Day 1 - I choose to be healthy

After several weeks of sort of giving up and cutting down - and telling everyone I'm going to stop, I finally put my foot down today.
It is a Monday. I've been partying all weekend. I feel good, and it feels like the right time. I've got loads of advice (see www.findwillpower.com for more info).

I'm not going to give anyone any advice how to quit. Everybody does it differently. Here I'm going to tell you about how I'm doing it, and pass on information that will help you. I have been learning some weird and wonderful techniques, so hang in there!

Stopping, quitting, ceasing, giving up… These words don't sit well with me. I prefer: Starting, going and doing. So, I took some advice from a friend. She says that when she stopped smoking, she made the choice: "I choose to be healthy". This wasn't just smoking, of course, but she realised that smoking was a key factor in this.

Everyday, she says: "I choose to be healthy", along with some other choices she has made about her life.

Today I tried it. I said it over and over in my head. Then I started arguing with myself and telling myself to stop saying it. I kept on, insisting that I say it until I didn't want a cigarette. I think I said it about twenty times.

I didn't want a cigarette all day after that. I was aware that I wasn't smoking, and I did have a little moment after dinner. I went to bed early with a good book and forgot about it pretty soon after. Day one done!