Squash it!!

Squash it!! We are not talking about the sport or even the fruit, but instead a method of squashing bad habits. Will it work for you? I hope so. The key is whether or not you personalize it. This article is about the Squash method and the step by step process of using it effectively.

Step #1

Identify the habit you want to delete from your life. For example, it may be smoking, overeating or one of the other million bad habits we can get develop. To simplify the writing of this article, the habit of smoking has been selected

Step #2

Understand the reasoning behind the habit. Do you smoke because you are tired, bored, need a break, or just the opposite, you need to stay awake and keep going?

Step #3

Close your eyes and imagine yourself doing the bad habit. Can you see the cigarette in your hand, the smoke billowing up to the heavens? Literally, move your hand towards your mouth, your lips welcome it and you inhale deeply. Slowly exhale. Do this a few times until you get a clear picture. Be patient with yourself. If it does not work at first, that's OK, but do keep trying until you succeed.

Step #4

Now that you have that clear image, the next step is to add negative images. Add as many negative images as you can, for example, a black lung, a tombstone, people on oxygen, a relative who has died because of smoking, a coffin,….

The possibilities are limitless, but take your time and find the ones that are right for you, that will work for you in creating an emotional response. The more emotional it is, the better this will work.

Now imagine that each time you reach for a cigarette you see these negative images. Perhaps you see them on your hand as you reach for the cigarettes or perhaps they are on the pack or on the cigarettes themselves. This is something you have to decide.

To get a clear picture in your head, it may take 1 time, 20 times or more. Keeping practicing until the negative image automatically pops up when you are reaching for a cigarette. The key is to be able to create this image immediately. What you are doing is reconditioning your mind to think in a certain way.

Once you can create that negative image in your mind quickly and you have a negative emotional response that makes you feel horrible and repulsed, then it is time to move on to the next step.

Step #5:

Now you are going to do just the opposite. You need to create a positive image—this is “you” not smoking. In your image, notice how good you feel, take a deep breath, notice how there is no wheezing or a need to cough. Notice how fresh the air is around you, how clean you smell, and how clean your house, your car, and your clothes smell. Smell your hands, take a deep sniff. They have no cigarette smell to them. Your shoulders get higher, your head goes up, you feel so much better. You are invincible, you no longer smoke. You can face any problem that arises. You feel great, absolutely great about yourself. Look at how proud you are, feel how proud you are. Look at how great you look. You feel wonderful!! You look wonderful!!

This picture should be very clear in your mind. Keep practicing this image until you can bring it up immediately.

Step #6

You may want to add an additional incentive or two, a reward for not smoking. Some people like to save their money they would have spent on cigarettes for a trip or a new wardrobe. You could also fulfill a dream that smoking had stopped. For example, perhaps you always wanted to run in some type of marathon, or even simply to be able to run without hacking, coughing, or gasping for breath.

Now, create an image of you getting this reward or accomplishing the task you decided on. The picture that you create should evoke powerful feelings of success! The ultimate dream of wonder and achievement! You are all that you can be!! Imagine, feel, know!! It is you, the best possible you!!

Step #7

Now it is time to put it all together. Each time you reach for a cigarette, imagine the bad imagine you created. You can actually see that imagine …that negative, horrible image on your hand. It gets closer and closer as you draw the cigarette towards your mouth. Ask yourself, Is this what you really want to die from? Do you really want this nasty habit to continue? Then take the good imagine and remember how it made you feel, how wonderful and powerful. Now squash that nasty or yucky old imagine with the good one--the all mighty powerful new you! Squash the negative imagine with the positive one! You are the new you!!

Final Note

There are many ways of quitting a bad habit. Some will work and some will not. I do hope that this article and this Squash method works for you. Good luck!