3 Habits, 5 Success Secrets
3 habits a day will change your life and guarantee a total adventure. If you want a life that really adds up to something big, you can’t afford not to invest in these three habits.
3 Habits
First, spend quality focused time with God.
Second, spend time taking care of your body.
Third, use your spiritual gifts. Spend time every day developing some aspect of your spiritual purpose, passion, and ministry.
Sound like too much? Think about it. You have 24 hours. Sleep eight, work eight, and that leaves eight whole hours to do everything else. Set aside a chunk (I use 2-3) of those hours to change your life. Otherwise, you’ll put it off, thinking, “I’ll have time later when…” and when never comes. Good intentions never pay off. Wating for “when” your life never changes or seems to add up to anything special. All those things you want to do are shoved aside as you hurry through your life, all for what? Cut out the stuff that doesn’t absolutely need to be there and take time to develop these three habits a day so you can become fit and free!
5 Success Secrets
First of all, total fitness is not a formula, but a relationship with Jesus that, over time, changes everything about your life. As you begin to line up with His will, you become fully alive and fully usable for His exciting purposes. Here are some tips to make it a growing reality:
Set your schedule one day in advance.
No need to plan a week ahead. The night before, when you know the next day’s agenda, set up your three “appointments” for the next day and then keep them using the next step.
Don’t think about it, just do it.
When it comes to getting out of bed early, devotions, exercise, writing, eating right, or anything else I’m disciplining into my life, I’m learning to shut down my “reasoning thoughts.” I just do what I am supposed to do before thinking about it. When I get up in the morning, I don’t even allow the train of thought, “Should I work out or read my Bible today?” I just get going and don’t even “go there” with my thoughts.
Don’t let feelings dictate behavior.
While feelings may be valid, they still aren’t necessarily accurate. They
are not a trustworthy source for basing our behavior on. If I get up and don’t feel like working out, so what? I do a lot of things I don’t want to do because it’s the right thing to do. Ignore those sabotaging feelings. Suck it up and get going. Pretty soon your body will quit whining because, just like a two-year-old, it will begin to get the message that it’s not going to get its way.
Un-clutter your life.
Don’t let your schedule dictate your life. God didn’t intend for us to live so frantically that we can’t maintain order and discipline. The things God has for us to do are usually quite different than the things we think up for ourselves to do, or even the demands others want to put on us (that we accept).
Jesus was never in a hurry, but He was very intentional and purposed, doing only the things His Father told Him to do. He had time for the important things because He didn’t try to do it all. If He would have had kids, I’m confident He wouldn’t have let them play 2 sports (at the same time), run for office in 3 clubs at school, attend every social event, and make him run home to get their uniform or tennis shoes every time they forgot. Our kids’ schedules have begun to dictate ours lives. Why? Because we let them.
Also, take unclutterness to the next level. Clean house and get rid of all the excess stuff. Everything you don’t need or use, sell it or give it away. It will make you feel lightened in spirit and more ready to do His will. If you have a problem with this step, read “The Treasure Principle,” by Randy Alcorn. You will look at your stuff in a new light.
Get accountable.
Find someone who wants to share your journey and check in regularly. Encourage each other, pray for each other, and read books on the topic together.
A Great Paradox.
You will be a slave to something-either to God or to “Egypt” (your sin). The more you resist God and try to be independent and do your own thing, the more enslaved you become. The more you enslave yourself to God, the more free you become.