I was recently in Greece on a vacation to celebrate the 30th wedding anniversary for my sister and brother in law. It was spectacular in so many ways, as everyone who has ever been to Greece will tell you; it is a must see.

We were visiting the island of Santorini for most of the trip. Amazing. Even if you’re unfamiliar, I bet you have seen the beautiful blue and white hotels and churches built into the side of the former volcano. It’s so stunning that pictures rob you of so much of the beauty, that it almost seems a disservice to show them!

Greece is old. And, the plumbing is old, even in the beautiful boutique hotels (where we did not stay). Our quaint rental was perfect for the 4 couples because we each had our own bedroom, bathroom and kitchen spaces. Plus there was an incredibly refreshing pool for the scorching afternoon sun.

But no matter where you stay on the island, you are strongly encouraged (forced) to protect the plumbing of every water closet by NOT flushing any paper. This is such a minor thing that no one talks about it when they tell you about their trip. But I’m going to because I was shocked at how quickly we changed this lifelong habit.

I’ve been flushing toilet paper for over 50 years, mostly without thinking about it. It’s how we are all taught to have good hygiene. Well, in Greece, you have to stop that because the pipes are small and old and no one wants a broken toilet.

So you change one of the longest standing, unconscious habits of personal care. Instantly. You have to think about it every time you use the toilet (which is a lot for me!). Every. Time. And you actually can change. You change immediately because it’s very important to have indoor plumbing that works. You don’t negotiate with it, ignore it or talk yourself into doing it another way. You change. Immediately.

How remarkable. You may be wondering why I would choose to write about such a crude topic as plumbing when I’ve visited such a remarkable part of the world.

This is how my mind works; I see patterns in daily life that remind me of habit practice and change. And, very commonly, I’m thinking about how to apply principles from one area of life to another that we need to improve. Most people hate changing but they love goodness, peace, health, comfort, rest, satisfaction and purpose. As you know, changing is required if we want what we love.

So here’s why plumbing is important to you: it proves that we are more than capable of changing even long standing habits if the reason is important enough. I mean, it’s kinda gross to not flush paper, but it’s more gross to not have a toilet. So we change.

Similarly, it’s not comfortable to not fit in our clothes, not move well, have extra body fat, poor immune and gut function and feel unhappy. No one wants that. So we change.

Changing begins by recognizing you want something more than what you have. Even if you’re not aware of how your daily habits influence your life, that’s an easy lesson to learn. Once you learn that, you’re off to the races, ready to approach old habits and behaviors with energy, focus and enthusiasm to improve yourself.

Learning happens faster and easier with a teacher (me!) and a student (you!) cooperating. We work through the struggles we all face when changing, but we do it together. My strategies and your effort will always equal results. If you’d like to hear from a few of my clients to hear their version, click here!

Let’s stop making change so complicated and seemingly impossible. Let’s just do it. Because millions of people have proven that we can change on a dime if we want to. Your desire to feel better, move better and live better are within your grasp, and that’s all the reason you need.

Just because I’m still on the travel high, here’s a few of the hundreds of pictures from our trip!