Hello. My name
is Raginee Edwards.
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Welcome to Kicking the Habit.
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Today, we are going
to explore the triggers
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that surround smoking.
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We'll hear from
some former smokers
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and follow their journey.
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You may wonder
why it's important
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to know your triggers.
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But triggers are something that
kind of put you into autopilot
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and you kind of go along
the most commonly walked path.
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Let me explain it like this.
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Have you ever been driving
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and you're just
kind of day dreaming
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and before you know you look
up and you're at destination,
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you don't even
remember how you got there?
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That's because your mind
kind of went on autopilot.
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And without even
thinking about it,
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you have driven
that path to work,
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to church or whatever so much
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you just
automatically going that path.
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Triggers are kind of like that.
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Sometimes something
happens throughout the day
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whether it's just
waking up that morning
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or just getting in
the car whatever it maybe
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and before you know it,
you've smoked half a cigarette,
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you're not even
sure when you lit it
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or when the person has lit it.
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I think of all
the stories of people
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that I have worked with
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and one whole week we
work on discovering triggers,
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being aware of triggers
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before they
even attempt to quit.
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And so what they'll do is
they'll pick out one trigger
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like for one instance.
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A person said every
time I get in the car,
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I light up and I smoke.
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And so in his week
of just trial and error,
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before he actually plan to quit,
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he want to just see
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how can I get through that
trigger of getting in the car
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and not lighting
up the cigarette.
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So what he did was he
put all the cigarettes
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and everything he
needed for lighting up
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in the trunk of his car.
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So that he
couldn't automatically
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pickup the
cigarette and smoke it.
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He would have to stop his car,
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pull over to the side,
get out, go to the trunk
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and actually light up
and do the cigarettes,
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smoke the cigarette.
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So that was something
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that kind of got
him out of his routine.
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So it's very important
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that if you are
thinking about quitting,
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to just take sometime
before you even plan to quit.
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Take some time to really explore
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what your triggers are.
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And what we did
with our participants
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is that we have them
put a little slip of paper
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that actually fit in
their cigarettes' holder.
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And they would, every
time they took a cigarette out,
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they would put their mood,
they would put why they smoked
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and they will put
how they felt afterwards.
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Just so they can get an idea
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of why they were
triggered to smoke.
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Now we've asked our
former smokers some questions,
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so that we can kind of explore
what their routine was about.
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And as we ask
them these questions,
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I want you to ask
these questions to yourself
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so that you can start to explore
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what your triggers are.
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The first question that
we asked our participants,
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"What was your
daily smoking routine?"
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Let's listen to those responses.
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Well, initially when I
started smoking the pipe,
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it was just something to do
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so as long as I have some
piped tobacco I would smoke
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and really it
wasn't really a big habit.
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When I went to cigars,
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it was, you know,
catch-as-catch-can,
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didn't really smoke that much.
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But once I picked
up smoking cigarettes,
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I smoked, you know, like I said,
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I was over in a
service when I was in Vietnam,
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so I smoked a lot,
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you know, just
when I got up, I smoked
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and smoked throughout the day.
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Well, my daily smoking routine
was I get up in the morning,
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I'd light a cigarette.
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And all through
the day I am smoking,
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one behind the other,
I just smoked all day.
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When I smoked, I smoked
on a very regular basis.
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I smoked in the
morning when I woke up,
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I smoked after every meal.
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I smoke before I went to sleep.
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And I found excuses to
smoking between the times.
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Now you've
heard those responses.
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The ladies deferred somewhat
from our gentlemen there
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but their answers
were very much the same.
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They basically smoke when they
first woke up in the morning
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and they smoked
basically all throughout the day
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and the right
before they went to bed.
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Isaac, on the other hand,
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he said he kind of just
smoked when it was around.
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That's interesting
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and we're gonna go
into why that's interesting
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a little bit
later in this program.
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But again, you want
to take note of that
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because now they
realized that they smoke
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when they first
wake up in the morning.
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Kathleen realized that
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she smoked after
every single meal.
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So now that she
has that as a routine
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that's just her
remote path to follow,
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she's gonna have to
start considering that
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and making new paths.
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So the more, again, the more
that you discover this routine,
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the more successful you'll be
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at trying to break that routine.
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Let's move on to
the next question.
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Again, make sure that
you're asking this question
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to yourself and
you're answering this
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and you're just
getting as deep as possible
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because the more you
know about your routine,
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the more successful
that you're gonna be
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in breaking that routine.
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The next question that
we asked our participants,
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"When and why did
you have extra cigarettes
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outside of this routine?"
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Let's see what they have to say.
