Stopping Mid-Cookie

We know that change isn’t easy. For the most part. Yes, occasionally a change in perspective is so powerful that changing the behaviors connected to that perspective does come easily, perhaps even effortlessly. But, that’s the exception, not the rule.

More often than not we need to be deliberate about making change. We need to keep on top of it, often many times a day, in order to see it through. It does get easier, eventually, but at the beginning, whew, it’s tough.

I recently had an exchange with a client that inspired me to write this for you (and of course change will be a topic revisited often since that is, after all, what my work is all about).

So often, change comes down to “stopping mid-cookie”.

This particular client struggles with her relationship with food and as we were speaking about a change in behavior she mentioned the idea of “stopping mid-cookie.” I knew exactly what she was talking about, both literally (I have a long history of food issues of my own) and metaphorically. Mid-cookie, wow. Intense.

So often, change comes down to that—stopping mid-cookie. Or turning the t.v. off when you’re in the throes of a time-wasting, distraction-filled bout of procrastination. Or deciding not to get that last word in when you’re in the midst of an intense, rage-filled argument with your spouse. Or turning off your computer and pushing yourself out the door for a run when you’re really way too busy and it’s the last thing you feel like doing.

I don’t think I’m being overly dramatic when I say that a “mid-cookie,” in-the-heat-of-the-moment change might be one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do in your life. Really. If you’ve ever made a change like this, a change in the midst of an entrenched, automatic behavior, you know.

But make the change in this most potent of moments and what gets started has the potential to be lasting and solid. And isn’t that what we’re all looking for?