- Good habits put first things first: In an age with so many distractions – cell phones, digital media, tv, entertainment, etc… it’s easy to forget what’s truly important. Good habits can draw you back in to what matters most.
- Good habits give you a direction: Things will inevitably go wrong in your life, in your day, in your family. Good habits get you back on the path.
- Good habits save you time: Habits get faster. It doesn’t take you as long to tie your shoes now as it did the first time, right? Why? Because you’ve gotten better at it with practice.
- Good habits save you energy: It takes energy to make conscious decisions which can lead to decision fatigue. Good habits make those decisions automatically. It’s the difference between driving down the highway with cruise control on and constantly checking your speed and adjusting your foot on the pedal.
- Good habits unleash creativity: When your life is on track and you have excess time and energy, you can be more creative, more spontaneous. What might you do if you had access to more of your creativity?
- Good habits make you stronger: Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. Good habits touch every part of your being.
- Good habits make time work for you: In the game of life, it’s not where you are now, it’s where you’re going. Good habits build momentum. Have you ever seen an avalanche? That awesome force of nature begins with a single stone or ball of snow. What might happen if you had momentum working for you rather than against you?
- Good habits make failure impossible: Wait, you’ve failed at keeping a good habit before, haven’t you? Perhaps you should listen to the words of St. Josemaria Escriva: “So you have failed? I tell you, you cannot fail. You have gained experience.”
- Good habits kill stress: Stress is often the price you pay for doing rather than being. You can’t give what you don’t have. Good habits allow you to possess yourself in joy… so you can give yourself away in joy.
- Good habits let you be you: God had a dream when He made you. You are precious to Him, priceless, irreplaceable. You are His son/daughter. You don’t have to conform to society’s pseudo-standards, but rather be transformed by Him through good habits.
- Good habits let you love others more: When you’re you, it’s so much easier to love. Because you’re more in touch with your heart, your love can flow more freely.
- Good habits make your dreams come true: “Discipline drives your dreams,” says January Donovan at The Woman’s School. Don’t focus on the habit at first. Focus on Your Dream. Take some time right now to grab your journal or a piece of paper and write down your dream. What do you want for your physical body? For your mind? For your heart? For your relationship with God? For your family? For your work and career? For your home and finances? Don’t be afraid of what’s in your heart. And don’t play small. Be like a kid at Christmas writing up her list for Santa: “I want a pony. No, wait, 2 ponies, 1 for me and 1 for my best friend. And a swimming pool… with a diving board… and a water slide…” Yes, some of these dreams may be superficial, but underneath those are the deepest desires of your heart, the place God calls you from, the place He’s leading you to… Now set this aside and write your dreams.
