

11 TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW that you are now a non smoker and that you will never smoke again. Make a particular point of telling those people who you don’t get on with, or those who would like to see you fail.

This tactic can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure! So go ahead - pick up the phone. DO THIS RIGHT NOW!

12 ASK YOUR FRIENDS, family and colleagues to give you all the support that they can, and to take you seriously. Tell them never to offer you a cigarette and to be patient and tolerant if you happen to experience any mood swings. START THIS PROCESS RIGHT NOW!

13 ENLIST THE SUPPORT of someone you really respect and trust. Regard them as your stop smoking sponsor and ask them to phone you twice a day for the first few weeks to check on your progress. Give them a copy of this book to read, or talk them through the main points, in order that they are in a position to better support you. IF YOU FIND YOU ARE TEMPTED TO SMOKE, pick up the phone and talk to your sponsor and if they are not available then don’t use that as an excuse to smoke, just talk to someone else, or wait until your sponsor does becomes available. ASK SOMEONE TO BE YOUR SPONSOR RIGHT NOW!

14 CHART YOUR SUCCESS. Make a daily, weekly and monthly success chart as described in the chapter on support. Fill this chart in every day and know that with each passing successful day your symptoms are reducing and your chances of succeeding are becoming greater and greater. It is only a matter of time now before you can call yourself an ex smoker! DO THIS RIGHT NOW!

15 REWARD YOURSELF every day for the first two weeks, and every week for the first two or three months. Something small for the daily rewards and something a little more significant for the end of each successful week.

16 MONITOR YOUR WEIGHT and adjust by means of diet and / orexercise, as necessary.

17 MOTIVATE YOURSELF by verbalising your daily success and daily intentions. Do this every night and every morning, as described in the support strategies chapter.

18 CELEBRATE BIG TIME your new life as an ex smoker at the end of about the third or fourth month. This will probably be around the time when you will start to feel comfortable with the idea that you are now an ex smoker and not just someone who is trying to give up.

19 REMEMBER that for the next year or two (or perhaps even for ever) you are still going to hear that little ‘voice’. Only on the odd occasion and only quite weakly, but you must be aware of its constant presence because if you are at any stage to light up a cigarette, then you will revive this little monster to its former strength and you may well have to start from scratch. After a few months there is not really going to be any serious problem staying stopped, provided that:

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU DO NOT TAKE A CIGARETTE.

OK, that’s it then. If you have finished setting up all the above support systems then your time has arrived.