Cultivating Healthy Habits

As I sat down to write this post, I got distracted….

Instead of writing, I procrastinated by scrolling through Instagram and playing a game on my phone. I did that simply because “I didn’t feel like writing.” I had no motivation and little desire to write even though I sat down with that intention—and my blog is something that I want to work on, grow, and develop.

My habit of lazily sitting on my phone, iPad, or laptop while spending hours playing games, scrolling through social media, or binge-watching YouTube, movies, or TV shows began when I was a teenager.

This is how I spent most of my free time throughout junior high and high school. It especially got bad during my senior year. I would spend hours after school each day watching movies or shows on my Chromebook, all the while pretending to do homework.

My excuse for this bad habit was that I was “doing research.” At the time, I wanted to become a screenwriter after I graduated from college (which did not happen!). In reality, I was lying to myself because I knew that what I was doing wasn’t productive or healthy for me. In fact, all it did was make me crabby, anxious, and stressed.

I regret all the time that I wasted binge-watching that last year of high school. I could have been doing so much more with my time—writing, practicing my golf skills, learning a new instrument, practicing my clarinet, or working out.

I wish that I had used that time to develop skills and habits that I could have now that I have graduated college. Instead, I’m spending a lot of time and energy trying to break those bad habits and cultivate new ones.

Since these habits are so ingrained into my rhythms of life, most days it is difficult to find the will and desire to develop the habits and do the hobbies that I love. When I fall into those bad habits, I end up getting angry at myself for the time that I’ve wasted.

Now, I’m not saying that watching YouTube, movies, or shows is a terrible and wicked way to spend your time. In fact, spending time this way can be beneficial. YouTube is full of positive, encouraging, and educational resources. Watching movies and shows can allow you to spend quality time with family and friends. And I genuinely enjoy sitting down and watching a good movie, show, or video every now and again. Habits, like these ones, only become bad when you are spending too much time doing them.

In fact, that’s how all habits are. Good habits can easily become bad habits. Bad habits can easily become good habits. It all comes down to three things: prayer, self-control, and intention.

1. Prayer: pray that King Jesus will replace your old desires and habits (the bad ones) with ones that will please and honor Him!
2. Self-control: Through His Spirit, Jesus will give you the power to have the self-control and self-discipline to say “no” to habits and desires that are not beneficial (Galatians 5:22-23). If you have to literally tell yourself “no!” when you’re about to fall back into an old, unhealthy habit, do it! I’ve done that a lot and found it to be helpful—though you have to make the decision to listen to yourself; I don’t always do that.
3. Intention: In order to cultivate new habits, you have to intentionally set aside time to actively pursue them.

Cultivating new habits will not happen overnight. It’s like planting a garden... 

You first plant the seed of desire. Then you take time to water it as often as needed—this means actually doing the new habit. Then every so often you have to go through and weed out the old, bad habits again and again. 

This is why prayer is so important to the process! It is only with the strength of the Holy Spirit that you can put away your old self—the unhealthy and sinful habits—and put on your new self—healthy and God-honoring habits. 

But that is not the way you learned Christ! —assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:20-24, ESV)

Prayer also helps us to remain patient in the slow growth of new habits.

In the times that I get angry with myself for falling back into my unhealthy old habits—like wasting a lot of time on my phone or laptop—I have begun to remind myself of this truth: God’s grace is greater and more abundant than my failures.

But he [Jesus Christ] said to me [Paul the apostle], “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)

In those times, I try to remember to pray and ask God for forgiveness and then for the strength to have the will and desire to spend my time differently—in a way that pleases and glorifies Him (Nehemiah 8:10).

When it comes to giving up old habits, you have to remember that it is Jesus who does the changing work in you. To paraphrase something my pastor said in a recent sermon, we follow and obey Jesus not by giving up bad habits, but by letting Him be the king of our hearts.

We can strive and strive to change our hearts and give up our bad habits. Yet, no matter how hard we try in our own strength, we will never be able to fully change. That’s why it is crucial to pray and surrender your everything—your thoughts, desires, bad habits, good habits, and more.—to King Jesus.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4, ESV)

The more that you seek—delight in—the Lord and get to know Him, the more He will shift your heart to desire what He desires. We must let King Jesus change our habits and desires.

Though I still struggle with my bad habits and desires, I have noticed over the past few years that the Lord, my King, has has begun little by little to fix my eyes on what pleases Him. I have become more aware of the difference between desires that are from my sinful flesh and those that are given to me by the Holy Spirit.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9, ESV)

So I challenge you today to begin creating and cultivating habits that you want to continue for the rest of your life.

Start with prayer, then practice self-control, and finally continue to make intentional choices to cultivate those new habits!

A few new habits that I’m working to cultivate include baking/cooking allergy friendly foods, learning to play my mandolin, and developing this blog!

What new habits are you looking to fill your life with??

Additional Resources:

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God our Father, through Him.” (Colossians 3:17, NIV)

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:22-24, ESV)