Over the years I have noticed how everyone’s beliefs can differ in relation to whether they think that smoking is an addiction or simply a habit. This core belief has a missive impact upon how easy or how difficult you find it to stop smoking. If you think that you are addicted to smoking then you will find it more difficult than if you thought it was just a habit. Your thoughts and beliefs shape your experiences about everything in life, not just stopping smoking.
Not only will believing in the addictiveness of smoking impact upon how easy you find it to stop smoking, it can also create a justification for remaining a smoker. It becomes easy to say to yourself “I’m addicted now so I can’t stop smoking” and then not even try. Also, if you think that smoking is an addiction, it is easier to fool yourself into the belief that continuing to smoke is not your fault – that you cannot help yourself because you are the victim of an addiction. This thought pattern is anything but empowering!
To stop smoking easily you have to get your mind around this subject. It is important to ask yourself why you assume that smoking is an addiction. We know that innumerable chemicals are produced as you smoke even a single cigarette and this may lead one to believe that smoking must therefore be addictive. But we also know of many people who have decided to stop smoking and have done exactly that; they stopped smoking and didn’t get withdrawal symptoms, not a single symptom. We know others who tried to stop and didn’t manage it. We know people who got angry when they stopped or put on a lot of weight.