It’s too hard to stop smoking! It’s easier to carry on.
That’s what I often hear from my clients when they come to me to stop smoking. They all have their different reasons for quitting. Whatever their reasons are, many of them say that change is hard and staying the same is easy.
But is that really the case?
Is it so easy to keep things as they are? Or are you investing an awful lot of time, energy and thought in doing so? A lot of time and energy that could be used more productively? All our thoughts, emotions and behaviours involve huge investment. When you think that maintaining a problem is easy are you really thinking about the hard work involved in doing so – could it be that change may actually be easier and bring a lot more benefits?
Maintaining the status quo takes a lot of conscious effort. When you smoke you are investing in a behaviour that puts your short and long term health at risk. It is also a constant drain on your pocket. Taking that into consideration, alongside the endless time either talking about, worrying about or thinking about giving up, then perhaps the mental change needed to stop smoking might not be as hard as you first thought.
The benefits of having shifted your mindset
Once you make the mind shift into thinking it may be easier to stop than to continue the good news about quitting is that you can reap the benefits really quickly. According to the NHS after only 20 mins blood pressure and pulse are back to normal and circulation improves. After 8 hrs blood oxygen levels normalise, nicotine & carbon monoxide levels halve and your chances of having a heart attack lessen. After only 24 hrs your body is free of carbon monoxide & your lungs start getting rid of mucus and smoking related debris. In 48 hrs your body is nicotine free and your sense of taste and smell is better. In 72 hrs your energy levels are on the up and it’s easier to breathe. Between 2-12 weeks your circulation is better and walking and exercising also gets easier. In 3-9 months lung efficiency improves by up to 10%, in turn easing breathing, coughing and wheezing. After 5 yrs your risk of a heart attack drops to around half of that of a smoker. In 10 yrs your risk of lung cancer will also drop to around half of that of a smoker. Your risk of a heart attack will be about the same as someone who has never smoked.
The benefit to your pocket will also be immediate and just think about what you could achieve with all that extra cash…