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Well, smoking was
a social experience,
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you know, we're
going back 40 years ago
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and smoking was more of
a social experience then.
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And so, if you had
cigarettes, I had cigarettes,
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if I had cigarettes
you have cigarettes,
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so it was thing
that they were shared.
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I had extra cigarettes
outside of my normal routine
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when I was
involved with other people.
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For instance, if
I was at a party,
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then it was community property,
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everybody was
smoking, so that was extra.
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If I just happened to be
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just in the
company of somebody else,
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and we just smoked,
that was the thing to do.
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We just smoked.
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And when I smoked,
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you know, in between
all throughout the day,
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it was always because
somebody else was smoking
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that I was talking to
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or because I was stressed
out or because I was happy.
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There's just always a good
reason to smoke a cigarette.
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Okay.
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So they gave some explanation
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as to why they smoke cigarettes
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outside of their normal routine.
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And you heard what the lady
said that there was basically,
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any reason was a good reason
to smoke an extra cigarette.
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I really want to
pay a close attention
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to what Brenda said,
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she said,
parties, social settings,
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if somebody else was smoking,
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that was what
she was going to do.
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And Isaac mentioned that too
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that if somebody
else was gonna light up,
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they're gonna light up too.
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It's just kind of a
social connectedness there.
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I remember once
working with a group
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because sometimes
I would do a class
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that was just for
one particular business
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or one particular organization.
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This was
actually a medical clinic,
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a medical
facility where quite a few
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of the healthcare
professionals were,
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believe it or not, smokers.
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And a lot of the women
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under the age of 30 in
this particular clinic,
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they were like one or
two a day cigarette smokers
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and they smoked a lot
on the weekend at parties
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and with their friends.
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And talking with some
of our more experienced
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tobacco association specialists,
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they were saying
that often times,
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these individuals
aren't necessarily addicted
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to the nicotine per se
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'cause usually you'll want that
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when the nicotine wears off
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but just
smoking one or two a day
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isn't necessarily
a nicotine addiction.
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But they were really
addicted to that camaraderie
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and their friends
and that social setting
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that they were in,
encouraged the smoking.
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So if this is
where they had their fun,
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then that was something
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that they had to
consider as their trigger.
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How are they gonna
overcome these triggers?
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'Cause these are
their friends, this is--
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what they do for
fun on the weekend.
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Do they want to
take away their fun?
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These are things
they had to consider
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and have new ways of having fun
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and trying to break
that routine on the weekend.
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It's definitely something
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that if that is
something you struggle with,
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you want to consider as well.
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Let's look at the next question.
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What I asked them was,
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"Did you mostly smoke
alone or with others?"
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Let's listen to them.
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Equally the same,
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uh, smoked just as much
by myself or with other folk.
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Just pretty much equal.
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I smoked not only alone,
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I smoked with others
and more so, with others.
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When I was with--
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in the company of
other people, I smoked more.
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I smoked regardless
of who I was around,
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I always would,
you know, sneak off
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if there's people
around me who didn't smoke,
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but when they
were people around me
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who did partake in cigarettes,
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it just made it all the
more easier to chain smoke
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and smoke a lot of cigarettes.
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Now we've heard their responses.
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The question was,
00:10:05.93\00:10:07.27
do they mostly smoke
alone or with others.
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It seemed like they
smoked alone or with others
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but some smoked
more with others.
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Interesting.
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So again, if that's
something that you do,
00:10:17.88\00:10:20.38
you want to really consider,
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if maybe having a
different group of friends,
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hang around people
that are nonsmokers,
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which is very
difficult because you are,
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you know, where you
work, I've known it,
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like I said whole work places
where they all smoke together,
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it's just something
they do on their break.
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I know people,
health professionals
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that started smoking
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because their fellow
nurses smoked as well.
00:10:39.77\00:10:43.34
So that can be very difficult
but having a group of friends
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that are nonsmokers
and can be very beneficial.
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And then, I just wanted to
touch on this a little bit.
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I remember a time where
I was with the young lady
00:10:53.35\00:10:56.89
and we were at a function
where you couldn't smoke.
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And I've remembered sitting
there with her and her just,
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you know,
looking kind of agitated
00:11:02.62\00:11:04.46
and I really didn't know why.
00:11:04.49\00:11:06.66
Eventually, she got up
and she just walked out.
00:11:06.70\00:11:08.83
And I was concerned about her.
00:11:08.86\00:11:10.20
So I went to look for
her. I couldn't find her.
