What's the leading cause of mad cow disease?

Bullheadedness. Bullheadedness is the leading cause of mad cow disease! Oh.....

My sweetheart said that to me the other day when we were engaged in a discussion of "the best way to do something". I don't remember what something we were discussing and it's not important. We choose to find humor in our differences rather than conflict and it keeps life interesting and fun.

As I thought about and laughed at Dave's humorous bovine "observation", another kind of "bullheadedness" revealed itself to me - the bullheadedness of my own subconscious mind. I find everything in life carries significance and an opportunity to discover. So, here's "the rest of the bullheaded story..."

BTW: You can access the entire e-zine from which this blog is an excerpt at http://www.thegoodfoodnews.com. :-)

Last week I rolled out of bed, made my way to the first stop of the morning and when I flipped the switch to the bathroom light, the switch began buzzing and the lights flickered. Uh-oh. Not good. OFF. The second attempt produced the same results so, I quickly went and turned off the breaker until I could fix it, which as it turned out, was not until the next day. Want to know how many times I walked into the bathroom, knowing the power was off and turned the switch on? Every single time!

Why? Habit. Turning the light on as I enter the bathroom room is burned into my subconscious as something I do. The movement of my hand happens before my conscious mind has an opportunity to do anything different - even if I made a decision that "next time I won't flip a dead switch". This process occurs in every aspect of our life. Our programmed subconscious serves us well because it frees our conscious mind for "higher pursuits", but when we make a decision to change a behavior that is no longer serving us, the programmed subconscious works against the change - even if we want the change. Our subconscious is the root of our bullheadedness. We resist change for no other reason than "just because".

The Good News is that you can re-program your subconscious. It takes consistency, humor, patience, time and commitment but it can be done! If you made a conscious decision to engage in more good wellness habits at the beginning of the year and have discovered that many of those intentions have gone by the wayside, don't give up! You're just back to flipping a dead switch, and you can learn a new way.

One of the most efficient and effective ways to re-program your subconscious is to engage the assistance of a coach who is supporting you in a structured program. Coaches are not just for Tiger Woods and high level executives - they are for anyone wanting to make a positive change in their life. Is that you? What would your life look like if your actually did all the things you say you would like to do? Ate more healthfully, exercised more joyfully, thought more positively? Wow! Can you feel the abundance that would bring into your life?

If one-on-one coaching seems out of reach as a starting point, there are group programs available. Some are internet based and very reasonable and others include phone or email contact with your coach. Coaching will greatly increase the probability that your daily wellness routine will become as easy and automatic as flipping a switch.