A relatively recent addition to my morning routine is a quick on-line coaching program called “Six Minutes to Success”, created by Canadian self-improvement icon Bob Proctor.  He is, without a doubt, one of my favourite mentors because he is practical and unfailingly positive.  It’s great, too, that I can spend a few minutes in the morning thinking about the “topic of the day”, and have it percolate back into my conscious thoughts throughout the day. 

Without restating his whole message, I can tell you that I spent some time this morning thinking about what I do, what works, and what doesn’t.  The idea is to get rid of the “what doesn’t”.  And you know what came up for me?  My default response to stress, which is to head to the pantry and pop the first yummy looking thing in my mouth before someone catches me.  It’s impulsive, it’s counter to my whole “eat better and exercise” path, and it’s time and energy wasted.  Because believe me, it takes energy not so much to pop a cookie or a scoop of peanut butter in my mouth, but to process the guilt and annoyance afterward!

These annoying little habits are all too common.  My pantry mini-binges are someone else’s bedroom window cigarettes, and another’s mindless TV viewing.  As Dr. Phil says about these stupid behaviours, “Is that working for you?”  Give yourself permission to let it go, or at least try not to beat yourself up about it.  Just recognizing when something isn’t working is the first step to real change.