leahcaR

Posted April 7, 2014 

I know a lot of people mention anxiety, nervousness, panic feelings or just not thinking you can do something or will fail at it (smoking)... I know a lot of people have this to say about life in general but also a lot of people use these words when talking about quitting smoking or thinking of quitting smoking.  I know I used to.  ALL the time.  each one of those words I associated to quitting whenever the thought of quitting popped in my mind.  or even thinking I may fail at it.  

We talk ourselves out of so much in life.  So many good things.  not just quitting smoking.  But anything that might be good like opportunities or chances we could/should take but don't because we let negative thinking get in our way.  

I havent really mentioned this to anyone here since I quit because I figured some might find it strange.  But the more I thought about it recently I realized it is not strange or new agey.... we have inner dialogue with ourselves ALL the time.  You don't even realize you do it because you do it so much.  And if you stopped and thought about it you would realize that most of it is negative.  "I can't stop smoking"  "I would fail" "it would be too hard"  "it makes me anxious just thinking about quitting" or even day to day things like "I cant get that report done in time"  "no one likes me"  "I could never succeed at that"  

Think about it and be honest... you say those things all the time and hardly realize it.  You say something enough times to yourself you will believe it.  Constantly reinforcing the negative thinking/talking to yourself and you will believe it.  But no one thinks its strange that we do this. We don't find it strange that we do this because we are so used to it.  But someone says they use positive affirmations and everyone stops and stares at them secretly wondering what voodoo they are up to.  

If it's okay to talk to yourself negatively it shouldn't be weird to talk to yourself positively.  And if we know anything we know the more times we say something to ourselves we start to believe it.  It's something to think about.  

I have started using affirmations during random times in my life since I quit.  From when I feel like I might want a cigarette to other items related to work or peers.  And I have found them to really work.  Calm me down when I am on the brink of anxiety (and I also suffer from anxiety attacks as some others) and I have used them to calm down about the smoking desires when they used to creep up or if I think I might end up in a trigger situation.

Repeating something to myself over and over for about five minutes or however long I feel necessary really helps me and gets me to start believing what I am saying.  At first of course you wont believe it but give it a chance.  After all,  repeatedly telling yourself you are going to fail at quitting makes you believe it doesn't it? So why should this be counted out?

Here are some good ones for not smoking:

I cancel smoking out of my life.

I am smoke free and craving free from nicotine.

I love fresh air and abhor cigarettes.

I love myself more than I love smoking.  

I honor and respect myself always.

And then here are some for anxiety which we know comes along with those nicotine withdrawals and cravings.. and other situations in life:

I transcend stress of any kind; I live in peace.

All is well in my world and I am safe.

I am at peace.  I am calm.  All is well.

When this is over I will be glad that I did it.

This may be hard now but it will become easier and easier.

I let go of all the lies I tell myself. 

There is a great reason this is unfolding before me.

and this states how best to use affirmations and other info:

Affirmations work most effectively when they are recited repeatedly and while giving your full focus to them. Not only should you say the words, but you should also do your best to feel the corresponding FEELING associated with the words. For example, if you say, "I feel so strong and empowered" you should actually take on the feelings of being strong and empowered. This does take practice if you are not used to controlling your emotional state, but it does get easier the more you practice it.

Constant repetition many times a day is important also, because you are attempting to override existing beliefs in your subconscious mind. A belief is nothing more than a thought you have thought many, many times before, until eventually your subconscious mind takes it as "truth".

For example, many people believe that smoking calms you down. Physiologically, smoking does not have relaxation benefits but many smokers have convinced themselves that it does. Because they believe this, they create the experience of feeling more relaxed after smoking. To override this belief, it's important to replace it with an opposing belief - like affirming that you feel calm and relaxed already, so there is no need to smoke in order to relax.

You can do google searches for different kinds of affirmations.  There are TONS of websites with many listed by category.

I thought this might help someone as it has helped me for quite a few months now to get rid of all the lies Ive told myself or continue to tell myself.  Enjoy.... or skip along elsewhere.  <3 :)

Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/357-anyone-ever-use-affirmations/