How to Reprogram Your Mind to Stop Smoking

Byhttp://2stopsmokingtips.com

Introduction

• For most people to succeed with their stop smoking efforts, they need a re-programming of the mind.

• This is because the smoking habit is just like a coin. It has 2 sides. If you are a smoker, just know that you are facing two types of addictions- the physical addiction and the psychological one.

Physical Nicotine Addiction

• The physical addiction is based on the attachment you have with the nicotine in the cigarette. Even though nicotine is addictive, the physical addiction can be broken in a matter of days, at most one week. This is good news for most smokers trying to quit.

Psychological Nicotine Addiction

• But the bad news is the second type of addiction – the psychological one. Psychological addiction can be defined as a series of ideas or programs that exist in your unconscious or involuntary mind. These programs are the voices in your head that convince you to smoke just one more pack even when you have vowed not to have anything to do with cigarettes.

Psychological Nicotine Addiction(2)

• They tell you to go just one more month as next month will be the best time to quit. Next month when you seem ready to quit, those voices repeat the procedure, thus keeping you in a nasty, never-ending cycle. It is so because they reside in the unintentional or subconscious part of your brain and you tend to follow them without thinking twice but you can stem their tide, you can break the hold of these voices and psychological addiction.

The Power of Conscious and Subconscious Mind in Quit Smoking

• If you’ve successfully quit smoking before but fell back into the habit after a while, just know that what you’ve been able to do is end your physical addiction to nicotine by quitting consciously (through the power of your logical or rational mind). But the conscious mind is no equal for your subconscious mind. The subconscious or involuntary mind is what controls most of the things we do.

The Power of Conscious and Subconscious Mind in Quit Smoking(2)

• For instance, if your conscious mind instructs you to “pick up a book”, your subconscious immediately swerves into action and commands all the joints, muscles and guts needed for you to pick up the book. The known mind can issue the command but can never help you fulfill it. It’s just not powerful enough.

• That’s also how a dependence or addiction manifests. The logical or rational mind issues orders and the subconscious complies with those orders. But after a while, the conscious mind becomes exhausted or overwhelmed and the subconscious takes over, using the old programming, the old conditioning to resuscitate the habit again.

What is the Subconscious Mind?

• The “subconscious” is the part of your brain that functions beneath your usual level of waking consciousness or awareness. The second part of the brain is the one that functions at your normal level of waking awareness. It’s called the Conscious mind.

• They both have features that distinguish them. For instance, the conscious mind knows love, has feelings, knows hate, has desires, reasons and thinks but the subconscious is the exact opposite as it has no desires, no feelings and no choice. It simply reacts and functions automatically, just like a computer.

What is the Subconscious Mind?(2)

• Suffice to say there is quite a difference between the conscious and the subconscious. In the real sense, the subconscious is precisely like a tape recorder; it will only reproduce what has been put on its tapes.

• Remember when you were learning to drive. You had a very hard time at first, but with practice you became very good at it and soon you begun to drive fast! The conscious mind taught you how and when you learned how, it then became automatic. At that point, the subconscious took over and you no longer had to think about how to drive. Now what happens is that when you want to drive, your conscious mind asks your subconscious mind how and the mind plugs in the drive tape and you drive without having to use your conscious mind.

What is the Subconscious Mind?(3)

• What has happened is simple. The conscious mind taught the subconscious mind how, and from that time on it became automatic.

• This same scenario applied to you when you started smoking, it was kind of tough for your conscious mind to accept but as soon as your subconscious mind stepped in, it became automatic for you to smoke. And now that you want to stop smoking, your conscious mind is spearheading your efforts but the images and messages stored in your subconscious; the old programming and conditioning are sabotaging your efforts.

What is the Subconscious Mind?(4)

• The truth of the matter is, you can’t control your subconscious mind, but, you can suggest things to it, you can convince it. And for most people, a reprogramming of the mind is necessary to quit smoking.

• The big question that arises is: can the mind be reprogrammed? Can the images and behaviours that exist in the subconscious be changed? The answer to these questions is a resounding yes. It is certainly possible to reprogram the subconscious in the same manner that it was shaped in the first place. The way we train and interpret information programs our subconscious mind. We simply need to take the appropriate steps to reprogram the mind in a manner similar to its initial programming.

How to Reprogram the Subconscious Mind to Stop Smoking

• As a smoker, there are many ways to get rid of the destructive messages that are stored in your subconscious mind. You can use all these strategies side-by-side, but it’ll be much more effective if you single out just one or two methods to begin with. Give them your full attention rather than trying all these methods haphazardly and not having any results to show for your efforts. Remember, you can always slot in additional strategies over time.

Meditation

• Among many other upbeat advantages, meditation silences your conscious mind. If you do this first, it’s easier to influence the subconscious mind. Meditation is the process of sitting quietly and resting your mind or focusing on one thing so that your mind isn’t wandering off in several directions at once as it usually is in a non-meditative state. Many times a person chooses a mantra to focus on. A mantra is a word, or a series of words, that are repeated over and over in a person’s mind as a means of focusing. Using meditation to reprogram the subconscious has proven effective for many smokers; you better try it out today!