00:11:10.23\00:11:12.03
And I walked all
the way to the car
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'cause we came together
00:11:13.47\00:11:14.80
and I remember as I was
walking back to the building
00:11:14.84\00:11:16.91
where we were staying,
00:11:16.94\00:11:18.27
she was kind of on the side
of the building putting out,
00:11:18.31\00:11:21.14
you know, the cigarette
00:11:21.18\00:11:22.51
and just trying
to get the smoke away
00:11:22.54\00:11:25.25
and I was like, I didn't
want her to be embarrassed.
00:11:25.28\00:11:28.12
So I just quickly rushed in
00:11:28.15\00:11:29.98
and didn't make,
you know, big deal.
00:11:30.02\00:11:31.39
But she comes in,
she smells like smoke,
00:11:31.42\00:11:33.29
she probably doesn't
think anyone notices.
00:11:33.32\00:11:35.52
But I thought about
that like how hard must it be
00:11:35.56\00:11:39.49
to be a kind of
"undercover smoker"
00:11:39.53\00:11:42.70
so to speak 'cause I
didn't even know she smoked.
00:11:42.73\00:11:44.73
And I knew her very well.
00:11:44.77\00:11:47.64
It must be difficult
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because she has to
now be thinking about it
00:11:49.24\00:11:52.14
when she's with
people who don't smoke.
00:11:52.17\00:11:54.21
And then she has
to go and sneak away
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and I can think of other stories
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that are very similar of people
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who just kind of
having to hide in.
00:11:59.71\00:12:01.08
And that's got
to be very stressful
00:12:01.12\00:12:03.42
to have to deal with that.
00:12:03.45\00:12:05.29
So, you know, that's also
something that's a benefit
00:12:05.32\00:12:09.49
when somebody becomes a
nonsmoker who is a smoker
00:12:09.52\00:12:11.39
that's kind of a
stressful situation
00:12:11.43\00:12:12.76
that you get to come out of.
00:12:12.79\00:12:14.83
Another thing that
I wanted to mention
00:12:14.86\00:12:16.53
as we're looking at
smoking alone or with others,
00:12:16.56\00:12:20.70
you know, a lot of
times people who are smokers,
00:12:20.74\00:12:23.94
and this is something I want to
make sure everyone understands,
00:12:23.97\00:12:26.17
most people who
smoke, don't want to smoke.
00:12:26.21\00:12:29.31
If they could quit,
if they were something
00:12:29.34\00:12:31.38
that was super
easy that they could do
00:12:31.41\00:12:33.11
that could help
them to stop quitting,
00:12:33.15\00:12:34.48
boom, just like
that they would quit.
00:12:34.52\00:12:37.35
So again, we
want to have sympathy
00:12:37.39\00:12:39.25
for those who are smoking
00:12:39.29\00:12:41.22
because we have to realize
00:12:41.26\00:12:42.59
that they mostly
likely want to quit.
00:12:42.62\00:12:43.96
Now if you have
friends that smoke
00:12:43.99\00:12:46.23
and you don't
want to be the downer,
00:12:46.26\00:12:47.63
you don't want to be
one that's to sort them
00:12:47.66\00:12:49.50
as Isaac said that
he's the one smoking,
00:12:49.53\00:12:52.83
talk to your
friends, let them know,
00:12:52.87\00:12:54.20
"Hey, I'd like to quit smoking.
00:12:54.24\00:12:56.54
If you want to quit
with me, that's fine.
00:12:56.57\00:12:58.21
If not, would you
mind not smoking around me
00:12:58.24\00:13:00.94
and not lighting up around
me, not even offering it to me?"
00:13:00.98\00:13:04.21
You know, when I found
00:13:04.25\00:13:05.58
that people who
have friends that smoke,
00:13:05.61\00:13:06.95
a lot of them
are very encouraging.
00:13:06.98\00:13:09.78
And they are very cautious
00:13:09.82\00:13:11.35
about not smoking
around their friends
00:13:11.39\00:13:13.39
who want to become nonsmoker,
not offering them anything.
00:13:13.42\00:13:16.02
So you'll be surprised.
00:13:16.06\00:13:17.46
And if you quit
smoking and your--
00:13:17.49\00:13:19.19
non your smoking friends
00:13:19.23\00:13:21.00
may even be encouraged
to quit smoking with you.
00:13:21.03\00:13:24.57
So just ask.
00:13:24.60\00:13:26.00
Don't assume that
they'll be upset with you.
00:13:26.03\00:13:29.24
Now we asked them this
next question which is,
00:13:29.27\00:13:33.58
"Did you use smoking
to deal with stress?"
00:13:33.61\00:13:38.08
Now let's hear their
responses and listen carefully.
