WEEKLY COACHING TIP #137                                                                                                                                                                         WCT Archive

WHAT IS YOUR HABIT?

STOP SMOKING DAY is on the Wed 9th March 2005 so even if this doesn’t apply to you; it can apply to other areas of your life just as much!

A research done by ‘New Scientist’ carried out on over 70,000 people showed hypnosis as the most effective way to give up smoking. Hypnosis / Hypnotherapy. It was found to be 300% as successful as NRT (nicotine replacement therapy), and 500% as successful as just will power alone. The full references of this survey as well as additional data are available at http://www.coachingpinspirit.com/topics/stopsmoking.htm

Indeed I’ve found hypnosis to work very well; however, it does not work for everybody.  Often if it hasn’t worked I ask the client to come back to see if we can find out the reason why.  We then surface the problem, usually a part of them that is reluctant to give up, and then we deal with it and do hypnosis again to re-inforce the stop smoking. I also use other techniques such as NLP and EFT.

It always intrigues me how someone can stop smoking for a few months or sometimes years and then start again.  When I ask about this some of the excuses (and they are excuses) are: I was stressed, I lost my job, I was bored, I got drunk etc…  It makes me wonder why they add insult to injury, having lost their job do they really need to ruin their health and throw their money away?  

IF YOU WANT TO STOP SMOKING THEN READ ON…

I am offering a special discount to WCT subscribers.

The normal fee for a one-off 2 hour session is £170

To subscribers I’m offering it for £120. That’s a 30% discount.

Note that this offer is only valid until the end of March 2005.

Email me if you are interested or would like more information.

MIND GAME

When smokers try to give up they generally have a very hard time of it. It is a very strong habit, but really the problem is the mind set. Apart from a small percentage of the population who are compulsive and actually need medical intervention, most other smokers are just in their own ‘hypnosis’ believing they ‘need’ one.

Of course the cravings can be there but mainly it is a mind game.  Think about it, do you need a cigarette when you sleep?  Of course not.  The irony is most smokers will say they have a cigarette because they are stressed.  In fact, smoking puts the body into stress!

DARE TO USE LEVERAGE

So what this is about? What you need is to get real leverage on yourself, if you are a smoker or if it’s some other habit you want to give up. 

One way to get leverage is to think about the following for a minute:

a)       If 1 year from now you look in the bathroom mirror and you know you still smoke.  Really think about this, let the feelings into the body and FEEL whatever it is you feel. 

b)       Now think 5 years down the line how will you feel about yourself, what possible health issues could there be?

c)       Think about if you got a smoking related disease… Who are the people who would suffer? How would it affect them?  Again, get into the feelings otherwise it just remains a ‘head job’.

A good idea is to write them down starting with “If I continue to smoke in 5 years time I might feel/be …....  This could affect …….  This makes it more concrete and you are getting more leverage on yourself.

This is not meant to ‘frighten’ you but to take a realistic view of what you are doing to your body.  Most people do not do this with focus they just kind of ‘know I shouldn’t smoke’. They rarely put the mirror up to their life and confront it.

PREPARATION & EMERGENCY EXERCISE

Here is a little exercise to do if you want to give up but aren’t quite there yet.  I get my clients to do this before they see me for Stop Smoking.  One lady actually stopped and didn’t need to see me, she was thrilled!

Anytime you feel the urge to smoke:

1. Take 1 cigarette out of the packet
2. Go outside, even if you’re in your own home, and make sure you are alone.
3. Sit down or stand and look at the cigarette in your hand. 
4. Ask yourself silently these 3 questions:

a)       DO I REALLY WANT THIS CIGARETTE? Wait for the answer.  Whatever it is do not beat yourself up, just notice what feelings come up for you.

b)       DOES MY LUNGS REALLY WANT THIS CIGARETTE? Wait for the answer.  Whatever the answer do not judge it, just notice those feelings.

c)       DOES MY LIFE REALLY WANT THIS CIGARETTE? Wait for the answer.  Again, no judging. 

5. Now if you still feel like smoking it, do so.  However,
   1. Light it up very consciously, notice how you do it.
   2. Take the first inhalation, slowly, and notice how it feels.
   3. Notice what your mind and body does, without judging.
   4. You will probably notice feelings of aversion, mild disgust or even sadness, or, you may not, but whatever you notice, just be aware that the body has it’s own wisdom, and if you start to listen to it, it will tell you exactly what you need and don’t need. 
6. You have begun your own intervention to kick that habit.  Empower yourself just by becoming really conscious of what you are doing and telling yourself.
7. If you continue to do this with EVERY cigarette there is a very strong chance that you will begin to not enjoy or want those cigarettes any longer.  If, on the other hand, you do this technique a few times and give up, don’t expect too much!  Put the work in, you’re worth it!

Until next week Onwards and Upwards!

© 2005 INSPIRIT & Denise Bosque All Rights Reserved

For more information (Question/Answers, Book I recommend, Testimonials) on Stop Smoking visit http://www.coachingpinspirit.com/topics/stopsmoking.htm or ring me on 0208 891 3479