Habits – we all have them…good and bad.  In fact, I would venture to say that most of us struggle to either create good habits or get rid of a bad habit often in our lives.

Wikipedia defines a habit as “routines of behavior that are repeated regularly and tend to occur subconsciously.”  It’s no surprise that we duplicate words, thoughts and actions without even realizing it.

The point is that habits are a part of our lives, but we have to figure out which ones are useful and alleviate the ones that damage us.

Unfortunately, it’s usually difficult to start a habit that would benefit our lives such as:

• Reading scriptures daily
• Praying often
• Eating healthy
• Exercising regularly
• Living on a schedule
• Practicing gratitude
• Telling the truth at all costs
• Respecting self and others
• Thinking before speaking
• Gathering knowledge
• AND MANY MORE….

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

However, bad habits can consume our daily existence and have the potential to ruin our lives.  Bad habits are, but not limited to:

• Lying
• Procrastinating
• Smoking
• Drinking
• Shopping
• Nail-biting (this might not kill us, but it sure is ugly)
• Cursing
• Thinking negatively
• Cheating

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1Corinthians 10:13

I love that God will help us get out of a jam (even of our own doing) and place us on the road to recovery if we will ask Him for assistance.

To help us all make a few good changes in our life, I’ve done a little research to figure out what tricks can help with habit making and habit breaking.  The following are my favorites and just make sense to me.

1. Work on one habit at a time.  We all could use a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual make-over in some sense.  But doing it all at the same time can become overwhelming.  Basically, we are setting ourselves up for failure if we bite off more than we can chew.
2. Keep it simple.   Repetition creates a habit.  If we make it too difficult, we tend to fail because it is just that…DIFFICULT.  Simplifying changes will help create an environment which makes it easy for us to follow our new path.
3. Write it down.  Writing goals down keeps us accountable to the ideas of change that pop into our head.  It also helps us see in writing what are goals are and what we want to achieve.
4. Replace a bad habit with a good habit.  If we take away something, it only makes sense that there is a hole to then fill.  A good habit is a perfect fit and will kill two birds with one stone! 

What habits do you need to change?

Some Wisdom for Today:  Proverbs 20:9 – Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?”