00:13:38.11\00:13:43.32
Smoking was a thing that
I did when I was stressed.
00:13:43.35\00:13:49.79
Smoking was a thing
that I did when I felt good.
00:13:49.82\00:13:53.43
Smoking was a thing that I did
no matter what I was feeling.
00:13:53.46\00:13:57.60
It was just what I did.
00:13:57.63\00:14:00.67
Smoking was like a
really big comfort to me
00:14:00.70\00:14:03.20
when I was stressed
00:14:03.24\00:14:04.64
or when I was angry
or when I was depressed.
00:14:04.67\00:14:07.91
It always seemed to
take away that emotion
00:14:07.94\00:14:11.95
I did not want to feel
or at least to leave it.
00:14:11.98\00:14:18.75
I don't know if I smoke
to deal with stress per se.
00:14:18.79\00:14:22.32
I smoked because it
was the thing to do.
00:14:22.36\00:14:30.00
Yeah.
00:14:30.03\00:14:32.70
Now you heard those responses.
00:14:32.73\00:14:35.30
The question was, "Did you use
smoking to deal with stress?"
00:14:35.34\00:14:39.27
Now Isaac,
00:14:39.31\00:14:41.38
basically went back to it
just being a social thing,
00:14:41.41\00:14:44.95
it's just something to do.
00:14:44.98\00:14:46.98
And you heard the ladies.
00:14:47.02\00:14:48.88
They basically said that
they smoked no matter what.
00:14:48.92\00:14:52.92
Yes, they smoked
to deal with stress.
00:14:52.95\00:14:54.52
They smoked to
deal with everything.
00:14:54.56\00:14:56.22
Whatever it was,
smoking relieve that situation.
00:14:56.26\00:14:59.73
And I want to take a moment here
00:14:59.76\00:15:01.30
because this is something that
I've seen over and over and over
00:15:01.33\00:15:05.93
with male versus females.
00:15:05.97\00:15:08.40
When we get,
00:15:08.44\00:15:09.77
you know, males and
females coming into our classes,
00:15:09.80\00:15:12.74
what you hear
Brenda and Kathleen saying
00:15:12.77\00:15:15.58
is very typical.
00:15:15.61\00:15:18.05
And this was just
something I thought in my mind
00:15:18.08\00:15:20.42
and what we would have
our meetings as facilitator,
00:15:20.45\00:15:23.08
we would discuss, you
know, it's interesting
00:15:23.12\00:15:25.45
that women tend to be
a bit more relational.
00:15:25.49\00:15:29.76
And that smoking was something
you did if you were upset,
00:15:29.79\00:15:34.83
if you were
depressed, if you were stressed.
00:15:34.86\00:15:37.50
But if you were
happy, if you were excited,
00:15:37.53\00:15:40.17
it was just
something that you did
00:15:40.20\00:15:42.27
and it was like
your best friend,
00:15:42.30\00:15:45.31
like it was a part of you.
00:15:45.34\00:15:47.44
Where for males, it was
like they have this smoking box,
00:15:47.48\00:15:51.98
you know, smoking was
just something that they did
00:15:52.01\00:15:53.55
and it was independent
00:15:53.58\00:15:54.92
of everything
else in their life.
00:15:54.95\00:15:56.28
So they were
compartmental with their smoking
00:15:56.32\00:15:59.55
and the cigarette,
00:15:59.59\00:16:00.92
whereas, women seemed
to be more relational.
00:16:00.96\00:16:03.22
It really related to
everything in their lives.
00:16:03.26\00:16:06.53
And this was an
encouragement for males.
00:16:06.56\00:16:09.00
I find that once a
male was ready to quit,
00:16:09.03\00:16:13.23
they could quit.
00:16:13.27\00:16:15.00
But, you know, their
wives couldn't nag them
00:16:15.04\00:16:17.31
and force them, "Hey,
honey, you really need to quit.
00:16:17.34\00:16:19.54
You got to quit."
00:16:19.57\00:16:20.91
I mean, if they weren't ready,
00:16:20.94\00:16:22.28
they weren't ready and
they weren't gonna quit.
00:16:22.31\00:16:24.05
Whereas, for females
they could be very ready,
00:16:24.08\00:16:27.15
they could be very serious
but because of the relations
00:16:27.18\00:16:31.85
that they had from
cigarettes and everything else,
00:16:31.89\00:16:34.22
it seemed to be
a little bit more,
00:16:34.26\00:16:36.69
not as simple as how the guys
could just put it in the box,
00:16:36.73\00:16:39.03
close it and throw
it away and it was done.
