Getting Your New Year Started Right (Habits)
We started a series this past Sunday in the offering messages on "Getting Your New Year Started Right".
New Year's resolutions generally fail because we often wait until the last minute to make them and don't give it real serious thought.
When you make a resolution you are making a firm decision to change something in your life.
Most often it's a habit that you want to change. If you understand how habits are programmed into you then it will be easier to understand what you have to do to reprogram yourself.
Remember you are self-programmable.
In Romans 12:2 it talks about being transformed by the renewing of your mind. Another way to say that is "If you reprogram your thinking then your habits can change."
However habits are programmed into your subconscious, they are deep-seated in you. That is why they are so hard to change.
Habits can be your best friends if you have the right ones. Its the wrong ones that can do you in.
Habits are God's way to destress your life. Habits let your subconscious make a decision according to the way you've programmed it and accepted as the way that is right or the way you want to go.
But your subconscious doesn't want to give them up, its programmed to stay the same until completely convinced to change.
Some of these habit-altering, sub-conscious reprogramming tools are under your control, some are not.
You can pray for God to speak to you in dreams or by His voice to help you change. However, you don't want to pray for a dramatic life-event.
I recommend that you spend your time using biblical meditation and repetition.
Step #1:
Define your problem. Write it down. Think about it. Pray about it. Write it down as accurately as you can. Ask God if you've got it written out correctly.
Step #2:
Spend sufficient time in prayer and Bible reading to get a solid answer to your problem. I recommend you come up with a list of scriptures that directly speak to your situation.
Step #3:
Meditate on those scriptures. If you don't know how to do biblical meditation just think about what you do when you worry. You imagine the problem from every angle and mull over every thing that could go wrong.
In biblical meditation take a scripture and begin to imagine it. Try to view it from every angle. Just like when you're worrying. Try to imagine every possible thing that could go right in your life if this scripture was fully implemented in your life.
Step #4:
Change your actions. Based on the scriptures you've meditated you'll know some new actions to replace your old habits with. Begin to do those new actions. Over time they will become habit.
If you get this process started now in December, by the time January 1 comes you'll already be on your way.
Love ya
Joe
New Year's resolutions generally fail because we often wait until the last minute to make them and don't give it real serious thought.
When you make a resolution you are making a firm decision to change something in your life.
Most often it's a habit that you want to change. If you understand how habits are programmed into you then it will be easier to understand what you have to do to reprogram yourself.
Remember you are self-programmable.
In Romans 12:2 it talks about being transformed by the renewing of your mind. Another way to say that is "If you reprogram your thinking then your habits can change."
However habits are programmed into your subconscious, they are deep-seated in you. That is why they are so hard to change.
Habits can be your best friends if you have the right ones. Its the wrong ones that can do you in.
Habits are God's way to destress your life. Habits let your subconscious make a decision according to the way you've programmed it and accepted as the way that is right or the way you want to go.
But your subconscious doesn't want to give them up, its programmed to stay the same until completely convinced to change.
- Dreams can reprogram your subconscious.
- Dramatic life-events can.
- Biblical meditation can.
- Repetition can.
- Hearing God's voice can.
Some of these habit-altering, sub-conscious reprogramming tools are under your control, some are not.
You can pray for God to speak to you in dreams or by His voice to help you change. However, you don't want to pray for a dramatic life-event.
I recommend that you spend your time using biblical meditation and repetition.
Step #1:
Define your problem. Write it down. Think about it. Pray about it. Write it down as accurately as you can. Ask God if you've got it written out correctly.
Step #2:
Spend sufficient time in prayer and Bible reading to get a solid answer to your problem. I recommend you come up with a list of scriptures that directly speak to your situation.
Step #3:
Meditate on those scriptures. If you don't know how to do biblical meditation just think about what you do when you worry. You imagine the problem from every angle and mull over every thing that could go wrong.
In biblical meditation take a scripture and begin to imagine it. Try to view it from every angle. Just like when you're worrying. Try to imagine every possible thing that could go right in your life if this scripture was fully implemented in your life.
Step #4:
Change your actions. Based on the scriptures you've meditated you'll know some new actions to replace your old habits with. Begin to do those new actions. Over time they will become habit.
If you get this process started now in December, by the time January 1 comes you'll already be on your way.
Love ya
Joe