How I quit smoking using NLP
How I quit smoking USING NLP
By
Vikram Karve
Whenever I attend a training or course, I try to apply the concepts and skills that I learned during the program myself to verify the effectiveness of training because I believe strongly in the time-tested adage "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."
Thus, the first thing I decided, after completing NLP Practitioner Training was to try and apply the concepts I had learned and full of myself.
NLP stands for neuro-linguistic programming. Falutin sounds complicated and high, is not it? In fact, NLP is very simple - we'll see how I have applied in my daily life.
At that time, I was a smoker. I tried to quit several times with little success.
Now, I try a simple concept of NLP to stop smoking.
I succeeded beyond my expectations and has stopped smoking in one day.
I have overcome the desire envy, smoking and never suffered any "withdrawal symptoms".
I quit smoking forever in just once.
Let me tell you, Dear Reader, that day red letter in my life.
I woke up early in the morning, as usual, made a cup of tea, and when I took a sip of delicious hot tea, I felt the desire to know my first cigarette of the day.
I found my Smoking "first - Anchor" - Tea.
I kept the tempting cup of tea, made a note of the craving [anchor] in my journal, heated rapidly a glass of water in the microwave, completed my ablutions, came out of my house, and embarked upon my customary morning constitutional walk fast-cum-jog rinse and deep cleansing my lungs with fresh air, the freshness of the morning, which made me feel on top of the world.
I felt invigorated and happy. I had to overcome my thirst and not smoked my first cigarette of the day.
Return date from my early bracing morning walk, I stopped to pick up the newspaper, and spotted my friends 'N' and 'S' across the road beckoning me for our usual post-walk head to head with tea and cigarettes at our favorite tea stall.
Here are my hiding Smoking "second - Anchor" - my smoking friends.
I was tempted, but I hardened my determination.
I waved to my friends who smoke, turned and quickly return home.
They must have thought I'd become crazy, but it did not matter - I avoided my second cigarette of the day.
It is what I'll do all day. Being inside, conscious eyes, fully aware and conscious to ensure that I identify all the stimuli that triggered in me the urge to smoke - my "smoking anchors" which could be anything, conscious and unconscious, internal and external tangible or intangible - people, situations, events, feelings, smells, emotions, tendencies, moods, foods, trends social or organizational practices, norms, peer pressure.
So I conquer and overcome these stimuli, demolish these negative "Smoking-anchors" and establish and reinforce new positive "healthy" non-smoking anchors using a technique called Force Field Analysis.
I'll tell you more about the Force Field analysis.
Dear reader, read on and see how my first day Non smoking increased.
After breakfast, I did not drink my usual cup of coffee - a strong "smoking anchors" which triggered in me a strong craving and desperate desire to smoke.
I drank a glass of cold milk instead Bland, and thus avoided my third cigarette of the day.
It was nine as I reached my workplace and I had not smoked a single cigarette. Instead I did not smoke my cigarettes divided into three!
It was a long day and I had to be know myself inside out and develop strategies to address situations that desire led smoking - recognize and conquer my "smoking anchors".
The anchor is a natural phenomenon, a natural process that usually occurs without our awareness.
An anchor is a representation in the human nervous system that triggers any other representation.
Anchors can operate in any representation system (sight, hearing, feeling, feeling, smell, taste).
You create an anchor when you unconsciously set up a stimulus-response.
Response [smoking] associated with [anchored] some stimulus, so that the perception of the stimulus [the anchor] leads by reflex to the anchored response [smoking] occurring.
Repeated Stimulus-response [SR] enhances the action of the anchors and it's a vicious circle, especially in the context of "smoking anchors".
The trick is to identify your anchors to smoke, become conscious of these anchors and ensure you do not activate them.
And then exceeded from the RS paradigm SHOR Paradigm to set and fire a new positive anchors.
What's Shore?
SHOR stands stimulus-Hypothesis-Options-response - I'll talk about what business model soon too.
The moment I reached office I saw my colleague 'B' eagerly waiting for me, as he did every day.
In fact, the eagerly awaited freeloader for a cigarette burn on me for his first smoke of the day. "I only smoke other cigarettes" was his motto!
I politely told him that I had stopped smoking, and told him to look elsewhere for a cigarette.
He looked at me in disbelief; mocked baffled and annoyed me a little, but when I stood firm, he disappeared.
I had not smoked my cigarette quarter of the day!
I removed from my office my ashtray, my lighter, all vestiges of smoking, said the entire site to an area of non-smokers and put up signs to that effect.
The workday began. It was a difficult and stressful day of work. I was tired and suddenly my boss called me into his office and offered me a cigarette.
I watched the pack of cigarettes with desire, tempted, overcome by a strong desire, desperate to have only that "one" cigarette.
Nothing like a "refreshing" smoke to drive my Blues Away and revitalize me - the "panacea" to my "stressed" state!
It was now or never!
I politely excused myself on the pretext using the toilet, but rushed to the terrace and took a brisk walk rinsing my lungs with fresh air, and when I returned, I lost the desire to smoke and realized that exercise is probably the best antidote - a positive "non-smoking anchor - And, of course, I had not smoked my fifth cigarette of the day!
This was the famous Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who said:
"Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of principle: Some things are within our control and some things are not. Only after you have faced this rule fundamental and learned to distinguish between what you can and can not control that inner tranquility and external effectiveness become possible. "
We often let our feelings determine our anchors, govern our lives. We let feelings drive our thoughts, not realizing that thoughts create actions, actions produce results, and results in turn produce more feelings, build anchors, causing a vicious circle circle which may ultimately lead to loss of self control.
These "feeling-anchors" not fully controllable, as many times feelings are produced by external circumstances beyond your control, and if negative feelings are allowed to drive our thoughts and actions, then undesirable results emanate.
The best solution is to establish "thought-anchors," as the drivers for your actions.
It is well within your control to think positive, good thoughts and interesting.
In fact, the happiest is he who thinks the most interesting thoughts and good, is not it?
This is the essence of NLP.
Reschedule your anchors, restore your spirit, your own life change for the better and improve your life plan.
This technique works for me, and I'm sure it will work for you too.
Perhaps it is so effective because it is so beautiful in its simplicity.
Vikram Karve
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this book.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
About the Author
Vikram Karve, 52, educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book “Appetite for a Stroll”. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
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