How habits are formed
To live a productive life, you will need to adopt a number of life-changing behaviors, and habits that will enhance fruitfulness and productivity such as
Guarding how you invest your time
Guarding what you say
Stop procrastinating
Maintain a daily prayer life
Drink 1 litre of water daily
To achieve this, you need to understand how habits are formed. How habits are formed
Habits are formed in two ways
Unconscious effort : Through repetition forced on us by the necessary routines of life, by authority figures like teachers and parents, and also by our friends and peers. Example brushing your teeth every morning , drinking water first thing in the morning, washing your hands before you eat, etc After engaging in these activities for a while, they becomes a habit, formed unconsciously.
Conscious effort. This is where people struggle a lot because, it involves deliberate, intentional and focused steps to form a new spiritual or positive habit. The Bible encourages and instructs us to be deliberate about how we live. We are to “give careful thought to the paths for our feet and be steadfast in all our ways”. If you do this, you’re on your way to forming spiritual and positive habits.
Ephesians 5:15 NLT
[15] So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise.
Proverbs 4:26-27 NLT
[26] Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. [27] Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
Once we understand the ins and outs of habits ( “How Habits Work”), we can harness the process, so that we can create the habits we desire.
The routine arc, is a 6 part process I’ve designed but culled from scriptures , that shows you how habits are formed, and if adopted, will help you form new habits.
The more you understand the routine arc you are creating, the easier it will be to identify any problems that might prevent you from making it a regular behavior pattern that will alter the course of your life.
To be continued in the next edition…
