Hey, Alex!
Habits are hard things to build and hard things to break and the difficulty is that both the habits you want to build and the habits you want to break match each other in importance and difficulty. For that reason, many people give up and slouch back into what is easy and comfortable. However, there might be a way for them to have their cake and eat it too and it sits right in front of their nose. Allow me to introduce you to Habit Stacking!
Habit stacking is the habit building strategy that takes a habit you want to build and combines it with a habit you already have. One of the examples in my audiobook “The Three Simple Ways to Build Good Habits: Unlock the Secrets to Building Good Habits and Achieve Your Goals” goes like this: you want to start working out every evening after work, but instead you have the habit of watching TV in the evening to relax. Rather than breaking your TV watching habit (which is only bad because it keeps you from exercising), you should work out while you watch TV. Setup your treadmill in front of your screen and enjoy watching your favorite show while you go on a run.
Some habits are easier to stack than others. Obviously, this doesn’t help if you want to quit smoking or stop scrolling on your phone, but you can apply it to many other situations. If you want to start a morning Bible study, add it to your breakfast routine. If you don’t eat breakfast, then maybe study before your workout routine or before you get dressed. The important thing is to get the new habit into your routine so that if the habit isn’t built yet then you can lean on the existing structure of your schedule.
You see, that’s the same thing God has been showing me in Deuteronomy. God wants his people, above all else, to love him and to obey his rules for life. My big issue is that I can hardly remember what I had for breakfast this morning, much less the order of the Ten Commandments or the other 607 laws that were written down. God understands our limitations, so he gave us helpful tips that help us remember and that help us to build those habits and routines: “”“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,“
Deuteronomy 11:18-20 ESV
They remembered by hearing the words, meditating on the words, and relaying the words to others and that was to be part of their routine. So, every time they sat down at meal together, the Israelites discussed the Torah. Every time they went out walking, they discussed the Torah. Every time they went to bed or got up from it, they discussed the Torah.
So, I hope this encouraging word finds you well and helps you build those new good habits. Thanks for taking the time and listening.
Alex, we’ll talk on Tuesday!
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