I often see people looking for a quitting buddy before they make their big decision to pack-in-the-puff. But does having a buddy to share your pains with really work?

Let’s look at this in a little more detail.

When you are seeking a quitting partner, what you are really saying to yourself is that you don’t want to quit on your own. Or even worse … that you can’t quit on your own! Immediately a small cloud has been cast above your head as soon as you start thinking about quitting partners because you’re saying to yourself that you don’t have the strength.

Now that isn’t to say that by having someone to share your troubles with is a really terrible thing and will condemn you to failure. Not at all! But it will make things a little more pressured than it needs to be.

When you put yourself under pressure you create stress for yourself. Stress is a trigger to make you smoke.

What’s the answer then? Well if you and a friend made the decision at the same time and it seems like the logical way to proceed then it would be very beneficial for you both to spend time together away from smoky crowds and atmospheres.

However I wouldn’t encourage that you actively seek a quitting buddy, if one falls on your lap then great you can assume it was meant to be. But if you don’t know anyone else wanting to quit at the same time as you then forget about them and go down your own path.

Decision is the absolute key to quitting weed. Make the decision and stick to it. 30 days later, you’re clean, fresh and feel like a brand new person. Why not try it? You never know you might like it!

The way to develop decisiveness is to start right where you are, with the very next question you face.

Napoleon Hill

As an ex-pot-smoker, it took me several months to finally get my act together and unearth some powerful techniques to aid in the quitting process. Most believe that willpower alone is all you need to stop smoking cigarettes or to rid your addiction.

Although will power sounds like a nice thing to have, what exactly is it? Is it an unseen force that we can all call upon on demand? How come some people can summon more of it than others?

I believe will power isn’t an unseen force or mystical power, in fact I believe that willpower is the same as creating a decision. You make countless decisions on a daily basis, some decisions that you make are larger than others. For example, it doesn’t really matter that much if you put your hair in a bun today or whether you leave it loose.

However what about the decision to go to work today or not? Now this has a larger impact on your entire day. You never know – it might be that you get caught taking a day off work and the consequence is that you get fired! That one decision to have a day off then rippled through your life causing various different effects.

Similar with making a decision to give up weed, you have a ripple effect. By not smoking today, you will experience an effect or outcome because of it – which might be as bad as an argument or as good as some positive praise from family and friends.

The first step I took to quit my pot addiction was to make the decision! This is critically important. Most people make a half hearted decision to quit smoking weed and then relapse soon after. It is this half heartedness that really does the devastating damage because there is resistance to doing it.

It’s like saying …

• I want to quit smoking pot, but I like the feelings it gives me.
• I want a new job, but I don’t think I’ll get a new one.
• I want more money, but I don’t deserve it because I don’t do anything!

If you attack quitting smoking weed with resistance then you will fail and relapse. You’ll just a quickly be able to justify why you can smoke and why you should because that firm decision was not behind you.

My advise would be to make the decision and instead of looking for excuses and reasons as to why you cannot quit. Make a list of all the reasons why you can give up, why you should give up and why you want to give up.

I often have readers write in to ask my advice on special quitting techniques for those who have been smoking pot for 10, 20 or even 30 years or more. After smoking more than half their lifetimes, many of these people find that they are suffering health problems such as breathing difficulties, throat cancer or infertility. Others are simply tired of feeling like garbage all of the time. Others still feel that they have missed out on so much that at this point in their lives, they have a lot of making up to do.

Just as there are so many different motivations for quitting, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for beating the cravings and complications a long-term marijuana addict must face. Each person started smoking pot for their own personal reasons, but more importantly, they had their own reasons that kept them doing it for so many years. A stop smoking program must also be tailored to their unique needs.

Quitting marijuana after a long-term addiction is more than simply stopping an activity. Smoking weed is a lifestyle. It affects everything a marijuana addict does, from the moment they wake in the morning to the minute they finally pass out stoned at night. Long-term addicts make friends with other pot smokers – it’s just easier to surround yourself with people who are okay with what you’re doing twelve hours of the day, isn’t it?

They have special places to go on their break from work to smoke up. They routinely smoke a joint after work to release the stress of the day. They have one after supper to unwind and relax. These are the habits that are so hard to let go of. Over the years that a person is addicted, marijuana infiltrates every aspect of their life, becoming intertwined and associated with everything they do throughout the day.

This is the biggest hurdle the long-term marijuana addict must face. How can you possibly quit when every single thing you have done throughout the day over the last twenty years reminds you of how much you want to smoke a joint? How can you explain to your pot smoker buddies that you can’t be around them any more when they’re just doing what you’ve all done together for the last few decades? How can you possibly wake up every morning to face the cravings you are sure to endure all day long?

Long-term marijuana addicts have a long, hard road ahead of them when they plan to quit. However, the rewards of successfully quitting are also exponentially greater. I’ve spoken with recovered marijuana addicts who, one year after smoking their last joint, now feel and look fifteen years younger. They often feel as though they should have quit years ago.

Is it time you gave up smoking weed?

Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.

Napoleon Hill

There are effective treatments and supplements that you can take to control the urge to smoke marijuana, however not everyone can afford to go to a rehab clinic or fork out hundreds of dollars for craving supplements that may or may not work.

This is where Emotional Freedom Technique (or EFT) comes into place. It is free, quick, easy and very effective at stopping cravings of all kinds including craving to smoke marijuana joints.

So what is EFT?

EFT is in simple terms, a method to break habits. By applying pressure on certain areas of your body whilst thinking about your craving you can reverse this craving for whatever it is you do not want. The technique is also used to send positive affirmations to your subconscious mind. The technique looks very strange but it is very simple to do and very effective. I would recommend everyone try this technique as it is so simple to achieve results.

What you will be doing is tapping with our fingertips on certain key points of the body. Just before tapping and during tapping you should concentrate on your craving. For example, if you wanted to smoke a joint, you would think about smoking a joint and imagine yourself already smoking a joint.

It’s very simple stuff and can be performed by anyone. Results are instant and the whole process should not take you more than 3 minutes to complete.

For your complete guide on EFT please visit CannabisSmoker.com’s EFT Quitting Guide.

First we make our habits, then our habits make us.

Charles C. Noble