The thing is; there is no way that smoking can “really” be a reward, as it is literally harmful to the body. It just feels like a reward to someone who is addicted.

Helping you to break that internal framing of cigarettes as a reward is another one of the many things that hypnosis and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) can do for you. Through these techniques, you can learn very quickly to think of cigarettes as the furthest thing in the world from something that you want to reward yourself with. 

The thing is, that loss of a cigarette as a reward mechanism leaves many former smokers feeling as though they have a hole in their lives. “Smoking was about the only time that was just ‘me’ time,” another former smoker said. “I had to learn how to create time and space just for me – without cigarettes.”

When you make the commitment to stop smoking, regardless of the tools that you use to help yourself stop and remain “stopped” you may want to give some thought to what rewards you will use and in what way, once cigarettes are out of the picture.

Perhaps the easiest “reward” to give yourself is that “me time.” Even a single parent of a newborn (who are about the busiest people on the planet!) can find a way to sneak in a little “me” time if they prioritize the need to do so.

Hypnosis and NLP can help you “frame” in your subconscious something as simple (and healthy) as drinking a large glass of water as a reward. Everyone’s situation is different, but there is always a way to create a reward in your life if you want to do so.

Following are some suggestions for rewards that are a healthier choice than smoking. Many people tie rewards to a time scale, (e.g. “I will get to buy a new computer once I’ve been smoke free for three months.”) others prefer to have a selection of rewards at hand to turn to when the going gets tough, still others do a combination of both.

• Buying a CD that you’ve been wanting once you reach the first milestone (such as a week or three days without smoking.)
• Sugar free lollipops (ala Kojack.)
• A new book from the library.
• Putting the money you would otherwise be spending on cigarettes in a jar daily and watching it add up.
• Sugar free pudding pops.
• Walk with the dog.
• Getting a walkable pet if you don’t have one.
• Going dancing.
• Going to a museum.
• Meditation.
• Taking up knitting.
• Doing a crossword or a sudoku puzzle.
• Obtain a hug or a kiss from someone you care about.
• Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while.
• Have a session with a personal trainer.
• Take a yoga class or try it out on your own.
• Whip up a dish that you or your family love.
• Buy a new book.
• Plan your dream vacation.

As you can see there are as many variations of a “reward” as there are people. You can choose to reward yourself in a healthy way, and with practice, (and particularly with NLP “anchoring” and/or hypnosis) you will find that this kind of reward could become just as nearly second nature as smoking cigarettes once was.