Welcome to the 17th habit in the #GiveMe30HabitProject!!
See this post for all the details and backstory!
This month’s habit is…your choice!
This month’s habit challenge is much different than usual!
Most of us have experienced a state of pause on the typical routines of life over the last 4-6 weeks due to COVID-19. This month, we are set to begin a slow shift in transitioning back to what we consider to be “normal.”
I must adjust that I love the slower pace and the shift of focus to priorities that most have made. I was already very intentional to live that way, but most people were too busy to notice how busy they actually were! Until you stop, you can’t fully appreciate the blessings found in stillness. I’m hoping it isn’t a slow fade back to the busyness for people once things open back up. One thing I’ve learned after stepping out of practicing medicine in order to do life in a way that is more congruent with my values is that God is found in the margins. We, as a culture, are historically bad at filling up the pages of our lives to the very edge. That leaves no room for His moving in our lives.
Within the disruption of our normal habits and routines has been an opportunity for cultivating new habits and routines. Many of us have suddenly found ourselves with the time to actually begin the things we had always wanted to do, but did not have the opportunity to implement before now.
What I am challenging you to do this month is to choose at least one of your newly established habits or routines that you can see has served you well or had brought you joy, and continue to guard it over the next 30 days continuing to practice it every single day. Make no mistake that the transition back to “reality” does pose a risk to things which are not yet well established, but it does not have to mean the death of new behaviors!
Even if you you don’t see a change in your schedule yet this month (who really knows the timeframe on how all this will play out!), you can use this as an opportunity to select a new habit to practice while you do have more time to devote to it.
OK! So, first thing I want you to do once you decide what behavior it is you are going to implement as part of this months habit project is to share with me in the comments below. Who knows, it’s possible that they habit you choose may be one that I need to implement myself! Plus, if it’s one that could benefit others, I might even choose to feature it in a future habit project post!
Once you have established what your habit is going to be, I want you to outline what exactly the process for implementation will look like. Meaning, come up with the specifics of how, when, what, where, why, etc. The more clarity you can give to the practice of the habit, the more likely you are to engage in it.
OK, so now that you have an idea of what the habit looks in practice and the benefits of practicing it, it’s your turn! You don’t have to do every single one of these, but these are some ideas for you to implement.
For the next 30 days:
- Every day for the next 30 days, implement your new habit.
- Practical Tips: If you can, find others to join in too.
- Note how you feel after practicing your habit.
- Practical tips: Call these feelings to mind whenever you don’t feel like following through on your habit.
- Ask a friend or your spouse to join you in this habit.
- Practical tips: Check in with one another via phone, text, email, or in person and share your ideas and struggles so that you can help each other stay excited about the habit and troubleshoot and problems.
- Use a reminder of some kind to help you implement the habit.
- Practical tips: Use a visual trigger like a post-it note or set an alarm on your phone to remind you when it’s time to do it.
- Study how the habit is going over the month and observe what works and what doesn’t.
- Practical tips: Don’t judge, simply learn from things and use it as feedback so that you can pivot as needed. Be willing to make adjustments so that it is easy and practical to implement and as enjoyable as possible as well. Don’t give up if things don’t seem to be working. Keep troubleshooting until you figure out what works for you!
🚨 Don’t forget to share this project with others! You can share the link to this blog post as a status/post on Facebook. Feel free to save and use the image from this post, or use the ones I’ll have on my Instagram page. Whatever other means you have to get more involvement will make this project more fruitful! Tweet, email, pin on Pinterest, etc.
Also, I encourage you to keep track of your journey and use the hashtag #GiveMe30HabitProject on social media. Please tag me in your habit progress and insights! I’ll also be glad to troubleshoot sticking points. I’m Kaci M Byrd Cheeseman on Facebook and @CheeseGirlPA on Instagram.
If you want to check in daily for accountability, you can post either a photo and/or status and use #GiveMe30HabitProject #Day1, #GiveMe30HabitProject #Day2, so on and so forth. I’d love to see how it goes and repost—only if you give me permission, of course! I’ll be searching the hashtag to see who is joining in.
Remember: What is it you want to achieve? Who do you want to become? How do you want to serve others? You may not know how to get there, or even how to get started. I just ask that you trust me and help spread the message to others so they can become involved. Keep showing up, and together we will get you there, one 30 day habit at a time!
Are you ready? Let’s get growing!!
| Kaci
Reader Questions:
1/ How can I pray for you specifically in this situation?
2/ What is one positive thing you have experienced as a result of this pandemic?
P.S. If you are interested in working on a specific habit and need someone to help you troubleshoot, keep you motivated, and hold you accountable, I offer coaching a variety of ways, which you can learn more about here.
My specialty is habit change and my approach is to work on mindset alongside the habit, so that it is healthy and sustainable, and this is best done via 1:1 Coaching which you can learn about here. Whether it involves your health, finances, nutrition, exercise, relationships, or personal growth, habits are the key to success. We are the outcome of what we repeatedly do. Without addressing that, there can be no change. Learn more here!
What Can Be Gained | «Small Wins Create Massive Success» 