5 ways to keep your new year resolution of quitting smoking

The New Year is an exciting event for most people and it is a time to start afresh and make amends for mistakes made in the previous year. Since when I am 12 years old I have been making a resolution every year and more often than not I do not stick to the resolution. However, this year I have decided that it is high time I stick to my New Year resolution and I have thought of 5 hurdles that may get in the way of my goal and 5 ways that are going to help me overcome these hurdles and achieve my goal.

I am a smoker since 4 years and smoking has caused me immense health problems and financial strain. I tend to smoke most when I am stressed or I have too much work. Considering my weak points I have decided that this year my New Year Resolution is to stop smoking for good.

The first and most important hurdle in my path is the fact that I get stressed easily and that leads me to finishing a dozen cigarettes in a short span of time. In order to overcome this hurdle I have enrolled for Yoga classes that are held daily. Yoga is an ancient science that had originated in India and Yoga not only calms the mind but also reduces physical ailments.

The second hurdle in my path is that I give up too easily and go back to my habits within a few days. In an attempt to overcome this hurdle I have started going for therapy and expressing my fears and concerns about quitting smoking to an experienced behavior analyst. Most people are under the impression that therapy is meant for people who have psychiatric problems but not many people know that therapy can resolves emotional issues that tend to manifest themselves in harmful habits.

The third hurdle in my path is that coffee and tea tempt me into smoking and in order to overcome this issue I have switched over to drinking water and fresh fruit juices. These juices reduce the urge to smoke due to their starch content and also hydrate the body and repair the damage caused by smoking.

The forth hurdle in my path is that when I go out with my friends I tend to smoke a lot more than I normally would if I was at home or work. To ensure that I can successfully solve this problem I have spoken to my friends and explained to them the health issues I am facing due to smoking and I have requested them to remind me of my goal in case I get tempted to smoke.

The fifth and last hurdle in my path is that I sleep very less and that causes me to smoke in order to stay alert when I am awake. This problem is relatively easy to resolve compared to the others as I love music and music calms me down and allows me to sleep well. To make sure that I start listening to soft music around bedtime I have bought my favorite cds and I have started listening to them on a daily basis before bedtime so that my body clock can adjust to the new sleeping patterns before the New Year.

I plan to continue following the 5 steps mentioned above and quit the nasty habit of smoking which not only affects my pockets but also affects my health adversely.