Christian Life Coaching - How About My Habits?
Most of our behavior is demonstrated by our habits. But, what is a habit? Organically, habits are created through continuous, electrical impulse messages to our brain, which the sensory nerves transmit from our hearing, touch, vision taste and smell to the data processing area of our brain over our lifetime. Cognitively, habits are a recurrent, often unconscious system of behavior that is acquired through successive repetition, an established disposition of the mind or character.
It is paramount to concede that some of those habits are not good for us. We all have habits or patterns that are part of who we are and reveal how we live and work - but there comes a time when we need to acknowledge that some of those habits are not good for us. All of us have some habits in their lives that robs their day-to-day lifestyle of a little (or a lot) of happiness.
You may see that to successfully manage habit changes, replacing bad habits require exchanging them with new profitable ones. General bad habits often include: over scheduling, over spending, over eating, and even over analyzing. We often think that we can't overcome an area because it is a "habit," and conventionally habits are hard to break.
Where do these habits come from? We train ourselves with damaging habits as written in 2 Peter 2:14, we are insatiable for sin [we] train our hearts in greed.
Bad habits are genetic coming from parents and grandparents. 1 Peter 1:18, shows that the useless behavior patterns that were passed down from your ancestors. But, when Christ releases you from them He makes it possible to live the remainder of your life no longer following human desires, but following the will of God.
We get them from association. Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, Dont be misled, bad friends corrupt good habits. Further, he notes, There are some who, out of habit formed in idolatry, still eat food as if it were offered to idols, and because their conscience is weak, they are defiled. So it is obvious that even after good habits are developed being around those who are of conflicting behavior can destroy them.
What do we need to do about our habits?
5 steps to replace an unhealthy habit into a healthy one
The first step in altering a sinful pattern is to stop trying to break it and create a plan to replace it. A habit implies that a learning has resulted in behavior that occurs so automatically that the one doing it does not have to plan this action or behavior. Often you do not realize what you are doing until after it is done. You must prepare a method to identify this counterproductive pattern or action.
Two, the bad habit is like a hole in your personality. It needs to be filled with something that is good and profitable. The Holy Spirit by His Word trains in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16) so that new practices become habits in place of old ones. Set your mind on what you will do in place of the habit you intend to change.
Three, the time when you are most likely to engage in sinful patterns are when you are stressed, hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. You can remember this with the acronym Shalt as in shalt not! Keep watch on these occasions as this is when your will be most vulnerable.
Four, We are designed to have relationships. Having a friend you can be real and honest with is remarkably important in exchanging undesirable habits. Talk with that person and ask them to keep you accountable regarding your intended result. Ask them to question you about your progress in making your change on a weekly basis.
At Last, practice! Hebrews 5:14, points out to us that mature Christians are those whose faculties have been trained by practice to do distinguish good from evil. Maintain a practice that exercises the good replacement. Take note -- It took time to establish your bad habit, so it will take time to replace it. Is there some habit or behavior that you keep doing and continually lament about it?
My guess is you are ready to change your bad habits with right ones.BY:Michael Young
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