Hello, dear Michael and readers! 

At last I looked again into my diary. I'm OK, I haven't smoked for almost three months. This time it was really very easy to give up smoking.  Why so? Just because the easiness is directly proportional to force of the desire, clearness of the objective and will power.  If you have all these three components then to refuse smoking is just a piece of cake.  You put out the cigarette and don't light the next one. It is not necessary to do anything at all! If it is hard for you it means that one of the components is insufficient. And this was the reason of my failures. But this time I had enough of everything.  Of course, there were unpleasant moments, fears and withdrawal effects but the most important thing is to know that everything will pass and you will feel better.   And when it happens you will be absolutely different person, a new person - not smoking and independent. You will become stronger than you were. And you will respect yourself even more.

Never begin an inner dialogue: to light a cigarette or not to light. I warn you at once - the tobacco addiction  ALWAYS wins in this dispute. If a person is in front of making a choice "to do or not to do", he/she will do it sooner or later.  There will always be found at least one serious reason. Please remember: there are no such reasons, never were and can't be. 

When you start thinking it over, even subconsciously, just relax and switch over to something else. Then you will be able to switch over automatically, without thinking.

Thus, in order to win the struggle you need just avoid the struggle. Just as one avoids meeting drunken company when going down a dark street or as one avoids deals with doubtful contractors.

So, in order to stop trembling, sometimes it is enough just to relax muscles. And one more thing – I haven't looked into my diary for a long time because I realized that, in my case, there was no wisdom like silence.  My every thought, every word about smoking, written or pronounced, inflamed my desire to smoke. And only being silent I managed to break off this habit. At the beginning mind over matter I switched thoughts about smoking over to something else and then it has grown into a habit. 

I say – stop thinking about smoking. The thing we are thinking about all the time turns into obsession. And it doesn't matter whether we tell how it was easy or hard to quit smoking.  We concentrate on smoking and as a result we want to smoke even more.

And one more tip from my personal experience as well. Not long ago, after a couple of months of my unclouded life free of cigarettes, I felt an irresistible desire to smoke and I thought that it would do - I need a cigarette.   Then I understood that it was an exam, a final test. Giving up smoking, as well as breaking new ground, you will be sooner or later in a position where quantitative changes turn into qualitative. You will take an examination there and direction of your further progress depends on your ability to cope with it: you either make one more attempt or go over to another level - a non-smoker.

You may be ready or not, in good form or not, you may want it or not but the exam will take place and a mark will be given. You must feel it, it would be better if you foresee it. But you mustn't ignore it, otherwise it will be the main obstacle on the way of your further development.  It is the gates that can't be walked round.  But you should take it with joy, with your head up and a smile. How often we just don't understand this and do quite the opposite.

You should know that when you are aching all over especially hard, you are just taking your exam.  Too long? It is such an exam. When will it be over? It will be over when it should be and not a minute earlier. Be ready for everything and you will be surprised how easy it is to pass it. I'm sure that I got an excellent mark for my exam.   And good luck to you!