To finally quit smoking and to quit smoking for good may take you more than one try. Knowing that you may need to try more than once before you succeed can actually help you to finally quit.
You shouldn’t go into the process of quitting smoking thinking you are going to fail, that will only doom you to actually not succeed. But, if you so happen to fail at your first attempt, knowing that it is somewhat common may help you to get back up and try again.
It is common for a smoker to have to take a whack at quitting at least 2 times before they are successful. This is due large in part because during the first course of trying to quit the smoker did not have a game plan, did not know how hard it was actually going to be to quit, and also because they may not have been wise to how to quit effectively.
The second go around of quitting was better received because the smoker knew what to expect and possibly had learned a trick or two to help ease the stress of smoking. For example, between the time of failing the first time and starting the second time, the smoker actually sat down and made a game plan to quit. Maybe they researched on the internet how to quit effectively. Maybe that is exactly what you are doing right now-gearing up for the next round of trying to quit.
Do not feel like a failure if you did not succeed during your first attempt to quit smoking. It happens. Now that you have given it a try you know what to expect next time. Try to pin point what actually made you give up trying. Was it due to the cravings? Did the withdrawals do you in? Did you not try hard enough? Were you just not ready? Did a stressful event come up that you couldn’t get through without smoking?
It doesn’t matter why you caved and started smoking again, the point to consider is that you are willing to try again. Knowing what it was that made you fall back to the cigarettes will help you tremendously for your second time around.
For example, if you went back to smoking because you didn’t realize how hard it would be to avoid the urge to smoke, now you know you need to research ways to help you get past the cravings.
If the withdrawals were too much to handle you can look into ways to deal with them or avoid them all together. If you find that it was because you just weren’t ready or prepared to quit, now you know to come up with a plan, set a date to quit and stick to it. If stress got you down, find out ways to reduce or alleviate stress without the use of smoking.
It may only take you one try and you will be smoke free, it may take 2, 3, or more tries before you are finally 100% successful. Regardless of how many times you try, the important factor is that you keep trying because eventually you will get it right and you will be so much healthier and better off.
Don’t get discouraged, you are not the only person in the world trying to quit smoking and you sure aren’t the only one who has failed their first or second time. Never give up the fight to quit.