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 tried to apply its framework, retroactively, to the biggest habit change I have managed: quitting smoking after 26 years.

I stopped in March 2020, as the first lockdown began. Since then I have wondered why it took 26 years and about ten failed attempts, despite the obvious science that it could kill me.

Identity before outcome

Defining who we wish to become is the first idea behind Atomic Habits: build habits around identity rather than around results. I had become a dad and was doing a lot of work on how coaching would fit into my future. It quickly became obvious that the dad and the coach I wanted to be could not keep smoking.

Make it invisible

Without the lockdown and working from home I probably would have failed again. At my home office there were no smokers around and no colleagues to take a break with. I had never smoked in front of my son and felt ashamed at the thought. Having him at home for three months was a powerful disincentive.

Make it unattractive

To become active and healthy I started training with a personal fitness coach, and very quickly I enjoyed the endorphins. I decided to answer the craving for a cigarette with a run, less often though, I am not quite a ten runs a day kind of person. Smoking became a handicap to my running, and so it lost its appeal.

Make it difficult

Again the lockdown genuinely helped. Limited to a short walk, I rarely passed a tobacco shop. Getting cigarettes would have taken real energy and organisation, which feels ridiculous when you are staying at home to protect everyone's health.

Make it unsatisfying

This is probably the part that defined the process for me. The first benefit of smoking was social, and during lockdown that simply disappeared. The deeper one, which I had wrongly credited to the cigarette, was releasing stress. To counter it I needed a bigger benefit, and my wife gave me one in a sentence: we just want to live longer with you. It was a very long term benefit, the kind our brain is not keen on, but it was so big for me that I used it every time I chose not to smoke. I told myself: this is more time with my family.

This worked for me. It may or may not work for you. I share it to encourage anyone thinking of quitting smoking, or of starting anything new. There is no better feeling than taking a bit more control of our life, especially when so much else seems out of our control.