I work with a group of outstanding young men. I invited them for one week to read one scripture every day. Some did. Others did not. The purpose of the challenge was not to develop deep, spiritual roots; such only comes from consistent concentrated study over time. Rather, this invitation’s purpose was for them to start to build a foundation of regular scripture study.
Studying the scriptures may not be of interest to you now but if you’re reading this likely you are interested in improvement. You want to better yourself and reach your full potential.
Realizing your full potential comes from developing the habit of SHOWING UP for the right things. Do it consistently over time and you’ll be amazed at the results.
Here’s the pattern when forming a new habit: 1. Write the new habit on a habit tracker(1), 2. Make it easy, 3. Show up (do it consistently), 4. Record your progress immediately after completed, 5. Celebrate your success with a signal or yell that gives you “shine” (as B.J. Fogg terms it). As for me I yell “Victory!” while throwing a sideways “V” symbol with my right hand.
Commenting on parts 4 and 5 of this pattern James Clear writes, “People often think it’s weird to get hyped about reading one page or meditating for one minute or making one sales call. But the point is not to do one thing. The point is to master the habit of showing up. The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can’t learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details. Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have to standardize before you can optimize.” (Atomic Habits.)
Be intentional.
(1) Learn more about the Habit Tracker at https://jamesclear.com/habit-tracker. (No, I do not get paid by James Clear).
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