There’s a joke that goes like this: quitting smoking is easy, I’ve done it many times.

You might have known, quitting or asking someone to quit a bad habit, like smoking, is difficult.

The key is not to just tell someone to quit, but to understand the difficulties that he faces in his efforts to do so.

One way for someone to quit smoking, or any other habits, is to help him realize the reasons to quit. Without strong enough reasons to do so, quitting is almost impossible.

Reasons:

Lung cancer
Throat cancer
Bad breath
Burden to our kids
To become a role model
Shortened life to pursue our dreams
Money
Weak
Control
Freedom
Etc.

If you desire to quit smoking, try listing down all the reasons that you can think of.

Ask yourself what are the benefits you will enjoy if you quit smoking and what are the negative effects that you will suffer from if you continue with this habit.

Then read them every day and every night. Conjure images of a healthier and livelier you. And even if you find yourself lighting up another stick, don’t give up. Kicking a habit is not easy. It takes time. But it’s possible.

Only once you have come up with the “Why’s”, then you can start moving on to the “How’s”.