How I broke the habit of…smoking
I have recently been reading « Atomic Habits » by James Clear , who shares ideas on how to start and stop habits (not only smoking). I have tried to apply its framework (retroactively) to the biggest habit change I have successfully achieved- quitting smoking after…26 years.
I stopped smoking in March 2020, as the first Covid lock down was implemented. Since then, I have been wondering why it took me 26 years and about 10 failed attempts. This despite the obvious scientific facts that it would potentially kill me.
“Defining who we wish to become”. This is the first theory behind Atomic Habits. The idea is to build “identity-based habits” rather than “outcome-based habits”. I had become a dad and was doing a lot of work figuring out how coaching would play a role in my future. It became quickly obvious that the dad and coach I aspired to be couldn’t keep on smoking.
“Make it invisible”. Without the lock down and working from home, I probably would have failed (again). At my home office, there were no smokers around, no colleagues to “take a break” with. I had never smoked in front of my son and felt ashamed to do so. The fact he was at home, for 3 months, was a powerful disincentive.
“Make it unattractive”. To become active and healthy, I started to train with a personal fitness coach. Very quickly, I was able to enjoy the endorphins produced by the sport. I then intentionally decided to replace my craving for cigarettes by going for a run (less frequent though, I am not quite a ten run a day guy). Smoking became a hamper of my running performance and therefore became unattractive.
“Make it difficult” . Again, the Covid lockdown genuinely helped. Being limited to 5k for walking, I rarely passed by a tobacco shop. Getting cigarettes would have required significant energy and organization which seems somehow ridiculous in the context of staying at home to protect everyone's health.
“Making it unsatisfying”. This is probably the defining element of this process for me. Smoking's first benefit was mainly social, which during lockdown, simply disappeared by itself. But the deeper one, I falsely attributed to the cigarette, was releasing stress. To counter it, I needed to find a bigger benefit, which my wonderful wife offered me one day saying : “we just want to live longer with you”. It was a very long term benefit which our brain isn’t keen on but it was so big for me, that I used it everytime I decided not to smoke. I was telling myself : this is more time with my family.
This worked for me, it may or may not work for you. But I share it to encourage anyone who is thinking of quitting smoking (or anything else) or embarking on a new habit. I genuinely believe that there is no better feeling than taking a bit more control of our life, especially in the current context where so much seems out of our control.
To know more about atomic habits : https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits