There has already been much said about habits. Experts seem to agree that forming new habits takes time, as much or more than 30 days. I am generally pleased with the progress we have made in changing our habits over the years, although I do get impatient and discouraged (perhaps overwhelmed is a better term) at times. If we were not disciplined at all, I doubt we'd be done with 180 days of school before the end of May. And feedback I get from family and friends seem to suggest that I am doing a good job with my kids.
That said, however, I crave more progress! I've decided to make this our summer theme, putting off the old and putting on the new. I am going to challenge my children to think about their habits. And then to take on the work of rooting the bad ones out for good. One at a time. One month at a time.
For me, that means I am going to piggy back new habits onto more firmly established ones. For example, I am in the firm habit of getting up early, reading my Bible and praying. I would like to add exercise to that routine. (Oh dread! Did I just say that?)
I do need to be very careful not to add the top fifty habits I'd like to acquire all at once. I am tempted to launch into a totally new routine. I think building on my already good habits is the key for me. One at a time. One month at a time. That will be my motto. This will probably take the next 25 years, if the Lord allows. (lol)
I will continue to strive to maintain the good, solid habits we have and then endeavor to add on to those new ones until they too are part of our lives.
Summer break just seems like a great time to work on these things. Want to join me? What habits would you like to "put on?"
~Jenn
Ephesians 4:21-23 (ESV)
...assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,Romans 6:6 (ESV)
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
So many habits to break and new ones to establish. I need to get up earlier than the little people.
ReplyDeleteI hope you start the habits you want and that your summer goes well with your habits. :)
ReplyDeleteJoAnn
I do need to work on the exercise habit--but around here, I'm allowed to say that word, just not the other one! LOL
ReplyDeleteEven more, though, it is a question of focus, of thinking through the things I do.
And, like you said, it's one thing at a time, building on other good habits.
If you want to set up an accountability meme, I'd love to join, although I won't have much computer access in July.
And THANK YOU so much for your amazing comment. I'm tempted to print it out and hang it above my desk for gloomy days. :)
((hugs))
Annie Kate
Ooo, how timely, Jenn. I was just posting to someone else that I'd really not taken the time to think about what I wanted this summer to look like. I should have taken this week off as a way of making a clean break from the school year and doing some things of this nature. I'm already thinking about a daily act of kindness as a habit for all of us. I saw that another commentor mentioned exercise, a habit I need to tighten up on. Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteJenn,
ReplyDeleteYou are a brave soul to take this challenge. I have quite a few bad habits to break, and the new habits that I am meagerly trying to establish in my own life are not going too well at present, ugh!
Anyway, good luck with adding exercise to your morning routine. I need to do that too, but lately, I'm just not very motivated to "get off my duff." Ugh! :(
-L. Rose
I tried to leave a comment & I think blogger ate it. :(
ReplyDeleteBut in short, yay for building good habits!
I do hope you haven't returned 168 Hours yet.
ReplyDeleteEven though I disagree with a lot of what the author says, she has a few insights so valuable that it’s worth reading the first part of the book...It's good to read about the discrepancies between what people think they do and what they actually do, and to understand core competencies and how they affect all aspects of life, especially work.
People with different core competencies would probably do better homeschooling in different ways, for example.
Blessings,
Annie Kate
Have you ever read the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin? There is a part where he works very hard at improving a list of habits and character traits he would like to develop. Could be an interesting tool for you.
ReplyDelete