Quitting smoking can be one of the most difficult tasks you may ever have to do.
It seems that when we started it was trying to be cool, or fit in.
Or maybe we grew up with it and felt it was just normal and to be expected.
Now that years have passed, thousands of dollars spent on those little nicotine butts and us left questioning our health, we try to quit.
If this is not the first time that you have tried, know that you are not alone.
Here is a quote from the legendary author Mark Twain, "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world.
I know because I've done it thousands of times.
" Here he makes light of the situation, but honestly it can be hard.
Here are 5 tips to help you through your withdrawals so that you can become a successful ex-smoker!

1. Once you decide to quit, put a date on it.
   When you pick the date, be nice, if you know you are going to have some parties to go to, or events where you are likely to slip up, then don't pick that date.
   We are looking for positive encouragement from everyday that you can be successful to lead us into the next day.
   
2. Tell those around you what you are doing.
   They will be there to support you.
   This will keep you accountable.
   Knowing that you won't just be letting yourself down but someone else, sometimes will be exactly what you need to keep going.
   
3. Reward yourself.
   The brain works off of reward mechanisms.
   Have small goals and rewards to re-enforce what you are doing.
   Say you go 7 days without smoking, have a reward for that, and make sure that you grant yourself that reward.
   The longer the time frame the bigger the reward.
   (You are saving at least $6 a pack!)
4. Take deep breaths when you are getting the urge to smoke.
   Feel how clean your lungs feel, how deep the air is moving into your lungs.
   This is very important as this will help to re-form your habit of smoking into a deep breathing habit, which has many benefits beyond the scope of this article.
   
5. Use a natural product to help with the withdrawal symptoms.
   Just because tobacco is legal, doesn't mean that you won't have strong withdrawals.
   Nicotine is one of the most addicting chemicals on the planet, not including all of the other additives that the tobacco companies put in the cigarettes.
   Often times the need to light that cigarette up is brief and can be overcome just with will-power alone.
   Other times, you may need to distract yourself, (deep breathing techniques), or use something that is going to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms.
   

Everyone is different, and everyone will have good days and bad days.
Some people are hit really hard with the withdrawals the first 24 hours, others it sneaks up on you after 7 days.
Just need to be strong and fight the urge to light another cigarette.
Taking it one day at a time, you can finally quit smoking.