My advice.....if you want to quit, do not set a date. Do it
spontaneously. Do not wait until you have smoked the last cigarette in the pack. Rip up the pack and shred the individual smokes one at a time. If you do it this way...on the spur of the moment, you will have a better chance at sucess. Get mad at yourself and then do it!
In my experience, you are totally correct. Once the decision has been made, that is the most difficult part. Why take a chance on losing your best and maybe only chance to quit? Once you stop, there will be positive reinforcement to help you out.
One other suggestion, if you are sincere about quitting, tell at least one other person who will be desappointed in you if you quit.
I tend to agree but every person's psychology is different. I quit 15 years ago after smoking for more than 40 years. I tried every gimmick in the book: Nicorette, hypnosis -- I even paid a guy nearly $300 to put a "sure fire cure" acupuncture pin in my earlobe. The problem with all those approaches was I didn't really want to quit.
One day I decided I sincerely didn't want to smoke any more. I threw my cigarettes away and told myself "You're an ex-smoker." I put smoking out of my mind and haven't lit up since. Occasionally I think of having "just one, for old time's sake" but I know if I did I'd be hooked just as hard as I was before. It wasn't hard to quit once I decided to and I'm happy I did although I sure miss that "smoker's metabolism." I've gained a lot of weight.
I want to quit, but not 100 %. That's the problem. What would I do with all the spare time? And all my friends smoke.