Make Progress with Daily Habits (Part 2)

“…And in his upper room… he knelt down on his knees three times that day…as was his custom since early days.” Daniel 6:10 NKJV

In my previous post, I shared how consistency is one of the most difficult aspects of taking action. I also shared the first two steps you can take to create habits that fuel consistency.

After knowing where you are, you become ready to make changes and redirect the path you’re taking. To further create new habits that will help you stay consistent with what you’re striving to achieve, the following steps are vital.

1. Change your lifestyle

The assessment will help you determine where you are. The changes you make at this point will determine where you want to be. Allow your brain to form new pathways by modifying how you live.

Maybe you need to start preparing your clothes for work the day before. Or you need to change when you sleep so you can exercise the next morning. No matter what it is, you must change something before taking the next step.

2. Commit to sticking to this new lifestyle

Your new lifestyle is the habit you want to form that will make consistency possible. But you have to be committed to it. Your ancient brain will want to force you to live the usual way because this is new risky terrain for it and it doesn’t want to use any more energy creating new pathways. So, it’s going to be a battle.

Knowing why you want to change is what will fuel the commitment. That’s why it’s the first step. You may falter sometimes, but you’ll get back on track.

Nobody becomes consistently successful at something by chance. Behind the accolades and interviews you watch is a new habit that the person developed. Many times they don’t realise that it was an integral part of their success and so they share everything else asides from whom they had to become.

Daniel’s reputation for prayer got him into trouble, saved him in the Lions’ den and earned him accolades from the king. He had a custom from his early days and stuck with it. Years from now, what will you say has been your custom? Today is a good day to create one.