What I have discovered is you need to define what ‘habit’ means first.
Calendar quote: “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.
Merriam – Webster
a : a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance <the daily bowel habit>
b : an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary <got up early from force of habit>
c : addiction <a drug habit>
6 a : a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior <her habit of taking a morning walk>
I have a hard time digesting what a successful person is based off of developed habits. Breakfast at a certain time, exercise or not, journal writing etc etc.
The successful people you read about, to me, look like they were always successful. If you look back into their lives their basic nature was that of a successful person. Regardless if they had money or not, notoriety or not or any kind of fame or not.
The one thing that I see they all have in common was the attitude of,
“I am not going to accept my current position in life as my final position in life.”
They made up their mind at some point to become a doctor – that we never heard of, a construction company owner – that we never heard of, the first one in their family to graduate college – that we never heard of, the list I’m sure goes on and on of people we never heard of who looked at their current position in life and did not accept the “script” that their life should follow. But who turned out to be very successful by anybody’s standard.
They made up their mind to change their mind in order to change their circumstances.
I personally have changed my mind to follow the path that God say’s he has laid out for me,
“11 For I know the plans(new ideas) I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans(new ideas) to prosper you and not to harm you, plans(new ideas) to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
He has showed me how my writing is His gift to me. Where it goes from here is up to him. It is going to be a surprise!
Back to April.
It was a month where I learned how to be quiet in His Presence.
Being in His presence I had to learn to place Him on the throne of my life and the only way I knew how to do that was to give up my chair.
I would pull my hood over my face and lay flat on the floor at first, in not so much prayer, but trying to get myself to submit to being small again. I had brought a small plastic kiddie chair into my room and placed it next to the big chair I gave up and I would sit in His Presence for one hour straight.
It hurt in the pit of my stomach but I could tell that something was happening. I didn’t like feeling so vulnerable. Not vulnerable because of being small but vulnerable because He knows everything about me, every sin, every bad act, every cuss word, there was nothing I could hide and no where to go if I wanted to, to get away from His Presence. He was opening me up, instead of hurting me and causing me to curl up and protect myself.
I, just was not, comfortable in His presence. Yet my notes indicate that I had a ‘successful’ month of it.
To the point that on the 30th my note says, ” it has to be everyday now or it doesn’t feel right.”
So for me, changing your habits comes down to changing your very nature. I believe I am a sinner who was adopted into the family of God and now I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind to be aligned with God’s way of thinking, being and acting.
Leave a Reply