Your personal computer has an operating system. So do you! It's easy to put a name on your computer's operating system. Perhaps it is called something like "XP" or "Vista." Every now and then, your PC's operating system is due for an upgrade. The manufacturer lets you know, the upgrade takes place, and you adapt. It's not quite so simple to name your the operating system for your healthy lifestyle. But it IS easy to detect when you're ready for an upgrade. You become ill, find yourself in the middle of a health crisis, or your well-being is challenged in some other way (think stress, relationship issues, financial difficulties). Your PC's operating system is based on a particular set of rules. Those rules define the environment in which your information use occurs. Likewise the operating system for your healthy lifestyle. It is based on rules. You learn them, grow beyond their original circumstances, begin to question their value, and replace them with new rules. It is a natural human process. Usually. But sometimes you get stuck. "No, no!" you may think, resisting. "Don't make me change that one!" Ultimately it's up to you. When you resist too long, that's when the challenges pop up. Want to get past a current challenge to your health and well-being? Here's the big secret: Upgrade your personal operating system. It's not too difficult to recognize when you're having a crisis. You feel lousy, the doctor gives you bad news, anxiety keeps you up at night, your bank balance dips precariously, you lose your job, or your spouse walks out. Here's where the challenge starts. Most of us, when faced with a crisis, try to resolve it by changing certain specific behaviors. We may change our diet and exercise program, start taking more vitamins, cut expenses, pick up some extra income moonlighting, or perhaps resolve to become a better listener. While these behavior changes are usually helpful in the moment, it's a mistake to think that they are the whole solution. Much like installing upgraded software on an outdated PC, your behavior change alone is a temporary fix that won't last forever. To get to the bottom of things and effect a long-term solution, it's helpful to explore the beliefs that created your situation in the first place. Typically, they'll be subtle. So subtle that you may not recognize that they exist until you go looking for them. Yet they affect all the choices you make each and every day. These subconsious "rules" created those original behaviors that you are now making an effort to change. They also form the basis of your personal life-force energy system. It is at this level that their effect on your well-being is the most powerful. Imagine for a moment that you have an underlying belief or "rule" that other people are smarter than you are. That their opinions about how you should run your life are more valid than your own. That their activities are more deserving of your time than the activities you'd like to do for yourself. You encounter a health challenge and someone really smart tells you to exercise and eat healthier foods. You agree and prepare to get yourself back on track. And then the inevitable happens. Someone else comes up with a crisis in their life that conflicts with the time you'd set aside for that relaxing / energizing walk, or for food preparation, or for learning to cook. So "just for today," you skip the walk and cruise through the drive-through. Can you see where we're going with this? Until you change the underlying "rule" that tells you their crisis is more valid than your own, you are doomed to fight with yourself on each and every choice! Ultimately, if you're like many of us, you decide that the fight is too hard and go back to your old habits. Now I've used food and exercise as an example, but perhaps that part isn't so hard for you. Maybe your particular challenge is overwork. Excessive spending on items you can't afford. Habitually altering the truth in an attempt to make yourself look good. Procrastinating at work and missing important deadlines. Or any number of other destructive habits. Changing a behavior that conflicts with one of your old "rules" is an uphill climb. It's tiring; perhaps even exhausting. It feels like you are willing yourself to perform an impossible task. In fact, you are. This is the place I think of as the intersection between awareness and health. There are any number of ways to explore your life for hidden "rules," and they all begin with increased personal awareness. Practices such as meditation, transformational breathwork, or regular journaling are great places to start. Ultimately, your increased health awareness is my #1 goal. All of the WordCures.com products are designed to support you in creating a healthier set of "rules" for your personal operating system, beginning with the Word Cures book. If you'd like to move on to the next level, you might want to check out the Intuition Infusion Kit. Ultimately, group Wellness Coachingmay be the solution you're looking for. When you play along with this coaching game, we not only take on a cool "real-life" project of your choice, but as you move through it we'll explore together any obstacles that come up. Which is to say, we'll identify and work through those old rules. Actually, it's kind of fun! Wellness Coaching groups begin September 15th, January 15th, and May 15th. It's not too soon to start thinking about your next project!

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