You don't have to win the argument

When the urge hits, your mind starts making a case: 'just one,' 'you've had a hard day,' 'you'll quit again tomorrow.' It can be a very good lawyer. But here's the secret — you don't have to win the argument. You don't even have to have it. You're not required to negotiate with a craving.

Notice the thought instead of obeying it. 'I'm having the thought that I want a cigarette.' That's all it is — a thought, passing through, not a command and not the truth about who you are. You can watch it the way you'd watch a car drive by. You don't have to get in.

The smoker in you argues because arguing keeps you focused on the cigarette. The free person just lets the thought go and moves on with the next two minutes of their life. You get to choose which one you are right now — and you've already chosen, by being here.

Take a breath. Let the thought finish its sentence and fade. You're not fighting it; you're outlasting it. And you, with God's help, can outlast anything that only lasts five minutes.