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About Me

I'm Gavin. 

I haven’t always been a mindset coach. I was a smoker for 25 years and tried countless times to quit with nicotine patches and willpower. They didn’t work for me. So I understand the hold that nicotine addiction can have. I believed that being a smoker was part of my identity and I could never stop. In the end, I gave up trying. 

Gavin Dashwood, Quit Smoking Mindset Coach

 

 

In 2017, I was badly injured in a car crash. I needed multiple surgeries and nearly a year of physiotherapy to help me walk again. With time, I made a good recovery but the experience led to some self-reflection and a commitment to make some changes; including quitting smoking. I knew that to achieve success this time around, I would need to approach the problem differently. 

A life changing event

How I Finally Quit

I read a book called “Mindset” by Carol Dweck Ph.D, a world-renowned Stanford University psychologist.  She shows how success in sports, business, relationships and every area of human endeavour, can be dramatically influenced by the way we think about our abilities. The book explains that we all have either a fixed or growth mindset, often without realising, attached to almost every area of our lives, and that these mindsets are simply thoughts and beliefs that can be changed. The book describes how we can make these changes in order to overcome challenges and improve our lives. 

 

This helped me see that the solution to quitting smoking was not nicotine patches or willpower (although they can help) but my way of thinking. I started to look closely at my beliefs. I discovered that my mind was full of stories and excuses I had created, to allow myself to keep doing what was easy and avoid uncomfortable change. I would need to replace these stories and beliefs with some hard truths and a positive determination if I wanted to achieve long term success. 

 

I worked on creating a mindset where I was determined to succeed. A mindset where I could really picture and look forward to the positive outcomes that quitting would bring. I began to imagine all the ways that my life would improve and envisioned myself as a non-smoker. I thought about the sense of accomplishment I would feel and other changes I could make to my life. After a period of deliberately thinking in this way, with confidence and purpose, I knew that I was ready. I cut down gradually over two weeks then stopped. I’ve never smoked since. 

Why I Became a Mindset Coach

I discovered first-hand, the impact that our mindset can have on our behaviour. This fascinated me and I wanted to learn more. The more I learnt, the more I felt inspired and I decided to follow a new vocation.

I set about exploring the psychology behind nicotine addiction, joined an accredited coach training course and became an ICF member. I combined the knowledge I had gathered, my own experiences and what I had learnt in my training to create my signature, 6 Step Quitting Mindset Coaching Programme.   

The experience of changing my mindset to help me quit smoking was the most important step I ever took to improve my health and lifestyle.

Now my passion is helping other people do the same.

 

I'm from London UK. I'm married, have three children and a small dog called Peppa.

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