We hear about skills for quitting: Being content is a great one. Pray about it and practice it – it really helps.
But you can focus on that all week and still fall.
Then we hear about turning aggressively from sin. Pray about it and practice it – it really helps.
But you can focus on that all week and still fall.
My skill for quitting today is to be around people. Church groups, 12 step, chess club, sports etc. Be active and be around people. Plus, if you quit your addiction and then can’t shine your new found light to anyone… is that a perfect success?
Pray about being around people and practice it – it really helps.
But you can focus on that all week and still fall.
90% of us try a skill for a while and then move on to some other miracle cure. Instead of doing that, focus on turning those skills into habits because we need a bunch of new habits if we are going to quit.
Tip: Repent fully of all your sin. Then seek the Lord and ask for direction on which skills you should turn into habits first. Then start to form habits that will give you the power to quit.
I use a notebook to plan new habits. I put notes by my TV and computer. I have a specific time for my new habit. I make a decision to do my new habit every day and then do them every day.
Key point: Decide on 2-4 skills that you want to make into habits and get started with those. Every few days add another 1 or 2. Now you can see why you need a notebook (plus, going through the notebook is your reminder of what to do).
Reality: Some will pull this off perfectly. I won’t (yeah I know, I wrote the article). But I am going to try to follow my own advice. And if I mess it up, I will try again.
Reward yourself: Giving yourself a tiny reward when you succeed, will remind you that quitting will give you huge rewards in life.
Action plan: On page one of the notebook have a list of your skills for quitting. We can add to this list all the time. On page 2 are the new habits. When, where and how will we do them.
Have a desired goal – 4 new great habits this month. And have a minimum goal – 2 great new habits.
It takes 66 days to form a new habit. The results can be shockingly good.
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