For the many years of my life, I was a smoker.
Not just regular cigarettes, either.
I was a fan of unfiltered cigarettes.
The shorter the cigarette, the better.
But two years ago, my best friend and drinking buddy, Ray was diagnosed with lung cancer.
He died shortly after and I knew that I needed someone to help me quit.
Someone to just give me tips to help quit smoking without expensive gums and patches.
Don't get me wrong, the gum and patches work, but not for everyone.
If they did, you wouldn't be reading this, would you? One of the first tips to help quit smoking came from the gas station clerk who sold me countless packs of cigarettes in the past.
He told me that I should set a goal of how many more cigarettes I planned to smoke before I quit.
Sounds weird, huh? It's really not.
Not all of us can quit cold turkey, and I'm definitely one of those people.
So I decided that I would not smoke more than three more packs for the rest of my life.
Another tip to help quit smoking came from my family physician who told me that to quit, I needed to actually want to quit.
Pretty simple concept, but acting on it was very hard.
Yes, I wanted to quit, but I was very dependent on nicotine.
I decided that every time I lit up for the next three packs, I would think of Ray and his funeral.
The open casket, the sobbing women, the children he left behind, fatherless.
It helped me quit alot.
The power of the human mind is outstanding.
Those things alone can lead most people to quit smoking.
Not me.
I worked at a difficult job at the time, and my life was very stressful.
I would often turn to cigarettes on hard long days.
Many other people turn to cigarettes when times get rough, and I totally understand, but there are other ways.
Chewing gum can really help ease the stress.
Be careful to buy sugarless gum, or that black lung will turn into a mouthful of cavities.
Stress balls were recommended to me by my daughter as a tip to quit smoking.
That's fine and dandy if you work in an office, but at blue collar jobs, that just wont work.
But just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean it wont work for you.
Try it! Try new things.
At the end of every week, I go fishing to relieve the stress of the work week, instead of smoking.
Believe me, it's more gratifying to catch a big mouth bass than it is to light up a fag.
Fishing may not be your thing, so find another hobby that occupies your time and most importantly, your hands.
It's been two years now and I am smoke free.
The tips to help quit smoking really helped me and I hope they will help you too.
Sure I still get cravings every now and then, but then I think of Ray.
In case you're wondering, I only smoked two more packs after Ray died.
The third one sits on my mantle, covered in dust, as a sign of what life used to be life.