Just a Small Seed
Start small. But start.
That’s my lesson for this week. As I wrote last time, I’m working through Mystie Winckler’s Humble Habits online course.
This is week one, where our small seed habit is a daily 15-second prayer. With every habit, we are to attach it to both a trigger (when we will do the habit) and a reward (what we get when we do the habit). You could do this with any change you want to make.
Here is what my prayer habit looks like this week (written on an index card that lives in my bathroom):
Trigger: Going into my bathroom to get ready for the day in the morning.
Prayer: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. (Ps. 34:1-3) I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12) Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him. (Ps. 34:8)
Reward: deep breath, smile, know that I am starting my morning right; praising God and recognizing that I am blessed.
It feels small and can feel like, “What difference does it make?”
A big difference.
Last week in parenting class at church we talked about the biblical principle that we reap what we sow. Like a small seed that grows into a large, fruitful plant, the small things we do now will bear fruit – of one kind or another.
I really appreciate the emphasis in this course on starting small. I have been able to do this habit each day since Monday, and it’s nice to have victories, however small.
Less is More
This week’s email from Mystie had some very helpful instruction from speaker and author James Clear:
“When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do…“It might sound like this strategy is too basic for your grand life goals, but I beg to differ. It works for any goal because of one simple reason: the physics of real life.”
“The 2–Minute Rule works for big goals as well as small goals because of the inertia of life. Once you start doing something, it’s easier to continue doing it. I love the 2–Minute Rule because it embraces the idea that all sorts of good things happen once you get started.”
If I say I only have to do something for one or two minutes, I’m more likely to start it. And if it’s something even somewhat enjoyable, I am more likely to continue doing it for more than two minutes.
This is why I am changing my goals to practice violin and blog for 15 minutes each every weekday (which has been a miserable failure) to practicing and blogging for two minutes each every weekday. I’ll let you know next week how it went.
What about you, what habits are you going to do for less than two minutes at a time this week?