00:16:39.06\00:16:41.33
And not to be
discouraging for the females,
00:16:41.36\00:16:43.73
but what this does
bring out is that again,
00:16:43.77\00:16:46.80
we have to look
at these triggers.
00:16:46.84\00:16:48.87
For females, we just
might have more triggers
00:16:48.90\00:16:51.51
that we need to consider.
00:16:51.54\00:16:52.97
Again, looking at your need,
00:16:53.01\00:16:57.11
the need of your family member
or whoever it is that smoking,
00:16:57.15\00:16:59.78
to really look at those triggers
00:16:59.81\00:17:02.18
and make a game plan for
how you're going to tackle that.
00:17:02.22\00:17:05.95
Now the next
question that we asked is,
00:17:05.99\00:17:08.79
"How well did it work?
00:17:08.82\00:17:10.23
What were the benefits?"
00:17:10.26\00:17:11.59
I know that sounds
like a silly question
00:17:11.63\00:17:12.96
but the reality is there
are some benefits to smoking
00:17:12.99\00:17:15.66
or else a person wouldn't start
00:17:15.70\00:17:17.40
and they wouldn't
continue to do it.
00:17:17.43\00:17:18.77
There must be some
relief that they're getting.
00:17:18.80\00:17:20.74
So let's listen to that answer,
well, the benefits of smoking.
00:17:20.77\00:17:25.27
Well, it-- as far as,
yeah, smoking, you smoke it,
00:17:25.31\00:17:28.68
it worked because
everybody else was smoking.
00:17:28.71\00:17:31.08
So if you didn't
smoke, you pretty much were,
00:17:31.11\00:17:34.72
you know, like a
sore thumb hanging out
00:17:34.75\00:17:37.85
and, you know, you did not mix,
00:17:37.89\00:17:41.06
not that there
was a stress that,
00:17:41.09\00:17:43.43
you know, I wasn't
really worried about fitting in.
00:17:43.46\00:17:46.46
But it was something that I did,
00:17:46.49\00:17:48.86
not because of the
crowd that I was with.
00:17:48.90\00:17:51.23
It just what I was doing
00:17:51.27\00:17:52.60
and everybody else
did the same thing,
00:17:52.63\00:17:54.04
birds of a
feather flock together.
00:17:54.07\00:17:57.17
It's kind of crazy how
you let yourself believe
00:17:57.21\00:18:00.51
something is changing
something when it really isn't.
00:18:00.54\00:18:03.28
It was a disguise to,
00:18:03.31\00:18:08.52
it was a disguise.
00:18:08.55\00:18:11.85
I felt like, I felt
like I was feeling better
00:18:11.89\00:18:16.19
but then after the
cigarette went away,
00:18:16.22\00:18:18.29
I was still left
with the same problem.
00:18:18.33\00:18:21.50
Nothing ever really
changed except for the fact
00:18:21.53\00:18:24.17
that I had an addiction
on top of everything else.
00:18:24.20\00:18:27.50
The benefits of
smoking, as a smoker,
00:18:27.54\00:18:31.67
it's just something
to do with your hands.
00:18:31.71\00:18:34.84
It's relieving that craving
00:18:34.88\00:18:39.11
that the nicotine brings.
00:18:39.15\00:18:43.35
It was making you feel better
00:18:43.39\00:18:46.05
because you are satisfying
the hunger for the smoke.
00:18:46.09\00:18:52.89
Okay, so you've heard
the benefits of smoking.
00:18:52.93\00:18:57.80
Now Isaac, again, he
talked about the social setting
00:18:57.83\00:19:01.94
and social connectedness that
he found and being a smoker.
00:19:01.97\00:19:06.07
And you heard
again from the ladies.
00:19:06.11\00:19:08.71
I really want to
bring out Kathleen's point.
00:19:08.74\00:19:10.45
I thought that
was very interesting.
00:19:10.48\00:19:12.15
She said, she thought
she was feeling better
00:19:12.18\00:19:15.65
but nothing really
changed except that,
00:19:15.68\00:19:19.69
on top of all these problems,
00:19:19.72\00:19:21.72
she was also now drug--
00:19:21.76\00:19:23.49
dealing with the
struggles of being a smoker
00:19:23.53\00:19:26.80
and wanting to quit.
00:19:26.83\00:19:29.30
Brenda, she said that
something to do with the hands.
00:19:29.33\00:19:32.40
I thought that was interesting.
00:19:32.43\00:19:34.37
It also relieved the craving.
