Inching Forward

Sticking to the commitment to making changes in our life isn't always an easy decision. The early days of new behaviors are tough as we retrain our mind and body to behave differently. Our old habits threaten to overtake our new desires and we can become discouraged by the difficulty of this change. There are different studies that suggest it takes 21 days for a new habit to take effect, but I've also seen some that suggest it is closer to 66 days before something is ingrained. I think the exact number might be different for each of us, but there is one common element that helps us keep going--seeing positive results.

When we start to see even small, incremental progress from our new behaviors this encourages us to stay on this new track. Our relationships might start to improve because we've committed to approaching things with a more peaceful attitude. A new runner is able to run for 1/2 mile when that wasn't a possibility before. Changes in muscle tone become more evident after struggling to complete repetitions. Kicking a smoking habit is a bit easier when the cravings start to lessen even if they haven't disappeared completely.

Positive progress makes us aware that what we are doing is working. We all need forward momentum or we'll get discouraged and quit before we can create new, healthier habits.

Mislabeled

You probably wouldn't believe a label reading, "chocolate milk" if it was placed on a gallon of bleach. That kind of ignorance would be foolish. Realistically however, we mislabel many other things and convince ourselves that the improper label is the correct identifier regardless of what we are truly seeing.

• We mislabel divisive conversation as helpful criticism.
  
• We mislabel malignant gossip as prayerful concern.
  
• We mislabel sporadic generosity to ease personal guilt as genuine compassion for others.
  
• We mislabel once-a-week attendance as faithful Christianity.
  
• We mislabel societal dysfunction as the norm because it is widely accepted.
  
• We mislabel lustful glances & adulterous flirting as harmless, friendly interaction.
  
• We mislabel deliberate sinfulness as acceptable because it's "not that bad."

We have two choices: blindly follow poorly labeled practices and let their misnomer fool us into a false sense of what is good or we can recognize what is wrong and make the correction in our own lives first. Just because a label makes us feel better about ourselves doesn't mean it's actually good for us. 

A candy coated poison pill tastes better going down, but it will still kill you.

Wasted

We all have ways of wasting time by doing things that distract us from our purpose and derail us in pursuit of our goals. Some are deliberate while others are only recognized after the time is gone. It can be confusing sometimes as we may mistakenly mis-evaluate things as interruptions and distractions when they are actually pushing us in the right direction. These are things we do where we might feel we are being wasteful when they are actually beneficial to us. 

It's never a waste of our time when we:

• Have seemingly directionless conversations with our children. This is time that can not be recovered once it is gone and we should value even the silly moments while we have them. 
• Have quiet moments with our spouses. There doesn't always have to be a conversation for time together to be renewing. 
• Invest in someone else. We should have someone that we are pouring energy into through prayer, conversation, and accountability. Immediate results may not be seen, but we need to be faithful to the intention of developing others. 
• Rest. When this is used as justification for laziness we have missed the real meaning of taking a (brief) break. Rest is essential if we are going to operate at full strength and use our gifts & talents wisely. 
• Practice silence. I have learned the hard way that you don't always have to speak to be heard. You can gain more insight and often offer more wisdom by observing & choosing the best time to interject. 
• Praying. This seems fairly obvious, but when we pray without seeing the results we are asking for it can be frustrating. Know that even if you don't receive the response you think you should, the discipline of prayer is building you up spiritually. 

Tomorrow's blog will examine the ways that we actually waste our time and how we can limit those negative practices.