Relapse – Five whys

When breaking any large habit or chemical linked habit, it’s important to be gentle with yourself. Treat yourself as you would a small child. You may relapse; it’s not the end of the world. It’s certainly not the end of your attempts to quit. It took me seven attempts to quit smoking. Each time I just picked myself up, dusted myself down and tried again. Your subconscious will eventually get the message that you are going to quit. If you do relapse though here are some practical suggestions.

Firstly, remind yourself that it is what it is.

Just a blip and you will quit again.

Second, don’t wait too long to try again

Set another date in the very near future.

Third, it’s critical to get to the root cause of the relapse.

If you want to make any permanent lasting change in your life. To do this, perform the five – whys exercise. This technique was made famous by Toyota in their manufacturing process. If there is a fault in a car or a hold up in manufacturing, they use this technique to get to the root cause. It’s really simple; just ask why did it happen?

Why did you relapse? The first answer is likely to be surface answer, such as “Well, the smell of the cigarettes was tempting and someone offered me one.”

Next ask why a second time – “Why was I tempted”. Answer – I was hanging around the smoke shelter.

3rd – Why was I hanging around the smoke shelter – “Because that’s where all my friends go at break-time”

4th – Why do I want to be around my smoking friends at break” Answer – “Because I am bored on my own at break”.

5th – Why am I bored on my own – “Because I don’t have an alternative pastime”.

So there you have a good root cause and you can now begin to address it. For this example, finding something stimulating and engaging to do during break time.

Huge habits can be broken down bit by bit using this method. It a great method for getting your weight under control as well. Slowly but surely you chip away at all the supports to the habit. Soon enough there is nothing left to support the habit and it shrivels away forever.

By the way if you are looking to lose weight contact me and I will show you how I did it.