How to Quit Smoking

First of all, a piece of good news to share with everyone! I have decided to go to Hanoi instead of touring Taiwan. Basic logic suggests that I should stay in Taipei after my meeting and spend my one week's vacation exploring Taiwan. I have chose to follow my heart instead, visiting a place which still leaves good memories. Partly it is because of meeting my dear roommate Dave, partly it is because he will be providing the accomodation, and mainly because Hanoi is such a beautiful place!

I have been to both cities, and while I enjoyed my Taiwan trip very much, the Hanoi trip is the one that I have fonder memories of (due mainly because of Oscar and Dave :) ). Anyway, this has nothing to do with the topic of this blog. "How to Quit Smoking" is not just about how to quit smoking, but rather, it is a philosophy about how we can move away from our bad habits and adapt the ones which we like.

I was visiting one of the provinces in China, Jiu Zhai Gou, and I got this advice from an uncle who was a fellow tourist. He was sharing with me about why he had decided to kick his smoking habit for his grandson, and how he did it. His method: to NOT shy away from his smoking friends, but instead, continue to hand around them, even though they would always pick up a cigarette after meals or while chatting. I was very surprised to hear it, and thought that he must be bragging about his will power. But when he explained to me his rationale, I realized the profoundness and applicability of his approach.

His rationale: A lot of people quit their smoking habits (or gambling or any other vices) by removing themselves from friends who shared the same habits. For example, a person trying to quit gambling would keep himself away from friends who frequently gamble. While these people do succeed with kicking these habits, it means a change in living habits. Also, he gave this example of people who managed to kick smoking for a few months, but when the person is stressed or when he is with the company of people who smoke, there is a great likelihood that he will have to fight off the temptation of picking up a cigarette.

Hence, instead of changing your living habits, continue with the way you live your life. Each time you feel the urge to pick up a cigarette, fight with yourself internally. Do not give in to the little devil in you.

Do not remove the temptation, for you can't remove all temptations. Instead, continue to expose yourself to these temptation, and fight them away regularly. This way, once you have kicked away the habit, no amount of temptation would cause you to go back to your old ways, since you would have trained yourself in fighting away these temptations.


A friend whom I just knew yesterday told me it's time to move on. (Not sure what's her name is, and maybe I won't know also, but her number is stored as AR in my phone. Very funny story, but that would be for another blog,.) Nothing is going to change, it's going to be life as usual. For there will always be little devils sitting on our shoulders telling us what to do, and if we want to change our life, we have to learn to distinguish between the little angel's voice and the little devil's call.