WHAT? No beer???

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is when some one starts talking about a particular challenge in their life and they are totally ready to be inspired. You can totally tell when someone is ready to be inspired because every encouraging thing you say to them makes perfect sense to them and they are nodding in agreement the whole time you're talking to them.

I encountered this delightful situation this last week when one of my friends and co-workers started talking to me about starting a new eating regimen for the purpose of reversing her lactose intolerance. I can not speak to the validity of this cleanse because I've not done any research on the subject, but what I can speak to is this young woman's enthusiasm for making a positive change in her life.

Her name is Courtney and she is the one that has done the research. She is the one that has decided to make a change in her life. She was talking to me about the restrictions she has decided to place on herself in an effort to reverse her intolerance and was sharing some of the details. The next 5 months (starting after Christmas) she will cut out breads, sugars (even natural sugars (so no fruit), no beer or wine, and honestly, I don't remember all the details, because once she said, "No Beer", I kinda went into shock.

I'm kidding about the shock, but serious that I don't remember all the details. Once Courtney mentioned how hard it was going to be, I shifted into inspiration mode. I said, "It will be as hard or as easy as you decide to make it on yourself". She agreed and came back with, "That's right and if I don't ever do it. I'll be lactose intolerant for the rest of my life".

Yes, that's right. As long as we remain unwilling to make a shift, we can only hold ourselves in place of responsibility for the circumstances that exists in our lives.

We talked about situations that are out of our control, such as people bringing treats to the office. I told her about when I had a clarifying moment a few years ago. Some very sweet well intended person brought some yummy goodies to the office and I said to myself, "Who's the son of a bitch that keeps bringing in the goodies?" and then as if divine wisdom was whispering in my ear, this question came to me, "Well, who's the son of a bitch that keeps putting it in your mouth?"

Ahhh HA!!!

It was really a very cool conversation. I am very excited for Courtney and the change that she is planning to make for herself. 5 months really is not that long at all. I believe in you. I am not saying there won't be challenging moments, but with the right mind set it's going to be much easier. It's all about choices and how much you really want the change you are seeking. You have control over yourself, your thoughts and your actions.

I believe with the right attitude and desire any one of us could make any change we desire for our lives. We all have the power to make it as easy as we'd like for it to be.