Healthy Living DIY

Let's try a metaphor. If you keep bumping into the same wall over and over again, it's time to find another way to get past it. Doesn't matter if you dig under, jump over, crawl around, or crash through. But continuing to bash your head on the same spot is going to give you a headache.

I'll offer a couple of different perspectives. Since every situation is different, one may be easier for you to apply than another.

The paper and pencil cure

Step 1. Think of some recurring theme in your life. A stumbling block or stuck spot you seem to have trouble getting through. We all have them. Even me. So identify one -- just one -- ongoing frustration.

Step 2. If you don't have a solid plan for getting through the stuck spot, you'll want to create one. This means writing down your plan on paper.

[By the way, if you think this sounds like a big drag, you're in luck! Within the next couple of weeks, I'm planning to add a forum to support you in just this kind of situation on the WordCures website. More soon.]

Note: Even if you "know" in your head what you think you should do next, please do not skip this step. Sometimes what you "know" is just not so. You'll work through all that when you write it out.

Step 3. Then just take one little step after the next until you're done.

Sometimes it really is that simple. Sometimes it's simply a matter of creating a clear plan that helps you identify what needs to be done when. Writing down the steps helps. As you write, you can work through all the little indecisions of "what would I do if this happened -- or that?"

The conflicting desires cure

You should be really familiar with this one by now, since it's one of the 6 Wellness Opportunities presented in the Transform Stress Into Power guide you receive with your Healthy Living Update sign-up.

What if your conflict is, "I want both this and that?" And what if "this and that" conflict with one another?

Fine. You've got to resolve that conflict. GOT TO! You're not moving any further off that stuck spot until you do. Got it?

Some suggestions:

1. Can you have both? Sometimes you can. Sometimes your either/or thinking tells you that what you want is impossible when it really isn't. Possible question: What would it look like to have both this and that?

2. If you cannot have both, choose which you want more. If you're in the throes of an addictive fit, do not make a long-term choice until the fit has passed. Once you're clear-headed again, make your choice. Which do you want more?

Then find ways to keep yourself focused on the result you want, not the obstacles that appear to be in your way of getting there. (Re-read the "Wally's Widget Wonderland" story.)

This may mean stepping outside your comfort zone. In fact, I can practically guarantee it. You're comfortable where you are. Unhappy, dissatisfied, perhaps even unhealthy -- but well within your comfort zone.

3. You do not have to feel like doing something in order to do it. No one would ever have elective surgery if this were the case. No one would ever complete a marathon. Heck, we'd probably never even make it out of kindergarten!

Find a way to support yourself in making the choice you want, even when you don't feel like it.

4. Remind yourself that even though you don't like the looks of the step that's ahead of you, you don't like the results of not taking it, either. [That would be your current situation.]

5. Ask yourself this question: "What is it going to take to get me to act?" Do you really want the big guns coming after you?

• Heart attack
• Car accident
• Bankruptcy
• Loss of close relationships
• Loss of self-respect

Prob'ly not. ;-)