This past week, our discussion was on consistently doing the right things, in this case, our habits. In the book The Power To Change, Craig Groeschel says, “The life you are living right now is shaping the life you will live tomorrow.”
A New Realization
If you have been following along, you might be in training with a new habit. Or perhaps you chose to stop an old habit. After you’ve been in training for a while, the excitement wears off, and you discover just how grueling it is to keep going. You might start to wonder why you started all of this.
So what do we do?
Craig Groeschel says there are two essential components we’ll need to become the person we want to be.
- Small
- Consistent
Small
The thing about your new habit is that the habit is easy to do, but it is also easy not to do. It always seems acceptable to skip it.
Pastor Craig says, “…you sculpt your life with the small stuff.”
Remember:
“The small things no one sees can lead to the big results everyone wants.” -Craig Groeschel
Consistent
“The second component is ‘consistent.’ Doing the small thing once is insignificant. Doing the right small things over and over has magnitude you cannot measure.”[1]
Remember:
“…getting the life you want will be the result of countless seemingly small decisions, done consistently over time.”[1]
Nehemiah
Like Nehemiah, when we get discouraged, it’s a sign that we need to go to God in prayer.[1] Just like Nehemiah did when he was rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem, we must realize we need a power we do not possess. We need God’s power.[1]
What does that have to do with mental health?
As I shared last week, I am working on two habits to lower my baseline anxiety level to help my brain deal with the challenges I face each day.
- Getting quality sleep
- Eating right
As we are in training to start or stop a habit, it is easy to get caught up in pursuing perfection over progress. I struggle to get quality sleep. Eating right day in and day out is incredibly difficult. It is easy for me to get frustrated because I am not doing these habits perfectly.
I must consistently remind myself that progress is more important than perfection.
Reflection
How about you? Are you in training? Are you finding it difficult to keep working on your habit?
