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The Key to Stopping Smoking

Dr_Hays
Mayo Clinic
1 21 574

Stopping smoking is difficult for many people.  However, there is a key to success.  Once you learn this key, stopping won’t become easy, but it may become manageable.  This key can help tip the scale in favor of quitting rather than continuing to use tobacco.  This key, when used to its utmost potential, is a very powerful tool.  Are you wondering what the key is?

 

Okay here it is…the key is listening to music.  Really it is!  Not just any music, but the music that you love most.  The music that makes you feel excited when you hear it, the music that gives you goose-bumps, the music that makes you want to stand up and cheer, cry, dance, and sing!

 

No wait a second, the key is actually physical activity!  Not just any old physical activity, but the kind of physical activity that you LOVE!  The kind to which you look forward, can’t wait to do, and always feel better after having done!

 

Hang on...the key is really talking to your friends and socializing!  Not just any old friends or acquaintances, but the friends with whom you have the most fun, connect most strongly, and whom you would not hesitate to call or take a call from at 2 am.

 

So you probably figured out that the truth is that there is more than one key.  The connection between them however, is that there is only one place to find any of them and that is inside YOU!  We all have things in life that we feel passionate about, make us most excited, and brighten our lives.  Whatever those are for you, they are part of your key to stopping tobacco.  

 

There are certainly other things that can help with stopping - medications and counseling - and it’s recommended to use them too.  However, people sometimes forget the power of their own passion and the boost it can provide to their spirit and happiness.  Consider taking a moment to think of one thing that drives you.  Where can you make a little time for this positive activity in your life today?  

 

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About the Author
An expert in tobacco use and dependence, Dr. Hays has authored and co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed scholarly articles and book chapters on various aspects tobacco dependence and its treatment. Since joining the Nicotine Dependence Center in 1992, he and its staff have treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence.