Support can be found in your family, but not only there. Coworkers, friends, members of your social club, or church are all people you can recruit to be on your support team. When it comes to motivation and how others can help, it is clearly up to you.

Some may want a celebration, others a simple pat on the back, and still others singing telegrams. Examine what will work for you and then let the significant people in your life know about it. Tell them how important quitting is to you and how you are counting on their help.

Nobody can quit for you, but they surely can cooperate with you. Ask your friends who smoke not to offer you a cigarette and, at least in those most challenging times, not to smoke around you. You can even put this in writing in the form of a “contract” or provide them with information and resource materials, such as the American Lung Association’s brochure on “How to Help a Friend Quit Smoking.”

You may also want to ask a close friend or two to act as your accountability partner or quitting “coach.” Having a coach to work with you can get you through difficult times. You could ask your coach to call and check in with you. A few words of encouragement could be what you need if you start to feel discouraged. A phone call can also help you fight a craving. After a few minutes on the phone, the urge to smoke is likely to pass.

Key Point: Nobody can read another’s mind, unless you say what you want, your friends and family may do the wrong thing when trying to be helpful. They may ask you how quitting smoking is going when you don’t want to talk about it or tell you to “look on the bright side” when all you want is to talk about how much you miss cigarettes. Tell them how you need them to help. Remember quitting smoking is much easier if you have got help.

Or maybe you’ve tried to start being more physically active, but simply couldn’t find the time. We can show you how to get past these kinds of barriers by planning ahead and finding ways to fit a brisk walk into your day, maybe even after dinner when you feel the temptation to smoke.

Planning ahead includes a close look at your reasons for wanting to make certain changes in your life. You may be concerned about your health and the dangers of smoking but are worried that you will gain weight if you quit. You may want to eat more balanced meals, but think they will take too much time to prepare. The process of identifying your reasons for wanting to change can help you see the difference between the things you can control and those you cannot.

Sometimes, the biggest obstacle to any kind of change is self-doubt, worrying about how hard it may be or making excuses for why it can’t happen now. Realizing your reasons for wanting to make changes in your life may be what convinces you to stop smoking and make other healthy decisions. And if you’re not sure how to begin to change your routine, we will take you through some exercises that can help get you on the right track.

Planning ahead also means looking at parts of your everyday life that might make it difficult to stop smoking. Habits become part of our daily routines and many times we don’t even realize we’ve developed them, which makes them difficult to break. The solution is to first recognize them. Understanding your eating habits, for example, knowing when you tend to overeat and how you feel when you do, can highlight opportunities for change. Being aware of the obstacles in your daily life will help you find ways around them or replace them with healthier choices.

For example, you can cope with cigarette cravings by eating healthy snack foods, such as fruit popsicles, graham crackers, or low-fat yogurts. The next time you are tempted to devour a bag of potato chips, you can decide ahead of time that you will stop and take a brisk walk before eating even one chip. In all likelihood you won’t go back to the chips because the craving will have passed. Managing your cravings is an important element of quitting smoking, and you can do it, as long as you plan ahead.

Barriers can also be overcome by simply removing temptations from your physical environment. Getting rid of the cigarettes and ashtrays in your home or office is an absolute must for avoiding the temptation to smoke. If you want to start increasing your level of physical activity, clear a corner of the living room where you can stretch, do breathing exercises or put that exercise equipment that has been gathering dust in the basement. Friends, family and co-workers can also help get you through the tough times, even those who are not very supportive at first. Start by informing everyone you know that you want to quit. People who don’t smoke will be happy to hear it and the smokers in your life will likely respect your choice. They may even want to try it themselves.

Planning healthy meals with friends, taking a yoga or dance class, playing soccer with the kids are all ways that you can fill the time you may have spent smoking with fun activities that are also good for your health. A nurturing and supportive environment to help kick start your health journey is a valuable asset when trying to make tough changes. We’ll give you some advice on how to gain the support of your friends and family if you aren’t sure where to begin.

We will go further into the process of identifying your obstacles to success and providing simple, practical tips for how to get past them. Rewards are a big part of the plan and give you something to look forward to. Each time you get past a hurdle or reach a milestone, celebrate your success by buying that new pair of shoes you always wanted, going out to the movies, or letting yourself sleep in for a change.