These are like stones. If they are placed in the right position in your life they are helpful and beneficial to you. If they are in the wrong position in your life they become a big hindrance to you.
I’ve had habits in both places over the course of my life. Of course you don’t usually intend to place a habit in the wrong position — they just happen to be there after making the wrong decisions and choices one too many times, and pretty soon its a .. habit that has become a hindrance in your life.
Good habits have to be intentional. They usually don’t begin on their own. It usually takes an act of your will and your choices for a good habit to be placed into the right place in your life. What does it take to make a good habit? Discipline and consistency. Usually for me it’s over three months. Some of the other ‘experts’ say it’s a shorter time (Maybe for the bad habits), but for me trying to place a good habit into place it’s at least 120 days.
I’ve never been an early riser. I’ve always been one who could sleep in. But there are periods in my life where I’ve gotten up early for very specific reasons. Honestly …I like the early morning. But my ‘constitution’ is slow to get going. I’m never fully awake till one to two hours after getting up. I liken my constitution to be a freight train. Takes awhile to get going, and once it’s going it takes awhile to slow down. I could easily stay awake at night, I have to purposely force myself to relax and quiet my mind so I can fall asleep. So getting up early has always been difficult for me. Actually I’m writing this about 4 hours AFTER getting up. Now my brain is functioning. (After coffee. LOL)
But lately my intent is to get up early and get a walk in (Usually at least 4 miles) — before each day begins. I use that time to pray and converse with the Holy Spirit. To set myself into the position of listening to Him … first thing everyday. To pray for those who He brings to my mind. I even ask Him what to pray for those people, because I want to pray WITH Him. I have to purposely force myself to ‘think’ and pray when I first start out in the morning, otherwise I literally can walk like a zombie will very little cognitively going on in my mind.
So this newly forming habit (now reaching almost 100 days now), is becoming a good thing for me. It really sets me on the path to ‘listening’ to Him. To begin with Him each morning before dealing with all the other distractions and agendas of the day. Sure I did it before (spending time with Him first), but this new attempt at this habit is a little more forceful in that it keeps all the distractions at a minimum .. out there ‘on the walk with Jesus’. It also is better for me health wise in many ways. Is it my normal way? NOT at all. I have to force myself to do this one. And I’m learning that it is the same with almost ALL good habits. My nature is to be a slug and a sloth, who eats whatever it wants, and sleeps whenever it wants. So I have to discipline myself.
What’s been interesting to me lately is I’m actually waking up earlier now without an alarm. And instead of just looking at the clock to see how much more I can sleep, I usually get up and get ready and go out the door. Sometimes I think the Lord is waking me up. And on those days the conversations are revelatory. Those conversations become a source of many of these devotionals. I’m beginning to really like this new habit, it’s good for me. What habit does the Lord / Holy Spirit want you to begin? Have you asked Him? This is one which was suggested to me by Him, at least for this season of my life. So I’m trying to be faithful. I walk six days a week. I was pretty sore when I first started, and He reminded me to take one day off every week for my body to heal and catch up. Oy, sometimes I’m very dense.
Plus I’ve learned the sunrises where I live are much more stunning than the sunsets. Thus the pictures I take each morning litter my Instagram page. You can find me there at Terminallycommitted. Look for the sunset profile pic I took at the central coast.
What good habits are you attempting to place into you life? Have you checked with Him? FYI—His suggestions always work the best. My suggestion? Start slow, but be consistent EVERY day.