How I quit smoking

It's been a little over a year now since I've given up the habit. Some friends still smoke and often I’m questioned about how I did it, especially by those who couldn't imagine me without a cigarette in my hand. It all boils down to a few simple mindsets and decisions.

Quit for the right reasons

The first thing is you have to have the right reasons for quitting. You can't just do it after X amount of years because those health warnings finally affected you. "Smoking kills" and other one-liners they print on the boxes these days are to prevent new kids from picking up the habit, not helping you quit. You need a real motivation coming from something solid if you want to be able to see it through. For me it was my girlfriend- she doesn't smoke, and it's a real treat for her kissing an ashtray if you know what I mean. It's actually deeper than that, but you get the point.

Get all the support you can

The best would be if you could get someone who's always having a cigarette with you to also quit with you. This is not always possible, but you can get everyone's support by letting everybody know that you quit smoking. Most likely many of the people around you, family and friends, will try to help you get through and will be more understanding when you start getting a bit irritated. More importantly, everyone will be keeping you accountable now.

Be realistic

You have to be realistic about the goal you are setting. Make it something you can achieve. If you say you will never smoke again then you are continuously in the process and only accomplish that goal when you die; albeit older and not due to lung cancer. Instead you could put your goal at something like 1 year. At the end of that year, you can re-new your goal while you celebrate an accomplishment.

Don't become an ass

I enjoy the smell of burning tobacco. I'm not going to try and fool myself into disliking it. I also made it a point not to become an asshole to my friends who kept smoking. It's their decision and they'll have to come up with their own time and reason when they want to quit. You remember how annoying it always was when someone starting coughing just to try to make a point about your smoking? You remember all those times you held up a group somewhere while you finished your cigarette? You now have the advantage over never-smokers by understanding and being patient for that extra minute while the smoker has his or her last two drags.

Take advantage of the environment

Where I live, you can't smoke in bars, clubs, restaurants or pretty much any public indoor area. This only makes it easier for the non-smoker because you won't be hindered by any of these regulations. Now you can casually avoid all the circumstances where you'd usually light one up so you won't constantly be tempted. This and steeply rising prices of cigarettes will only help you in your quest to kick the habit.

This sums up the main points of how I stopped smoking. If you are trying to quit or have quit, please share your means and methods that helped you in the comments below.