Question

INTERPRETING THE REAL LIFE STORY: Diego’s Experience

My fitness and wellness class motivated me to try to quit smoking, again! It wasn’t anything new, because I had tried several times before. I had my first cigarette when I was sixteen and I have now smoked for 10 years. I have tried to quit for the last five years. But during this time, the longest I ever went without a cigarette was about three months. When we did the chapter on behavior change, I started paying attention and taking all kinds of notes. Since it talked about lots of different things to help someone make a change, I figured I could try one at a time until I found whatever worked. I can tell you some things that didn’t work. When I announced to all my friends that I was quitting, they ended up making fun of me because I’d tried to quit so many times before. And then when they saw me light up again, they made fun of me even worse. I know they thought they were being funny, but it really made me feel discouraged. I think that telling people you are quitting could work, if you had different friends than the guys I hang out with. What finally worked for me almost two years after I finished the class was a combination of things. I set a SMART goal. I worked on my environment to avoid situations that made me want to smoke. Often when I wanted to smoke, I went for a jog, played sports, or went to the library to get rid of the craving. Even though it took me a really long time, I credit my success to that moment back in that class when I decided that I would try every method, and keep on trying, until something worked. Before, I was ashamed at how many times I had tried and failed to quit. But now, I’m proud of my accomplishment because I think most other people would have just given up. I have been smoke-free for two years.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What are some reasons why it was good for Diego to try to give up smoking?

2. Quitting smoking is a very difficult behavior change to make. If you needed to make such a change to your own addictive behavior, what methods would you use to increase your chances of success?

3. How do you think the process of writing a SMART goal and tracking your progress might contribute to your success in achieving that goal?

Answer 1