Building Habits works! ...

Thursday, January 12, 2012. We have been talking about good and bad habits over the past days and that we should try to get rid of bad habits. But how do we build better habits and does it really work?

The push up example …

I have a nice example that building habits really work. Some time ago I realized that I am not able to do push ups any more. I know … everyone is getting older, but for me that was not what I wanted, and I thought it would be nice to get into some better shape with my arms. So at some day I started to change the situation.

I started to do push ups, in the morning and in the evening every time I brushed my teeth. Initially, I could only do one or two of them, but already after some days I was able to push up five or six times, then up to eight, nine, ten push ups. After two or three weeks I made fifteen push ups. There were some setbacks, but the 15 or more push ups is now no problem any more!

The push up example shows that you can train, that you can build new habits and that it is easy! Go step by step and things will grow naturally. It is fun! Building new habits works …

Faith habits to build …

We can also build faith habits. One can be to pray for people. You might take a particular time of the day and pray for one person. You might do this every day. You might then go to two or three and pray for them … and as with the push ups you build some kind of spiritual muscles. You build a habit … and it changes your situation and those of the others.

Another faith habit might be a time to read the bible or to write about it. For me, writing a Christian blog has become such a habit, but also the time to think about who God is and what he wants. It is really great! Initially, it might have been unclear … but when the habit is built, it is easy and a lot of fun!

Give it a try and build your own habits! I am working on it in various areas of my life … and it is encouraging to see things happen by going step by step! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts