It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and I was ready for lunch. A powerful craving for a hot, baked potato and a bowl of chili arose within me. Mmmmm. I could practically taste the mouth-watering, sour cream and chive flavoring of that soft, warm, baked potato. I had to have it.

Off I went to the local fast-food restaurant where I'd satisfied many similar cravings before. Pulling into the parking lot, I noticed very few cars. It seemed the lunch crowd had come and gone. Great! No long line in which to wait for my delectable feast.

Totally unobstructed by any other customers, I casually strolled to the counter to place my order. Within seconds my feast was prepared before me. One bowl of chili, a soft, warm, succulent baked potato with chives, sour cream and butter and a medium drink. My mouth watered as I anticipated digging into one of Idaho's finest potatoes.

I quickly assembled my utensils and headed for one of the many open tables. The glorious potato stared at me invitingly, as if it had popped out of the earth just for me, just for this day, just for this moment.

Steam rolled off the hot potato as I applied the sour cream and then the butter. Plastic fork in hand, I began mashing the potato to mix the sour cream and butter to just the right consistency for eating. 

Wait a minute.

This potato is hard. A baked potato is supposed to be soft. What's this about?

In my mind, I heard myself saying "just eat the potato and don't worry about it. It's not that bad." Like so many other things I'd settled for in the past, I was telling myself to once again settle for less than I really wanted.

Still, another part of me said "no, I paid good money for a soft warm, delectable, sour cream and chive, baked potato, and this particular potato is hard! I'm taking it back. After all, I'm tired of settling for less than I really want."

Again, the inner voice recanted "take what you've gotten and be happy with it. They'll think you're a pain if you take it back."

This inner battle continued for about thirty seconds until finally, I took the potato back and nicely asked for a new one. A soft one.

With new potato in hand, I strolled back to my table to finally fulfill my long-standing craving for this soft, warm, succulent baked potato.

"Oh no! This one is hard too. How can I ever take this one back. They'll definitely think I'm one of those problem customers who's never satisfied.

It's a potato. It's only 99 cents. Just shut up, and eat the darn thing."

"Take what you get, and be happy with it!"

But I persevered. Inner battle notwithstanding, I returned the hard potato, and accepted a juicy, mouth-watering cheeseburger in it's place. It seems the entire batch of potatoes was hard.

Victory. Yes victory. Over a baked potato? No. It was a victory over my own deeply ingrained, inherited belief that said I should take what I get and be happy with it.

Not only was it a victory in that moment, but it was also a creative act. The act of refusing to accept less than I really wanted, no matter how petty that wanting seemed, was itself creating the new belief that it's okay to get what I want. It's okay to ask for what I want and not settle for less.

In that moment of victory, I became very conscious of how every thought we think, every word we utter and every action we take—no matter how small or insignificant they may seem—is a declaration of who we are and what we believe, as well as an act of creation.

We're either re-creating and reinforcing our old beliefs or we're creating and reinforcing new beliefs.

We can do all the affirmations and positive thinking in the world, but if we don't change our behavior—our actions—nothing really changes, neither within our own minds or in our physical reality.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: "Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world."

Based on that statement, here's a few questions.

1. What thoughts are you putting into action?

2. Are your actions, no matter how small they seem, in alignment with what you think and say you want?

3. What actions could take to begin creating and reinforcing some new beliefs in your life?

Your actions don't have to be big, dramatic actions. Start out small. Hey, just send back the potato that's not cooked quite right. It may be a challenge, but you can do it. It does get easier each time you do it (I hope).

It's Your Life! Make it Great.

____________________