I was reading a study into smoking reduction approaches the other day.
Because I’m crazy like that 😉
Anyway, there seems to have been a change in the standard approach recommended by most experts in this field in recent times.
The usual advice in the past had been to, essentially, just quit.
Pick a date.
Wake up that day and just stop.
Forever!
And, of course, it worked for some.
But for many, it was too big a step.
To go from smoking maybe 20 or 40 a day to none in one step?
Willpower would get them through a number of days.
But, when the willpower ran out (as it does), many would go back to the amount they smoked before.
Nowadays?
Many recommend some variation on a ‘practice quit’.
Stopping for maybe 12 hours to start.
Have one or so in the morning.
Then nothing till that night.
Most people find they can do that.
It’s just a practice you see.
It’s not forever.
Once they’ve successfully done this a few times, they might try a bit longer.
A full day maybe?
The successes of the previous practices giving them confidence.
That they can do it.
Each increase being a manageable amount.
That they feel they can do.
Until, at some point, they do a period of time………
Maybe a handful of days to a week or so……….
And when that’s up, they don’t think it’s worth restarting again.
And don’t.
It’s an approach which works with our basic human psychology.
Not against it.
Making a commitment for the rest of our lives is too much.
Same with food.
Planning on never eating certain foods again………
Or cooking from fresh every meal forever……….
Or never having that cake or biscuit at work again……..
Is setting ourselves up for failure.
As soon as we do it (or don’t do it) again once……..
We’ve ‘failed’ and are ‘back to step one’.
The equivalent to a practice quit?
Start with a single day.
Or a single meal.
Or a single workout.
Or clicking a single link (last chance for another month tonight) 😉 –> myrise.co.uk/briefing-meeting
No reason we can’t do that.
Use that success to build confidence.
To learn where the challenges may come from and plan for them next time.
Once you’ve ‘rolled a number of singles’………
Try a bigger one.
A few days worth.
And so on.
‘Practice quit’ yourself to success 🙂
Much love,
Jon ‘P. A. R. T. Why?’ Hall and Matt ‘Somebody stop me’ Nicholson
P.S. Two points for those middle names – and the relevance 🙂
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RISE Macclesfield – myrise.co.uk
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