Protocol to Quit Smoking

After 3 years of failed attempts, I succeeded in just 3 days. 3 days of mind prep and only 2 meltdowns. I am now more than 7 months odor free and loving it!

My sense of smell is coming back, so is my joy of life! The simple pleasures in life are back: the frosty air smelling of wooden fire, the subtle aroma of coffee, the air after the rain, the smell of memories…

The hardest things in life are back in my reach to overcome. I can run, I can weightlift, I can climb stairs without feeling near death experiences.

My kids look at me differently, like I am finally a good example to follow. I look at myself differently, with the knowledge I can do hard sh*t, I am powerful and capable.

And most importantly for me now, I have more and more patience in pursuing the hard things, like building this new life and a new business.

What changed to make me successful this time? 2 things: knowledge & motivation.

They are not what you expect them to be. It’s not this knowledge: the 1001 ways the smoke is killing you. And it’s not the motivation to stay alive that moved me.

It’s this:

1. Understanding that addiction hits your dopamine cycle.
2. I am not my thoughts.
3. Love is the greatest force in the universe.

Like many things in life, what looks like sudden success is the result of failed attempts, experiments, knowledge, and perception shifts, especially about myself.

Do you want my protocol and avoid some of the pain? Get ready to change your mind and act. These are my sources and resources. ACT is becoming my 3 steps protocol to accomplish big things. This time to quit smoking.

ACT Protocol

1.?Awareness

I started by paying attention to my inner negotiator voice. Every time I attempted to delay a cigarette, I observed I was coming up with reasons to continue: it calms me down, it helps me to focus, it gives me a break, it’s social connection… millions of creative reasons.

Oh, how wonderfully creative our brain can be… if only we could direct all this creativity to better pursuits and not to keeping us trapped in old ways…

By paying attention to what I was telling myself, I suddenly understood that in the past, my brain was creating crisis to make me come back to smoking. I was sabotaging myself. In this journey, this was the hardest truth ‘pill’ to swallow. I did swallow it.

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2. Capability

I understood that being addicted to something hits your dopamine cycle. Dopamine is the molecule of ‘more’, and it dictates how you pursue your life. If you want to accomplish more in life, you can make it work for you or you become its slave. We make this choice every day.

I learned to be kind to myself, addiction is a trap we all can fall into. Our brains are built to keep us safe even when, deeply, intuitively, wisely we know something is not right for us, we receive thoughts and stories that justifies it, keeps us away from painful feelings and doubts.

I learned about science: dopamine, nicotine, habits. I learned that we have a magical chemistry balance that influences our life entirely, not only the obvious. Dopamine is the molecule of more, you can make it work for longer term goals or short-term gratification. And yes, this includes social media likes too… I am using the same protocol now to manage it…

Even though I learned we are so much influenced by loss aversion, love is a stronger force to motivate us. Loosing health did not move me enough to change. When I understood having an addiction that was giving me short term gratification, was standing on my way to having the patience to build my new life and business that I love, this became reason enough for me to change this time. Love worked.

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3. Trust

--> In others

Accept you are vulnerable and you will need help. Trust your loved ones and include them in your journey. Tell them your brain will ‘manufacture’ crisis, and you need their kindness and acceptance to get on the other side. Trust them to be there. Give them a new reason to trust you!

--> In yourself

A burnout or toxic environments chip away your self-confidence, like you are made of the softest stone. They make you forget you have steel in your bones, and marble in your skin. They make you forget who your best self can be. And that my friends, is like cancer for your life.

Do you know what is the fastest way to take your power back, to trust yourself again?

The fastest way to get your self-trust back is to accomplish hard things. Hard things that are fully in your control. For me, this time it was smoking, and this is how I got my power back.

Thinking to start soon? Get access to step by step support, join ‘22 Protocols for life’ community waiting list here: https://eepurl.com/h8u99X

Follow this mind map. It’s filled with new thoughts about yourself. It takes guts to think them.

1.?????? Get the knowledge, listen to science. 3 sources for you to accelerate:

• Huberman Lab podcast episode on dopamine
• Huberman Lab podcast episode on nicotine
• Atomic habits by James Clear

2.?????? Promisse you will treat yourself like you are your best friend.

3.?????? Accept your thoughts are there to protect not serve your new ways. Teach them the better way. Know you will sabotage yourself, listen to the thoughts that come, with kindness thank them but let them go. They are not your truth anymore.

4.?????? Embrace what you love. Write it down on a card in every room. What do you dream to accomplish that requires a better physical shape or more patience? Read it every day.

5.?????? Know that words matter. How you talk to yourself matters. Use kind words of progress.

6.?????? Accept your vulnerability and accept support.

7.?????? Move your body. Let daylight touch your eyes.

Join our community of people committed to improve their life, 1 little step at a time. You can do it too. You are not alone!

Stay amazing. Be Solutionary!

ACT