The Power of Habits and Why You Need Them

Habits can be helpful or harmful to us, depending on what type of habits we adopt into our life. Some of our practices are intentional. We might decide to exercise daily, and welcome healthy foods into our diet. Some routines, however, can be self-sabotaging. 

The Bible tells us to watch and pray, and I believe this should be in all things. The devil is waiting for us to mess up, in fact, he will help us out if we will listen to him. He wants us to destroy our lives, and he often sets up traps for us. It is never a big thing. Our enemy sneaks little things into our lives to cause us hardships. So often, we don’t even realize that we are failing victim to him. 

For me it is often distractions. If I’m not focused and intentional about my day, the devil will have me wasting my time. Instead of working on the project that needs to be completed, I will be snoozing and sleeping until the last minute and then rushing through my morning—forgoing my precious writing time.

This morning, I am so sleepy. It literally feels like I have sand in my eyes. It would have been extremely easy for me to go back to sleep. If I had skipped my writing time and workout, I could have slept for an extra two hours. But I have created this habit to get up early and dedicate the first two hours of my day to improving myself. I have dreams and goals, and sleeping in doesn’t propel me forward. 

Our time is the one of the most precious gifts that we have. It is not something that we can buy more of. When it is gone or wasted, we can never get those precious moments back. Lately, I have been thinking about my life. What will matter in the end? Will I wish that I had gotten more sleep? Or will I wish that I had left more stones for my children and tried a little harder to make a difference in the world? 

Serving God and being intentional about our day is never easy. We can, however, create habits to help us become more successful in our endeavors. Every Monday morning, I sit down with my laptop and start writing—whether I feel like it or not. Usually, I write a few words and pray. Hoping that the Lord will give me a thought or help me to articulate the thoughts that I do have. It’s never easy, but the weekly practice has helped me to develop a stronger writing habit. 

I also read self-development books. Learning how other people manage their time and productivity helps me. In his book, “15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management”, Kevin Kruse gives lots of examples to create better routines. Below are my top five.

1. Set daily priorities
2. Consistent morning ritual
3. Write everything down in a notebook
4. Work themes for every day of the week.
5. Don’t focus on time, but focus on energy. 

When we create great habits, then we will not be as easily defeated. For example, I get up and go to church every Sunday. My alarm is set to repeat every week. I don’t think about it. I just get up and we go. Because if I thought about it and questioned if I should go or not, then the devil would have an opportunity to talk me out of it. As it is, I have created a habit to help me achieve more of what in my life. 

We are all in control of our lives, and we need to decide what we want more of. Take some time today to think about what makes you feel happy, accomplished, and successful, and create habits to help you achieve more of it every single day. This is your life, do something every day to make it great! 

Have a wonderful Monday!

Candida