Developing Great Habits

                  Habits are cobwebs at first, cables at last. – Chinese Proverb

  Bukassa, Samora, Toby, Chyna, are some of the dogs we grew up with. A visit to our house was surely a visit to the family with a dog.

  Of all the dogs we had there was George which I fondly remember because of his rather strange habit of jumping over fences.

  It started when George struggled a little but eventually began jumping over our four-foot-tall fence. Soon it was second nature to him. We didn’t like it and wanted to stop him so we increased the height of the fence another three and a half feet. Within a few days George was high over it! For George, jumping over fences was now an irresistible habit.

  As it was for our dog, so it is with people. We are all creatures of habits. Habits are those little actions you take so often that they become a part of you. Though initially small, our habits eventually become big, sometimes to a point we can no longer control. Your life is a testament of habits- you were not born the way you are today- who you are is a result of the habits you practiced.

  So, the question is not whether you have habits or not. The question is whether your habits are positive or negative.

  We are the same with George in that we all adopt habits. We are the same in that habits once adopted are difficult to stop, even if it means raising the fences. Nonetheless we, unlike George, are not dogs. We can change our negative habits. To do this we need to keep three things in mind.
    Today is in your hands: every morning keep in mind that it is a brand new day. When faced with a decision know that whatever choice you make will influence your habits, strengthening or weakening them. Choose to strengthen the positive ones and not the negative.

  Start small: ALL things start small and grow big. All negative habits started that way. Building positive ones in their place will also have to start that way. Take small steps in the positive direction. When you succeed (and you will), celebrate it. If you later act otherwise, don’t sweat it, it happens. Simply start small again and keep at it.

   Believe God: God has the ability to “keep you from falling,” (Jude 1:24). Hang your faith on this and enjoy a “fall-less” life of positive habits!