How I quit smoking

Though I don't often apply my willpower, I am pretty good at setting goals and accomplishing them. When I put my mind to it, I'm good at things like losing weight, cleaning the whole house at one time, that kind of thing.

This is what I do: Choose the right thing now, giving myself permission to choose wrong later. Example: Instead of saying, I'll start dieting on Monday, better have that last donut today, I instead ditch the donut today, reminding myself that donuts exist everyday, and I can have one on Monday if I so choose. Works like a charm.

So when it was time to quit smoking, I tossed my pack and thought, I'll just not smoke today. If I want one tomorrow, I can have one. Then, the next day, I would work on just getting through the day, knowing that I can always go buy more when I am tired of being a non-smoker. Before long, months had passed without so much as one drag.

Have I been perfect? Goodness no. I have probably bummed a total of 10 cigs since I quit being a regular smoker. Every time I have one, I can't believe how gross it is. I have discovered that I can't recapture who I was at 25 (thinner, single, more fun, carefree, reckless even?) by acting like I did when I was 25. At the time, I felt like Audrey Hepburn, but no longer. I don't count these smoking excursions as "cheating" because I never vowed to myself to quit for good -- I just quit for the day and see how long I can keep the streak up.

They say it take 21 days to make a habit. (Who figures that stuff out?) You can get through that 21 days pretty easily if you take it one day a time -- five minutes at a time, if need be. Good luck fortifying your new good habits!