Habit Forming

Stuff of Life As a semi-follow-up to the last post on unresolutions, I thought I'd post about my new favourite life change site zenhabits.net There is so much there about simplifying life, I wish I could do it all. But I'm going to start with one challenge, and that is to form a new habit. Leo, the guy who writes the blog (and also has a book out by the way, check Amazon) says not to set a bunch of new years resolutions but rather to work towards forming a habit because a habit lasts longer. 9 Rules to Form a Habit How to succeed in THE POWER OF LESS Challenge 1. Only one habit. While you might have 3-5 habits you want to form, youʼll decrease your effectiveness if you try to do more than one at a time. Choose just ONE habit to focus on for one month. You can do the other habits in subsequent months.

The habit I am going to form is... jeepers, when I sit here frozen, mulling over what to fill in that blank, I actually have a hard time choosing. So I'm choosing not the thing I think will make me happiest (exercise 10 minutes daily so I can fit into non-maternity pants), but the thing that I know will change many things in a sort of domino effect, and that is this: My habit is to write in a prayer journal for 10 minutes a day.

2. Start small. Just commit to 10 minutes a day. This might sound too easy, but you will almost guarantee success if you do this. You can increase later. I've been inspired like this before, and thought to myself "10 minutes is such a minor change... I'm going for the half hour change!" and inevitably, I've failed every time. So I've learned, that maybe baby steps really are best. 3. Commit publicly. Join the forum on thepowerofless.com, introduce yourself, and post the habit youʼll be forming. Also tell as many people as possible -- friends, family, coworkers -- and post on your blog, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter or other service.

I'm not joining the forum, because that's one more daily internet distraction I just don't need. But I'm committing publicly here (okay so "public" really means to my sister and mother, who, I'm pretty sure are my only readers) and I'll update my status on facebook too.

4. Write your plan. Write out exactly what habit youʼll be forming, when you start, what time during the day youʼll be doing it, rewards you might give yourself, how youʼll overcome any potential obstacles. Write it down to succeed!

I'm going to write in a prayer journal for 10 minutes a day. Starting today, when the kids go down for naps and quiet time, the first thing I'll do, before anything else, is sit down in my comfy chair with a cup of tea and a nice pen and fresh journal page and just write. I won't edit my thoughts, or debate over wording. I'll just write my prayer to God, whatever is on my mind. I could follow A.C.T.S (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) format, but I probably won't. It'll just be me telling God what's going on, how I need help, and opening myself up to His voice in my life.

5. Find a trigger. Find something you already do consistently every day -- wake up, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, shower, arrive at work, have lunch, have dinner, anything -- and tie your new habit to this trigger. Do it every day RIGHT AFTER this trigger. My trigger is nap time/quiet time! If, for some odd reason, these don't occur on a certain day, I'll do it when the kids go to bed at night. But let's be honest... I live for nap time and I don't sway from THAT routine too often! 6. Be consistent. Do not miss a day. Try to get a streak going -- 30 straight days! If you miss a day, keep going, but the more consistent you are, the more likely the habit will stick. Aiming for 30 days! 7. Report progress. Every day, report your progress on the Challenge forumʼs daily thread. I'll report back here daily. 8. Motivate. Give yourself rewards each week. In fact, give yourself a reward each of the first few days, and then weekly after that.

Gotta be honest, I like rewards... I don't treat myself too often. So, for the first week, each day after I write in my prayer journal, I will treat myself to... um... chocolate. Okay, I know this really defeats my other secret goal that I would magically become a size 10, but I can't think of anything that is smallish and something I would look forward to. But to make it better, I'm not going to oink out on a whole chocolate bar. I'll get 7 nice individual chocolates from Purdy's or Laura Secord's or Bernard Callbeaut. Today I might not have time to pick up so I'll satisfy myself by breaking off part of my chocolate M from Christmas. It's not high quality, but hey, chocolate is chocolate!

9. Be positive. Keep a positive attitude throughout the entire challenge to be successful. If you find yourself thinking negative thoughts, squash them like a bug! And replace them with positive thoughts. It really works.

This might be the hardest of all. Struggling with the whole negative self perception these days, but I'll give it a try.

The other suggestion along with the habit formation is to use the habitmantra:

I MAKE A SOLEMN OATH TO MYSELF - I WILL NOT MISS A DAY OF COMPLETING MY NEW HABIT. THIS SMALL TIME I WILL SPEND ON THE NEW HABIT IS A TINY PRICE TO PAY FOR SUCCESS.

I'm not so into mantras, but I will write this verse and post it on my fridge (which I visit frequently during the day) as a reminder and encouragement and mini-prayer:

Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Psalm 102:1.