00:19:34.40\00:19:37.01
I like that she brought that up
00:19:37.04\00:19:39.21
because when we
facilitate quit smoking classes,
00:19:39.24\00:19:43.04
we give them a
little survival pack
00:19:43.08\00:19:45.81
when it's time for them to quit.
00:19:45.85\00:19:47.22
And one thing that we
put in the survival pack
00:19:47.25\00:19:49.18
is a pencil or a
straw or something
00:19:49.22\00:19:51.59
because it's actually,
00:19:51.62\00:19:53.09
you know, they're used to doing
something with their hands,
00:19:53.12\00:19:55.12
bring it to their mouth.
00:19:55.16\00:19:56.49
And when they have something
00:19:56.52\00:19:58.36
that they can just
do with their hands,
00:19:58.39\00:20:00.80
it can actually
distract them from wanting to,
00:20:00.83\00:20:03.57
to basically
breaking that routine,
00:20:03.60\00:20:05.20
again, we're
talking about triggers.
00:20:05.23\00:20:07.00
So again, we want to look at
all of these perceived benefits
00:20:07.04\00:20:12.64
that you might be
getting when you're smoking
00:20:12.67\00:20:16.34
so that you can now
find healthier alternatives,
00:20:16.38\00:20:20.02
healthier ways,
healthier routines of living.
00:20:20.05\00:20:23.89
Now what I want you to do is,
00:20:23.92\00:20:26.96
if you're a
smoker, if you smoke,
00:20:26.99\00:20:29.66
and you have not thought about
what triggers you to smoke,
00:20:29.69\00:20:34.70
I want you to, as a
homework assignment,
00:20:34.73\00:20:38.17
get a piece of paper.
00:20:38.20\00:20:39.73
I want you to write
down a list of everything
00:20:39.77\00:20:43.71
that triggers you to smoke.
00:20:43.74\00:20:45.51
Again, if you want
to do the little card
00:20:45.54\00:20:47.48
that I was talking
about earlier in the program,
00:20:47.51\00:20:49.88
where you have it a
piece of paper folded up,
00:20:49.91\00:20:52.71
put into the pack of cigarettes
00:20:52.75\00:20:54.78
and every time you
take out your cigarettes
00:20:54.82\00:20:56.69
and you're gonna lighten up,
00:20:56.72\00:20:58.05
I want you to write down
why you're doing that cigarette.
00:20:58.09\00:21:00.72
What was the trigger,
00:21:00.76\00:21:02.09
whether it was just
waking up in the morning,
00:21:02.12\00:21:04.19
whether it was
right after you ate,
00:21:04.23\00:21:06.06
whether somebody made you mad?
00:21:06.09\00:21:08.26
You want to
write those things down
00:21:08.30\00:21:10.10
because what we're going to do
00:21:10.13\00:21:12.07
when we talk about planning
to quit in the next segment,
00:21:12.10\00:21:15.10
you're going to
start making game plans
00:21:15.14\00:21:17.14
for how to
change those routines,
00:21:17.17\00:21:19.04
how to either
avoid those triggers
00:21:19.07\00:21:21.01
or turn those triggers around
to now trigger something else
00:21:21.04\00:21:24.65
that's a more positive behavior.
00:21:24.68\00:21:27.58
It makes me think of a
couple of different stories.
00:21:27.62\00:21:30.09
One of my stories is I
remember one time we were,
00:21:30.12\00:21:33.36
I was out of the
country actually,
00:21:33.39\00:21:35.39
and there was a young man who
said that he had quit smoking
00:21:35.42\00:21:39.06
and in place of
smoking he started exercising.
00:21:39.09\00:21:43.26
So every time he got
the urge, he would exercise
00:21:43.30\00:21:46.30
and he became like I mean,
he was just Mr. Buff you know.
00:21:46.33\00:21:49.77
And we were again,
in a different country
00:21:49.80\00:21:53.27
and he wanted to get to the gym.
00:21:53.31\00:21:55.34
And there was one day where
he couldn't get to the gym.
00:21:55.38\00:21:58.08
I remembered he was so agitated.
00:21:58.11\00:22:00.32
He was just like, "I
need to get to the gym,
00:22:00.35\00:22:01.98
I need to get to the gym."
00:22:02.02\00:22:03.35
And it was just so interesting
00:22:03.39\00:22:04.72
how he had basically substituted
00:22:04.75\00:22:07.82
that urge to smoke
with a urge to go to the gym
00:22:07.86\00:22:12.16
and it was almost having
similar withdrawal effects
00:22:12.19\00:22:15.13
or anxiety like attack
00:22:15.16\00:22:16.97
because he
couldn't get out to the gym.
