Habits, Habits, Habits!

What’s the difference between a New Year’s resolution that typically fails and a life-long growth commitment that succeeds?

It’s usually in the little things, boring habits that go unnoticed.

Whether growth is personal, relational, financial, professional, or spiritual, it rarely happens in one big leap. People want it to be that way—and that’s why they fail. I’ve failed more times than I’ve succeeded. That’s why I’m learning the value of habits.

Growth, and resulting success, happens through thousands of little steps. And if we do make a big leap, it’s because we’ve first made thousands of small steps.

In countless, hardly noticeable, ways: Do we eat healthy or junky? Spend or invest? Give or hoard? Exercise or sit? Forgive or sulk? Strive or loaf? Hope or lament? Praise or criticize? Trust or doubt? Pray or assume? Smile or frown? Or somewhere in between?

Examples that come to mind are usually results of countless habits that we generally don’t even notice.

Successes or failures ultimately result from the subtle habits of what we think, value, do—and don’t do. Unnoticed habits add up. All the time. And they continually add up in one direction or the other, for better or for worse. We are the sum of our habits.

What change in life do you want enough that you’re willing to alter one consistent habit or more? Name that habit.

The key—or double-edged sword—in all this is that on one hand it’s so easy to do, but on the other hand it’s so easy not to do.

What small habit would you commit continually to do—and continually seek God for the grace to do?

And on days that you fail, tomorrow is only hours away. Never give up.

Photo credit: jillcarnahan.com