Positive reinforcement

Smoking is a bad and addictive habit. It does not only adversely affect the users but others who also inhale the smoke of their cigarettes who are branded as second-hand smokers. I, for one, am guilty of doing such behavior. I have been smoking for several years now. Every time I try to quit, I tend to justify my reasons for smoking again thus an on and off struggle to stop the unhealthy habitual behavior. So in an attempt to put an end to this bad habit, I drafted a simple behavior modification program using the concept of positive reinforcement.

Everyday I used to smoke four to six sticks of cigarettes. But when I started to incorporate the idea of rewarding or indulging myself with anything I want for cutting a stick per day, I began to decrease my consumption of cigarettes. Every time I would minimize my intake of cigarettes, I would treat myself like buying gourmet coffee, going to the movies, indulging myself with a massage and other pampering activities. Through this reward system, I was motivated to do better in my quest to stop smoking.

As a result, my intake of cigarettes gradually decreased from six to three then to two and so forth. After a while this method proved to be effective because not only did I lessened my smoking but, I totally stopped from doing the habit. Since I started to implement this program, I never went back again to my old habit of being a chain smoker. Positive reinforcement made my smoking dependent on the rewards. If I smoked more, I will not receive any rewards but if I lessen my smoking, I will have the chance to treat myself. This demonstrates that the rewards have influenced the