Many experts believe smoking is only about 10% physical addiction and a whopping 90% psychological addiction. Your body will recover fairly quickly from nicotine withdrawals (the worst symptoms usually abate in three days or less), but your psychological dependency on cigarettes can be much more difficult to defeat.

That’s why you have to be committed to a program that will help you stick to your commitment to leave cigarettes behind you and become a non-smoker. Probably the best way to start is to work on those psychological barriers that will keep your from succeeding.

One of my favorite techniques to use when facing a big decision is to make a list to help myself realize the reasons why I want to make a change. Usually, it’s a pro and con list. When it comes to quitting smoking, compare the reasons why you started smoking and why you want to quit smoking.

So get out a piece of paper and separate it into two columns. Label one with “Why I Started Smoking” and the other with “Why I Want to Quit Smoking”.
In column one, list all the reasons you can remember as to why you started smoking in the first place. Was it peer pressure? Rebellion? Did you think it made you look cool? Did it make you feel like a grown-up? Really try to remember the exact reasons why you started smoking and write them all down.

Now look over that list. Do any of those reasons still apply in your life today? Our guess is probably not. If you’re like most people, you will see that your reasons for becoming a smoker are no longer valid, are often just silly, and are easily outweighed by the risks to your health and your family’s well-being. Then, move on to column two. Start listing all the reasons you want to stop this habit.

This one may seem obvious, but it can be a bit tricky. You really need to take some time and think hard about this. Don’t just list the obvious health reasons. You’ve been reading the Surgeon General’s warnings for years with little effect, so you need to come up with reasons that truly have meaning for you.
The things most people write down will NOT help you quit smoking…

• I don’t want to get lung cancer.
• I don’t want to have a heart attack or a stroke.
• I’d like to live long enough to see my grandchildren grow up.

Those are all good reasons to quit smoking, certainly… but they deal in "possibilities" rather than in specifics. Sure you MIGHT get lung cancer, you MIGHT have a heart attack or a stroke, you MIGHT die young and miss out on seeing your grandchildren grow up… or you MIGHT NOT! You’re not likely to break a strong psychological addiction based on what MIGHT happen. Your mind will work hard to convince you that it won’t happen to you! Instead, list health problems that you are already experiencing.

Your list should point out things in your life that you are actively unhappy about and are STRONGLY MOTIVATED to change. In order to break your psychological addiction, you need an arsenal of new thoughts and desires that are stronger than your desire to smoke!