“If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” How many times have we heard this saying or have said this to our children? When we are learning a new skill, whether baking, a sport, crafting, or math homework, practice does make progress! We have this mentality when it comes to learning new things. What about when we are developing a new habit?
As much as we would like, we do not wake up one morning fully entrenched in our new habit. Habits like waking up early to read my Bible, standing up and taking 250 steps every hour, and bending my knees every night in prayer all take discipline. On average it takes 66 consistent days to build a new habit, and the typical summer break is approximately 90 days long. What a marvelous time to start a new family habit!
The summer months are a great time to introduce something into your family’s day-to-day that you would like to see in your family’s school day the rest of the year. Maybe that is art lessons, silent intentional reading time, or Bible time as a family. The possibilities are limitless and specifically unique to your family and interests. Maybe the goal is to get out of the house more to do acts of service in your community. Then, for example, the 52 Weekly Devotionals for Families Called to Serve would be a great opportunity. Each week you read a devotional and a Bible story, discuss, and then choose activities to live out what you are studying.
Your habit-making choice does not have to be something pre-scripted but can be something you develop as a family unit. Having a plan is key.
- Identify the habit. This may be different for each member of your family, or maybe you tackle something all together. Remember: how each person approaches this habit will be different.
- Write it down, not just in a notebook but somewhere prominent so that the whole family can stay accountable. Make notecards to place on mirrors in the bathroom, the fridge, or the visor of your car.
- Set your goals. Where are you now? Where do you want to be? How do you get there? These are the foundational questions in the Victus Study System. The idea of habits and goal setting is a way of life, and this needs to be taught. Something like Victus helps in this instruction for both young and older learners.
- Schedule time to check-in. This may be around the dinner table, or on the way to practice or to the grandparents’ house. Don’t make check-in sporadic or a surprise. Schedule it so everyone has something to work toward.
- We are better together. You are the best encouragement to your family, and they to you. Don’t try to develop new habits on your own. You are more likely to succeed when more people are invested with you.
Stated earlier, practice is progress. It is not perfection; we are all learning, and a learning mind is a growing mind. Growth takes time, so do not be discouraged when day one does not go as planned. There will be many day-one’s to learn from. Keep learning and keep growing! ~ Rebecca