Friday, January 20, 2012

12 Habits in 12 months in 2012

My husband came home the other day and announced that Dave Ramsey said “resolutions are for losers who plan to fail.” Thanks Dave! He further informed me that “Dave said” we should set goals and put time constraints on them if we plan to succeed.

I began thinking about resolutions. This is the first year that I really haven’t been motivated to make any. In previous years I have written down my resolutions, decorated the pretty paper and posted them on the fridge.

This year, however, I just wasn’t feeling it. Perhaps this is because those resolutions never make it past Valentine’s day. Why is that? I believe it is because, for all of our effort in the first few days or weeks of the year, it is too easy to fall back into old habits. And there is that word again…habit.

I sat through a wonderful workshop at a homeschool conference a year or so ago given by Sonya Schafer of Simply Charlotte Mason. The workshop was called “Laying Down the Rails.” The seminar related children’s regular habits and behaviors to the rails a train runs on. Once those rails are laid, the train will naturally follow them.



In order help our children be successful, we should not only instruct them but help them form new and healthy habits. Eventually, with repetition, the new habit becomes the rail.

At 5:45 this morning, it hit me! I don’t need resolutions, I need new habits. I don’t just need to break my bad habits, I need to replace them with beneficial, healthy habits. This makes sense. You don’t just tell your toddler “no,” you redirect him.

I remember reading a long while back in some bible study or other that it takes 21 days to form a habit. When it comes to changing behavior, I consider myself a slow learner. So, why not allow 30 to 31 days.

One new habit per month in 2012, this is my proposal. Surely, with the extra 10 day allowance, I can manage one habit per month! Here is where I began:
First I listed the twelve habits that I would most like to develop in 2012. Then I prioritized them and here is the list I came up with:

Rising early
Staying Home
Keeping a Schedule
Exercising Regularly
Daily Blogging
Daily Cleaning
Promptness
The opposite of procrastinating…whatever that is? Diligence??
Menu Planning
Tracking calories/food choices
Using only Strong Loving Words
Purposefully Nurturing Relationships

I know what you may be thinking, “Rising Early first?” Here is my logic. It seems to me that if I can only get out of bed earlier, my day will begin earlier thus allowing me more time for the other habits I want to develop. Makes sense, right?? I think so!

This post is coming a little late but, I have already been working on this habit. My mom is helping me. She is picking me up at my house at 6:00AM most mornings and driving me to the gym.

My wonderful husband is waking my kids and getting the chore routine started before I get home. Things are going quite smoothly around here.

Here is the challenge:

1. Make your own list of prioritized 12n12n12 habits.
2. Share your list by linking to this post for accountability.
3. Share your progress and follow the progress of others on twitter #12n12n12
4. Don’t give up! If you fall off the wagon, get back up again. New rails take time to lay down!

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