Getting back on track after a slip up

If you have had a lapse, don t beat yourself up and think of yourself as a failure. It is not a major crisis in your recovery and should be used as a learning experience. Review where you think it went wrong (such as going into a high risk situation without preparation) and see if there can be a more effective strategy for dealing with the trigger. Learn from the experience so you can do better next time.

If you find you lapsed intentionally, then go back and focus on the reasons you decided to change in the first place and how important it is to you. Also remind yourself each slip will lessen your chances of long-term success as the craving will increase rather than decrease and mean you have to work harder in the long-run to achieve your goal.

Consider what you have to look forward to:

• more money and what you will do with it
• more time to do things you used to love doing before smoking took up your time
• getting more done
• having more energy
• more time to do the things you have always wanted to do