Once you have made a decision to quit and set a date, you can begin preparations. This is a very important process. It is very similar to sports training.

When the big game starts - practice is over! This may sound odd but think back to those other times when you begin to panic after the first two hours of quitting: your mind shuts down and you can't even add 2+2 and get the same answer twice.

"What can you practice," you ask? Relaxation techniques and deep breathing are good for starters. Believe it or not - one reason people find smoking relaxing is due to the deep breathing that occurs. Unfortunately, the deep breathing includes so much garbage but the reason is sound. Deep breathing exercise is relaxing and also an excellent way to change your focus when you begin to crave tobacco!

Another major preparation is analyzing your smoking behavior - find out when and why you smoke.

There is a specific exercise for this: Get several cards - 3x5 will be fine - or notepaper - something that you can carry with you in the same place as your cigarettes. Each time you open a pack, get a new card or piece of paper and mark the day of the week on it. Every time you are ready to light up first note three things:

Time of Day
How strongly you need the smoke: a little, a lot, so-so. What your mood is: up, down, so-so. Do this exercise for at least four consecutive days. This is an extremely important exercise. It will help you understand your habit.

How will this help me? It turns out that each person has different reasons why they smoke and different feelings. By identifying the different times and places and moods you will be able to proceed to the next step.

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