~Build~ (Five Minute Friday)

I’ve been thinking lately how to build a better life and realize that a lot of it has to do with habits.  It really is the little things, it seems.

I have started reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, all about how small changes can make a big difference in your life.  His life and his research shows that improving just 1 percent each day for one year will make you 37x better by the time you're done, and getting 1 percent worse each day will result in being at zero. 

"If you want to predict where you’ll end up in life, all you have to do is follow the curve of tiny gains or tiny losses, and see how your daily choices will compound ten or twenty years down the road.” 

James Clear believes we should be more concerned with where we're heading than our current results. This makes a lot of sense to me, when considering things we have control over (choices). For example, choosing to eat healthy food  today doesn’t really make much of a difference, but continue that habit tomorrow and the day after that, for one year, and your body will thank you - you’ll feel different than you do now! Speaking kindly to yourself today might not change your thought patterns, but if you did that everyday, what changes would you experience after a year? How might spending regular time in spiritual disciplines change your spiritual life?   Doing yoga three times this week might not make you feel calmer and flexible after 7 days, but continue that habit for 52 weeks, and you’ll see a difference. I know that I must apply this habit building concept to writing, because I tend to think about  and read about writing more than actually putting the pen to paper!

“Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.” 

I’ve been challenged to think about the habits I am making. Are they leading me to a better life? This book is motivating me to be intentional about my future. I look forward to learning how to design and build habits to set me up for the life I believe I was created for. It's never too late to start. 

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday freewrite. Write for 5 minutes, no editing required! Please join in! 

~Search~

Another 5 minute freewrite. Just start, don't overthink. Oh my.. 

I’ve  joined the 31 Days of Five Minute Freewrites. Read more about it here.

Day 18 Search

There is no need to search if there is nothing valuable to search for.  When we search, we are seeking something that has immense value to us. Searching is mindful and intentional and sometimes intense! 

 It reminds me of the story in the gospels that Jesus told of the searching for a lost sheep. He was explaining what He was like. The Shepherd left the 99 other sheep back in the fold and went out and searched for the one lost sheep. How valuable that one little sheep must have been to Him. It’s a great way to show the immense value that God places on us, those who are prone to wander. He doesn’t give up on us.

  

Are you a researcher? Do you search over and over again for answers? I have had some health issues this past year, and without research, I don’t think my outcome would be as positive as it is now. I’m thankful for internet searches!

photo property of anetac