The Habit Hub
“No problem can be solved with the same level of consciousness that created it.” ~Albert Einstein
by Cindy McDonough
My mission for this FREE weekly newsletter is to educate and inspire you to take steps towards living a healthy and enjoyable life. This includes learning how to break old habits and to form new ones that actually FEEL good. You can expect to read stories about my clients, friends, and family members who have stepped out of old habit patterns and how they did it. Along the way, I will suggest books, podcasts, recipes, and products that I like. It will be a thoughtful smorgasbord.
So, let’s get started and expand our “level of consciousness” together and have some fun along the way!
About Me
I am a National Board-Certified Health Coach who has been trying to find a way to talk about what I do and to build a community around it. Substack felt like a friendly way to reach out. When it comes to making changes to your life, it’s nice to know that you are not alone and that there are others who are trying to do the same. My hope is that we can all learn from each other here.
So back to Health Coaching. I feel the need to add “National Board Certified” before Health Coach because it’s very easy to hang up a shingle and call yourself a Health Coach these days. I think it’s important to call that out. I did my training at the Mayo Clinic back in 2012 then successfully sat for the National Board Exam for Health Coaching in 2017. From there, I have been running my own coaching business and recently completed an 18-month stint as a Diabetes Prevention Coach for Sharecare, Inc.
On a personal note, I live in the Cleveland area with my husband Tim, our dog Charlie Marie, and any number of our kids! We have 5 in total which include 4 adult children and our youngest, Michael is in high school. Raising 5 kids has occupied most of our time and energy over the years so you can expect to read some snippets about our family here!
Why Are Habits SO Freakin Hard To Break?
Habits can be REALLY hard to break if you don’t know how to work with them.
Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar to you. Let’s say you have a habit of doing something that’s not great for you. Let’s call it “the thing”. You know that it’s not good for you to do “the thing”. You’ve tried to persuade yourself to stop doing “the thing.” You have read many articles and books about why you should not do “the thing”. You may even have removed “the thing” from your home. Despite your good intentions, you just can’t seem to stop doing “the thing” and you don’t know why.
By the way, “the thing” can be a mental behavior like worrying, overplanning or rumination. The good news is that there is a way out so that you can experience new felt freedom in your life!
The most transformational training that I have received to date was from Dr. Judson Brewer, an Addiction Psychiatrist from Brown University. Jud taught me all about the power of Mindfulness as it relates to Habit Change. By leaning towards your habitual patterns and mapping them out, you will be better equipped to step out of them. Once you understand how your mind works, you will be better able to work with it.
In this newsletter, we will do a deep dive into the process of habit formation and more importantly, how to step out of the habits that are holding you back. There is a way out! I promise.
