HABIT FORMATION LITERATURE

One of the basic tasks for an effective teacher is equipping the students with the resources they need to study the subject matter further independently. 

This is why a prominent feature of my youth retreat plan is the sharing of practical information concerning habit formation. 

The literature on this topic is fascinating and has been growing in recent years. 

There's not much that is specifically Christian in this realm though. 

James K. A. Smith touches on habits broadly in several of his books, connecting habits to character development and spirituality. Richard Foster's classic, Celebration of Discipline, has some practical advice concerning spiritual disciplines, but nothing which addresses habit formation as such. A few Christian authors have regurgitated some of the habit formation wisdom from secular books - like Justin Earley does in The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction - but then they sometimes run counter to that wisdom in places.

The gold standard in the study of habit formation is squarely in the secular realm: James Clear's Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. It has currently sold an astounding 25 million copies worldwide. Obviously, people are finding it useful and passing recommendations to friends and family. Clear's work was built on a foundation laid by Charles Duhigg in the book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Others have contributed bits and pieces to the habit conversation, such as B. J. Fogg in Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. 

I plan to teach the most useful insights regarding habit formation from these books during the retreat (alongside the material on the narrative framework of the Bible) in hopes that by the end of the retreat, the students will have skills which will improve the chances that they will establish a daily Bible reading habit. 

That's the goal anyway. 

MY 2025 PUSHUP HABIT

Since I have a great interest in habit formation, I thought it would be good to record a little progress report on a New Year's resolution - 

One of my morning commitments for 2025 has been to do at least 100 pushups. It's important to note that this was not starting from zero. For several years I have been getting a bit of exercise at home nearly every day. But I didn't tend to get much beyond about 30 pushups. 

It's early February and, 40 days in, I have missed only 2 mornings and they were not back-to-back. (In habit formation, it is key to prevent a single missed day from turning into two consecutive days.)

Each morning on my calendar I have written down the progression of my pushups - what number I reached on my first round, second round, etc. This is a motivation trick for habit formation - tracking a habit provides a visual record of progress - which becomes a small mental reward. It feels good when I record my pushups on paper.

And since the calendar sits on my desk, it helps ensure that I never simply forget to do the pushups. 

During the first two weeks, it took me four reps to get to 100 total pushups. Six weeks in, I am regularly doing around 130 in just three reps:

Week 1:  36/56/80/100

Week 2: 38/67/91/100

Week 3:  40/71/102

Week 4:  46/88/130

Week 5:  49/92/128

Week 6:  51/89/131

In six weeks, I have done 4,615 pushups. I don't know that this has produced any noticeable physical difference in my upper body, but that's somewhere close to 2,000 calories burned - the equivalent of one full day's worth of food. And I am obviously a bit stronger if I can do 50 pushups at a time rather than just 36. 

My goal now is to hit 100 in just two reps. After that, I will likely increase my overall daily goal to 150.

There is a natural push to go bigger once you have proven consistency with a smaller goal. This is why it works to start a new habit with the smallest version of that habit - something that takes 2 minutes or less. A small habit eliminates the excuse that you have "no time" to add something to your routine and gives you the chance to establish automaticity before your natural urge to push yourself to higher goals kicks in.  

And the most important part of this entire habit is my overall commitment to staying healthy and fit for my age. I want to minimize future doctor visits and I want to be in shape to roughhouse with any future grandchildren. ;-) 

Someday. 

FOCUS ON REMOVING THE OLD SELF AND ITS PRACTICES GO WITH IT

I am planning a sermon series on Paul's letter to the Colossians to begin the new year at Sardinia Baptist. It will be killing two birds with one stone: a number of sermons plus material for my dissertation.

Colossians as a whole - with Paul's emphasis on the interplay between knowledge and change in the Christian's life - is the Scriptural basis for my ministry project.

My key verse comes in Chapter 3:

9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 

An initial observation:

"Practices" is a translation of the Greek word "praxis", which itself has been adopted directly into English, meaning deeds or actions. 

It's worth noting that, although most believers I know who take holiness seriously tackle bad behaviors one by one, Paul says we are to take off "the old self" as a complete unit - and the practices go with it. 

This is a major shift in framing.

We aren't just whacking away at the bad habits. Paul has already said in chapter 2 that various "religious" approaches appear to be worthwhile but don't actually rein in the "indulgence of the flesh". 

In other words, they don't get to the heart of the problem.

For the believer, the old self has been replaced by the new self - and that makes a world of difference.

Or at least it should.  

JANUARY IS FOR EXPERIMENTING

In the midst of small talk over the last few days, several people have asked me if I plan to make any New Year's resolutions.

I don't know how to answer because I don't really think in terms of resolutions these days. The connotation of that word "resolution" is of making a commitment and then screwing up the appropriate amount of willpower to follow through with it.

And it's common knowledge that the majority of the population has no interest in making resolutions and, of those who DO make resolutions, the majority of resolvers quietly wave the white flag by the end of January. 

So I have reframed resolutions for myself. I have had enough success with creating and sustaining new habits now that I view January simply as a good time to evaluate my life and determine what new habits could currently benefit me. 

And then I experiment to figure out what is most effective and sustainable.

This year I am focused on my morning routine. 

My problem is that these days the only truly consistent aspect of my morning routine is almost entirely negative: mindlessly scrolling online. 

To fix that problem, for Christmas Melissa gave me a bedside alarm clock. Now I can set morning alarms while leaving my phone in another room. It will no longer be the first thing I reach for. 

Beyond that, I know the categories which need some daily action - Scripture, prayer, exercise and writing - and now I need to experiment a bit with the best content and ordering of these. 

It may require getting to bed earlier. 

Without the pressure of some formal "resolution", I have the freedom to do some experimenting and it turns into a fun and interesting process. 

THINKING YOU'RE THINKING

I've gotten a little slack lately - my "daily" writing habit is often reduced to 4 or 5 times a week. 

It's not that I have run out of topics. I have unlimited things to write about.

But limited energy and time. 

Three years in, I believe the habit is solid enough not that occasional lapses will not lead to outright disappearance. I find writing much too valuable to ever give it up completely.

This is because I feel the constant need to straighten out my thinking, especially as a pastor. And that takes writing.

This is my experience: "If you're thinking without writing, you only think you're thinking." (Leslie Lamport)

[Hat tip to Writes and Write-Nots at https://paulgraham.com/writes.html for the quote.]