Good habits are good for you!

On a working day one of the things I try to insist on doing is to be in my classroom by 8.00am.  Even if I don't have something pressing to do it just gives me that window of calm to gather my thoughts and prepare mind, body & soul for the day ahead.  Most, if not all of the time I have music playing in the background (the children love it and have enjoyed quizzing me about the artist(s) playing); this week it's the mellow sounds of Kenny G and his saxophone. 

Again, at home, before bed, I have certain things I do, things that are now habit and to not do them would feel strange; making sure that the kitchen, specifically, is clean and tidy (probably because it's a heavily used room); school books are packed and by the door ready for the next day.  As parents we subconsciously and early on, introduce our children into a life of habit forming but perhaps, ourselves, lose sight of the power of good habits.

They say if you do something repeatedly for 21 days it becomes a habit.  Well I have been blogging for nearly 60 days..............'Yay' and today (day 58) I am thankful for this habit.

Interestingly, the ucb 'word for today' was all about habits and how they determine our future -powerful reading!
  

YOUR HABITS DETERMINE YOUR FUTURE - 22 Feb 2012

 ''...Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed...'' Daniel 6:10

Your habits either work for you or against you. Take any habit you practise, multiply it by 365 days, then multiply it by seventy or eighty years and you can write your own obituary. Simply stated: great people have great habits. One billionaire says, 'I arrive at my office at seven a.m. It is a habit.' A best-selling author says, 'I get up at the same time every day. I start writing at eight a.m. and quit at four each afternoon. I do it every day. It is a habit.' Jesus was a creature of habit. 'And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his [habit] was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day...' (Luke 4:16). Daniel prayed three times a day. His prayer life was so predictable that his enemies used it to trap him. When measured by the same standard, how is your prayer life? It's said that if you can do something consistently for twenty-one days you have proven that you can do it for twenty-one years. Will you slip at times? Sure, you're only human. But once you have tasted success it's hard to be satisfied with less. Jesus said, 'If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine' (John 8:31 NAS). Note the word 'continue;' it's the secret of true greatness. Your success can be found in your daily routine. If you're serious about changing your life you must stop practising bad habits and start instituting good ones.