Ife J. Ibitayo
I am a happy creature of habit. Every morning, I wake up at 7 AM, brush my teeth and change into my work clothes. I head into the kitchen and grab a fruit cup, two cheese sticks, two granola bars, and a glass of juice. I spend thirty minutes reading my Bible, then dive into work. My patterns continue throughout the day. I used to joke that if a stalker were trying to peg me down, they’d be finished in a day.
Yet all of us are slaves to our habits. We just have to have our Starbucks latte and scroll through Instagram as we ride the train to work. Or we have to eat out for lunch because we just don’t have enough time in the morning to make something healthy. Or we have to binge scary Netflix movies before we go to sleep each night because that’s the only way we can relax (still don’t quite understand that mindset). When anywhere from half to three-fourths of our actions each day are habit driven, the habits we form are very important indeed.
But how do we change our habits when we are our habits?
Finding a Vision
The first step is laying hold of a vision. The Apostle Paul once said of believers, “We all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18a). We innately become what we fix our eyes on. We have to be energized by a goal, an end destination that is worth the high price of change.
Starting Small
Secondly, start small. For many of us, when we read an article like this, we may be tempted to go vegan, finish our magnum opus, and become the perfect spouse, parent, and employee all by next week. But drastic, unsustainable change never lasts. Someone once said, “Greatness is not composed of one big act but a thousand little ones.” When we commit to eating out one less time a week, or writing one page of that novel, or saying, “I love you” as soon as we wake up, we are setting ourselves up for future greatness, one tiny habit change at a time.
Celebrating Victories
Lastly, celebrate the victories, both big and small. I especially struggle with this. I tend to see each hill I climb as a fresh vantage point to start eyeing the next mountaintop. But science shows that the act of celebrating reduces stress and increases our productivity. Patting ourselves on the back for following through with our commitments makes it more likely for us to keep them long term.
Conclusion
Almost all of us have bad habits that we tolerate in our lives. But life was never meant to be tolerated; it’s meant to be lived. When we find the right goal, get off to a manageable start, and celebrate the progress we make, we’ll be just that much closer to the fullness of being God has called us to.
“I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:12)
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