00:22:17.00\00:22:19.87
I think also of another
lady who was in our class
00:22:19.90\00:22:26.61
and she was saying that
she was doing very, very well,
00:22:26.64\00:22:32.68
she had quit smoking.
00:22:32.71\00:22:34.28
And her daughter
moved back into her house.
00:22:34.32\00:22:38.32
It was an adult daughter
that moved back into the house.
00:22:38.35\00:22:41.29
And her daughter drove
her nuts and she said to me,
00:22:41.32\00:22:44.33
"Raginee, if I
didn't smoke a cigarette,
00:22:44.36\00:22:47.76
I was going to kill her."
00:22:47.80\00:22:49.36
And I just
laughed I said, "Come on."
00:22:49.40\00:22:51.00
She said, "No, really."
00:22:51.03\00:22:52.67
She said, "So
it's either I kill her
00:22:52.70\00:22:54.20
or I smoked that cigarette."
00:22:54.24\00:22:55.57
Now I don't think
00:22:55.60\00:22:56.94
she was really going to
kill her daughter, I hope not.
00:22:56.97\00:22:58.84
But sometimes it
can seem that drastic
00:22:58.87\00:23:02.21
and that was a trigger for her
00:23:02.24\00:23:03.58
and she began to
smoke again because of that.
00:23:03.61\00:23:06.72
And so, you know,
we want to make sure
00:23:06.75\00:23:09.22
that when situations like that
happen, we have a game plan.
00:23:09.25\00:23:13.09
But we don't know to
even make a game plan
00:23:13.12\00:23:15.76
if we don't recognize
what our triggers are.
00:23:15.79\00:23:18.16
So that again is
why it's very important
00:23:18.19\00:23:20.46
to have an understanding
of what our triggers are
00:23:20.50\00:23:23.40
so we can make a game plan,
00:23:23.43\00:23:24.77
so it doesn't surprise
us and we go into remote
00:23:24.80\00:23:28.50
and autopilot
00:23:28.54\00:23:30.01
and then we just automatically
start smoking the cigarette.
00:23:30.04\00:23:32.77
And before we know
it, half of it is done,
00:23:32.81\00:23:34.18
and we don't even know
how it got into our mouth.
00:23:34.21\00:23:36.48
That is another
reason why it's okay,
00:23:36.51\00:23:40.82
if you're not successful
at your first attempt,
00:23:40.85\00:23:44.15
second attempt, third, fourth,
fifth, even sixth or seventh.
00:23:44.19\00:23:47.46
The average amount of
times of quitting is it can--
00:23:47.49\00:23:50.73
is seven.
00:23:50.76\00:23:52.09
So if you have
tried that many times,
00:23:52.13\00:23:55.33
don't feel like you have failed.
00:23:55.36\00:23:57.40
That is where you
have learned a new trigger
00:23:57.43\00:24:00.14
that you might not
have recognized before.
00:24:00.17\00:24:02.54
So what I want you to do is,
00:24:02.57\00:24:04.27
if you are just
doing so, so well,
00:24:04.31\00:24:07.28
and then something
happens and you relapse,
00:24:07.31\00:24:10.98
make a mistake and
you take a cigarette,
00:24:11.01\00:24:13.62
take that moment to write down,
00:24:13.65\00:24:16.28
this is a trigger that
I didn't recognize before.
00:24:16.32\00:24:20.06
Once you do that,
00:24:20.09\00:24:21.42
you are more likely to
be successful the next time,
00:24:21.46\00:24:24.39
because now you
have identified a trigger
00:24:24.43\00:24:27.00
that you didn't know before.
00:24:27.03\00:24:28.90
So again, triggers
are very important.
00:24:28.93\00:24:32.03
You don't want to
wake up one morning
00:24:32.07\00:24:33.90
and just say, today is
the day I'm gonna quit,
00:24:33.94\00:24:35.94
though it has worked for people.
00:24:35.97\00:24:37.31
So don't get me wrong.
00:24:37.34\00:24:38.67
If it works for
you, that's fine.
00:24:38.71\00:24:40.28
But if you have tried
that before and it didn't work,
00:24:40.31\00:24:42.84
I want you to
try that this time.
00:24:42.88\00:24:46.51
And another thing
that I want to mention
00:24:46.55\00:24:49.25
since we're going this program
00:24:49.28\00:24:51.39
is that sometimes just thinking
about not smoking or smoking,
00:24:51.42\00:24:58.16
basically our thoughts in
general, can be a trigger.
00:24:58.19\00:25:01.13
Now these are deeper triggers.
00:25:01.16\00:25:02.90
We're talking
about our self taught,
00:25:02.93\00:25:05.13
the triggers that are
going on within our mind.
00:25:05.17\00:25:08.24
Thoughts like, "I can't
imagine being a nonsmoker."
00:25:08.27\00:25:12.41
You know, thoughts like,
"Oh, it's the end of the day.
00:25:12.44\00:25:16.54
I deserve a cigarette."
00:25:16.58\00:25:18.88
Thoughts like those
can be triggers as well.
00:25:18.91\00:25:22.22
So that those are little bit
harder to pin point sometimes
00:25:22.25\00:25:26.59
because it's not
something that you're doing,
00:25:26.62\00:25:29.22
you are not doing
is not necessarily
00:25:29.26\00:25:31.06
part of your day-to-day
routine on the outside.
00:25:31.09\00:25:34.60
But on the inside we have a
lot of these different thoughts
00:25:34.63\00:25:37.97
going into our mind.
00:25:38.00\00:25:39.43
So how do we deal with that?
00:25:39.47\00:25:41.77
One thing that I
want you to do as well
00:25:41.80\00:25:43.41
as you're doing
your list of triggers,
00:25:43.44\00:25:45.07
start paying more
attention to your self talk.
00:25:45.11\00:25:49.04
Start paying attention to
what you're thinking to yourself
00:25:49.08\00:25:52.01
before you have that cigarette.
00:25:52.05\00:25:54.75
Is it that, oh, this
will be the last one?
00:25:54.78\00:25:58.02
If there's any excuses
that you're making for yourself,
00:25:58.05\00:26:02.42
oh, I know so many
people who, you know, grandpa,
00:26:02.46\00:26:05.56
he smoked his whole life
and he lived a long life.
00:26:05.59\00:26:08.33
And I know
people who never smoked
00:26:08.36\00:26:09.80
and they died of,
you know, x, y, and z.
00:26:09.83\00:26:12.47
You know, think
about those things
00:26:12.50\00:26:14.27
and when you, now
that you, as a human being
00:26:14.30\00:26:17.11
you actually have the
ability to think about
00:26:17.14\00:26:19.41
what you're thinking.
00:26:19.44\00:26:20.78
And that's something
that nothing else on earth
00:26:20.81\00:26:23.18
really has the ability to do.
00:26:23.21\00:26:25.11
So I want you to
start thinking about
00:26:25.15\00:26:27.18
what you're thinking
so that you can combat
00:26:27.22\00:26:30.89
those negative self
talk thoughts in your mind,
00:26:30.92\00:26:35.49
because those can
be triggers as well.
00:26:35.52\00:26:37.96
Write those down, start
making more correct statements
00:26:37.99\00:26:42.06
in response to
those, that self talk.
00:26:42.10\00:26:45.57
But you know it's
kind of hard to know,
00:26:45.60\00:26:48.40
Lord, what should I be thinking?
00:26:48.44\00:26:50.34
How do I know exactly
what is true and what is not.
00:26:50.37\00:26:55.18
And different people
tell you different things.
00:26:55.21\00:26:58.78
And what I want to
leave you with you today is,
00:26:58.81\00:27:01.92
we want to really
commit that to the Lord
00:27:01.95\00:27:04.39
and have the thoughts
that He wants us to think.
00:27:04.42\00:27:06.72
It reminds me of a scripture.
00:27:06.76\00:27:08.62
This is found in Proverbs 16:3.
00:27:11.93\00:27:16.26
And it reads, "Commit
thy works unto the Lord,
00:27:16.30\00:27:20.97
and thy thoughts
shall be established."
00:27:21.00\00:27:23.94
It's such
therapy and I say therapy
00:27:29.68\00:27:34.68
maybe loosely
because I'm no therapist.
00:27:34.72\00:27:36.52
I'm not a psychologist.
00:27:36.55\00:27:38.02
But with our negative
thoughts, with our thoughts
00:27:38.05\00:27:42.22
that we're not sure
if they are accurate,
00:27:42.26\00:27:44.19
we want to compare that
00:27:44.23\00:27:45.89
to what we have
here in the word of God.
00:27:45.93\00:27:47.56
And one thing that I know has
worked for a lot of people is,
00:27:47.60\00:27:51.47
just actually
committing scripture to memory,
00:27:51.50\00:27:54.14
committing new thoughts,
positive thoughts to memory.
00:27:54.17\00:27:57.11
And that can no longer
00:27:57.14\00:27:59.27
or no longer has to
be a trigger for you.
00:27:59.31\00:28:01.11
So let's consider our
triggers and ways to overcome.
00:28:01.14\00:28:03.81