Affirmations to Stop Smoking• You can use affirmations to convince your subconscious to stop smoking.

Beware of putting references to smoking in your affirmations, as your subconscious mind is already programmed to see smoking as satisfying and pleasurable. As such, any reference to smoking is going to activate a strong desire to light up.

• To avoid that, make sure you use affirmations to highlight the benefits of not smoking – without bringing up smoking at all. Remember to also word your affirmations positively, in the present tense. Say “I know I am self-assured and victorious” rather than “I will be self-assured and victorious” because focusing on a future provision does not work well with your subconscious mind – it is familiar with only this moment. Also, use positive statements. Saying “I am not a failure” is interpreted as “I am a failure” since your subconscious cannot process negatives.

Examples of Affirmations

• I can change my habits by changing my mind now.

• I deserve a healthy, clean and fit body.• I’m tough enough to overcome any challenge.• I can do anything I set my mind on doing today.• I love being able to breathe healthily and freely.• I respect myself and love taking good care of my

body.• I look after my body with healthy practices.

How to Make the Most of Affirmations

• Affirmations work best when they’re recited repeatedly and while giving your full attention to them. While stating the words, try your very best to bring forward the corresponding feeling associated with the words. For example, if you state, “I feel so powerful and empowered” you have to in reality make an effort to feel that way. This does take practice, if you’re not used to mastering your emotional state, but it gets simpler as you progress. Steady repetition a lot of times a day is essential also, because you’re attempting to reverse existing ideas and beliefs in your subconscious.

Making the Most of Affirmations

• The affirmations given above will help get you started, but feel free to make up your own too! It pays to be original, you know!

• Please note that affirmations take time to completely sink in to your subconscious, but just like your old beliefs were formed, consistent repetition and reinforcement will help them become permanent.

• Affirmations work well when visualization is employed. If you picture yourself attaining your affirmation while saying them, you further influence your mind of the veracity of the statement, and so you create positive thought and action in your life.

Visualization• Your subconscious mind responds well to images. Visualization is a great way

to program your mind with upbeat, empowering images. Try spending 15-20 minutes a day visualizing positive scenes that feature you and your life experiences.

• Here are some things you may want to visualize if you want abundance in your life:

• A beautiful and luxurious home• Fulfilling and loving relationships• A fat bank account• A top -of- the -range car• Thriving career or business• Exotic vacations around the world

Affirmations (2)

• If you want to stop smoking, here are some of the things you may want to visualize:

• ✴ A fit and healthy body• ✴A smoke-free environment• ✴Non-tainted fingers• ✴White teeth• ✴Healthy Lungs and breathing

Affirmations (3)

• If you do this constantly, you will be able to reconstruct the negative images stored from your past experiences, doubts, suspicions, and fears. To boost the power of visualization even further, be sure to release strong, positive emotions while you visualize these beautiful things in your mind. Allow feelings of joy, gratitude, serenity and love to flow through you as if you were truly having these experiences. Your subconscious mind will absorb the messages as if they’re real! This is the real beauty of visualization – the power to get around limiting messages and focus on pleasing images, all of which are being absorbed right into your subconscious to be replayed later.

Relaxation

• Using relaxation can also help reprogram your mind to quit smoking. There are many relaxation techniques to choose from but when you use relaxation, the idea is to relieve pressure and tension on the body and on the mind. One type of relaxation is known as guided imagery, which uses mental images to instill a feeling of wellness and tranquility to the individual. Hypnotherapy is another type of relaxation method. I discuss this further under hypnosis.

Hypnosis

• Hypnosis is where a person is put into what is known as an advanced state of relaxation where they are completely unaware of their surroundings. The hypnotized person listens to the therapist present certain images towards which they must focus and pay attention. Self-hypnosis is another popular form of hypnosis whereby you simply use pre-recorded audio programs instead of a live hypnosis session. You can even record your own self hypnosis CDs so you’ll hear your own voice reciting positive affirmations while you’re in a relaxed state.

Watch Your Environment

• The fact that your environment can have a great effect on your subconscious mind is incontestable. On a daily basis, your subconscious mind takes in information, draws up conclusions and forms beliefs based on that information. If your daily environment is packed with negativity and strife, that’s exactly what will be absorbed into your brain. If you really want to reprogram your mind, you have to strictly limit the negativity you’re exposed to from this moment on. Avoid watching the news unless you absolutely must, and avoid spending too much time with ‘toxic’ people.

Watch Your Environment(2)

• Instead, seek out positive information to read and watch; feed your brain with healthy materials and spend most of your time with positive, successful people. Over time you’ll find that more encouraging messages are being absorbed into your mind, which will alter the way you see yourself and your potential.

• There are many other ways to reprogram your subconscious mind to stop smoking but the most important thing is to make use of the above-mentioned techniques as that is the only way to know what works and what does not work. Like Nike says in its run-off line; ‘just do it’.

Thank You for Reading!!!

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