Practice makes purpose

It’s the things we practice most, that become habits, and the habits we adopt drive us to our purpose, make us who we are and guide the way we live our lives. Therefore, you can understand how practice can strengthen our purpose. Our habits can tell particular things about us and what we believe. Let’s get into how to turn what we practice into useful habits.

There is no shame in starting late.

The first thing that you will have to do away with pertaining to habits is the shame of starting late. You must never feel ashamed no matter when it is you are adopting a habit. If you wish to get into the habit of exercising or anything else, then you need not feel ashamed regarding starting it in a later part of life.

Small changes are easier to start.

If your goal is to remove a bad habit and replace with a good one, then instead of causing a major paradigm shift in your life, the wise way would be to start by making small changes. If you wish to make exercise a habit, then you need to start by moving around in the house, taking small walks and then make a routine out of it. Then CELEBRATE small wins.

Small-small changes are easier to sustain.

In addition to making the start easier, small changes also help in sustaining the path and ensuring continuity. When you do things small-small, it gives you encouragement and from there you only move forward.

Incremental changes add up to huge changes.

When you bring drastic changes suddenly into your life, you are not able to cope up with them for long and as a result, you quit. On the other hand, when the changes are gradually increased, the result of the small changes combine to give a wrap-around effect causing a greater change in your life, in turn making it possible to stick with the habit and see your success.

Faith It Until You Make It.

Creating habit is something which is initially not in your routine, but with consistency, you achieve success and make it a part of your program. You will only achieve this if you think that you have what it takes to make it happen. So, before pursuing or making anything a part of your life, have faith in God, lean not to your own understanding, believe God’s promises, pray, take action and have gratitude .

Dare to Do Self-Care

No matter whatever kind of habit you wish to develop, it is directly or indirectly related to your wellness; therefore, in order to stick with your habit and be consistent in it, you need to achieve high energy and sleep levels.

Strike balance between your heart and mind.

For something to be a habit, it is imperative that your vision aligns with both your heart and mind. If there is a conflict between the two regarding acceptance, then that thing won’t become a habit and if you force it, it will never stay for long. Therefore, pertaining to habit, try striking harmony between the two.

Discipline is the key.

Developing a habit requires that you believe in your habit and then pursue it with discipline. If you are trying to live each day as your best self, you will have to be disciplined, meaning if it isn’t aligned….put it out of your mind. Make sure you put powerful motivations that keep you going during the whole course.

Dealing with disruptions in routine is a learned skill.

If you think that in order to develop a habit, you will have to disrupt your routine, then do some reflection and see that all your life, you have been adjusting things in your routine and it’s a skill you have already mastered.

Don’t make exceptions.

When developing a habit, if (and when) something comes up-don’t be tempted to make an exception. The exceptions will become the habit you make, and the good habit you are trying to form to get you to your purpose will go to the sidelines. Therefore, stay committed and don’t make exceptions.

Your fortune is in your failure.

In formation of habit, you will definitely fail at one point or another; however, it’s your attitude and how you deal with failures that matters, and not the failures themselves. Therefore, develop a positive attitude when dealing with failures, see it as part of the process, and you will see continuity follow in your habits.

Get Accountability Partners.

If your habit is something which can be done in a group, then do it in group-form. Groups of people help each other in sticking with the activity, hence the group provides benefit to all.

The way is in the why.

In order to make sure that you know why you are undergoing habit formation, keeping in mind the end goal can serve as a great motivation factor and give you a clear picture of what waits ahead in the form of fruit of your efforts.

Now it’s your turn!

I'd love to hear in the comments what type of habits you are trying to accomplish this New Year: How will you form them? What kind of difficulties do you think you'll face? What tools will you use to overcome them? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.