How quickly can we change something about ourselves? It's a question I get often. If you are receptive to it, the change can happen in one session and it can stick as well. Or it might take a few sessions. It depends on you, the fit of the chosen approach, and the nature of the change. What you can do to facilitate a faster change has to do with motivation. Are you quitting smoking because your wife wants you to or because you want to? Having the true desire is the most important aspect. If you don't really want to quit then it's uphill. Now, can hypnosis create a desire to quit? Yes, it can. So in a case where desire is missing the first step to find motivation.
For fun, let's try a change you are not expecting. Do you ever notice how many work vans on are on the road? I wonder if you ever think about who makes them? Maybe the next time you are driving somewhere you will take notice, or not...
Now that the idea is planted, you may focus on vans more than usual. They are everywhere yet before maybe you only noticed vans that delivered packages because you receive packages. There are so many more! Chances are they were pretty much invisible to you before. The point is that what you notice is a subconscious decision and it can be changed instantly. Your conscious mind can be directed but the actual filtering of what gets to it happens elsewhere. What if it was not vans but good things vs bad things. So that you focus more on the good things and less on the bad. Focus can be applied inward. Ex. You will become aware of what triggers that bad feeling the next time it happens.
Now that you can understand that your focus is something that can be directed, how can you change yourself right now by focusing on something new?