No, I’m not crazy! I just thought it was a catchy title that would grab your attention and get you to read on.

The stool or more correctly, the legs of the stool are a metaphor for what I feel is one of the most important aspects of quitting smoking - SUPPORT. Picture if you will sitting down at the computer to write a letter on a stool with only one leg and how difficult it would be to remain on it. Sure, you can say ‘If the leg is in the middle of the stool, balancing shouldn’t be too hard.’ True, but what say the one leg is attached to the outer perimeter as normal? Do you think it would be much harder to concentrate on finishing your letter if most of your attention is spent trying not to fall over? Probably very difficult, I would think.

Now let’s add a leg to the stool. Does it become any easier to sit on? Of course it does. Now you only have to worry about the stool moving side-to-side or front-to-back, but not both so you only have to give it half as much attention. Much easier to concentrate on the task at hand.

How about a third leg? Is that any better? You bet - perfect stability. With this surefootedness we can focus all our attention on our task as we no longer have to worry about ending up on the floor if our concentration slips.

So what’s the point I am trying to make? A very simple one actually. By enlisting the help of support friends (legs) the efforts of quitting smoking won’t fall solely on you. There will be a couple of other friends there to assist you. Even four or five buddies to call on would not be excessive.

The important think to ask of the people whom you confide in for support is to ask that they remain at your disposal and not badger you with questions like ‘How is it going?’ everyday. You don’t want your support team to be a hindrance in trying to reach your goals, but a help. And one other thing. If you the courage to do it, make a deal with them and yourself in that if you ever decide you may want to have ‘just one’ cigarette that you MUST call each and every one of them and tell them you’ve decided to continue smoking. Make it through all your support ‘legs’ without being talked out of doing something silly like that and I would be quite surprised.

Get the right support and you will be free.