We are told that habits take 21 days to develop. We often have both good and bad habits.
Why does it seem so easy to break good habits and so hard when it comes to bad ones?
Aristotle is credited with saying, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Spiritual leadership is about excellence. Excellence is a habit worth developing!
If you would like a recommendation for a good book on habits, read Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Leaders often feel as if they are being shot at from both sides, in front and from behind.
How many times have leaders faced situations that no matter what decision was made they were condemned? We call this Catch 22 Leadership.
Leaders must be decisive, and they will always have to fight the enemy in front of them. However, they should not have to deal with attacks from followers behind them.
Pray with and for your leaders.
Always speak well of leaders to others.
Make it a habit to build them up publicly.
When a problem arises, speak to leaders privately.
Encourage those who are godly to lead.
People often need a specific day to work on changes in their life. Some start working on better habits in life and others find ways to stop bad ones.
Recognizing the need to improve our lives is a positive step in the right direction.
Is today a new beginning to lead a…
Soul to the light of our Savior?
Straying brother or sister to the family of God?
Deeper study into the truths of God’s word?
More passionate approach to speak with God in prayer?
Whatever the need, every day is a new beginning. Let us achieve spiritual leadership for our Lord in this day.
Out of the depths of silence, we find the power of developing the habit of reflection. Reflection allows leaders to think deeply and carefully about their leadership.
Reflecting on areas of our leadership increases our ability to learn from the past, gain perspective for the present, and adjust for the future.
Every decision deserves careful reflection as to the implications and consequences of making that decision.
A time of reflection helps give perspective. Reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of our leadership and interrelationship with others promotes growth.
Just to accompany our 21 days of silence, end the day with 10 minutes of reflection.
One challenging habit for leaders is spending 21 minutes every day in silence for 21 days. It’s challenging for at least two reasons.
1) Silence makes us uncomfortable. Try spending 30 seconds in silence before responding someone. Observe how uncomfortable they become waiting.
2) Our lives are filled with noise. We often cannot sleep or drive anywhere without some sort of background noise.
Our minds never rest. The idea of sitting in silence without praying, thinking about work, or a hundred other thoughts is not normal.
However, developing a habit of silence can improve our attitude toward others, situations, and our own spiritual growth.
Habits are, well, habits. We know some habits are easier and quicker to develop than others. We also recognize the incredible difficulty that comes with breaking bad habits. Interestingly enough, no one ever refers to breaking good habits.
I recently started a book by James Clear called Atomic Habits. I highly recommend it. As the subtitle indicates small changes can provide amazing results.
Leaders often display habits, both good and bad. What kind of habits will improve our leadership?
Over the next few days, I want to look at several habits that benefit leaders.
Discipline takes us into an area involving the direction of a leader’s personal conduct or behavior.
As challenging as self-discipline is for each of us, one of the most significant areas addresses developing new behaviors.
In order for an activity to become a habit, the general rule of thumb is that it takes 21 days.
When discipline is truly applied, the result becomes a lifestyle of new behaviors. This idea is more than a habit or second nature. It becomes “first-nature.”
The time needed to develop a lifestyle of discipline may vary from one person to another, but when it happens, leadership expands to a new level.
The concept of discipline is prevalent throughout the Bible.
The difference between the lifestyle of the world and Christianity is one of discipline.
The Christian life is built upon discipline, or as it is often identified, self-control. However, there is a difference in these two terms. While there are areas that overlap between them, discipline adds the practices and habits of life that lend to character development. Self-control is more specific to controlling self in the area of emotions and desires.
The challenge introduced here involves learning how to develop the kind of discipline that sets Christians apart from the rest of the world.
It takes 21 days to develop a habit. Working on a specific activity or trait for 21 days straight is all we need.
When something becomes a habit, it is more like second nature, or perhaps first nature.
The amount of time necessary to reinforce the activity or trait depends on the dedication required to develop the habit.
Some habits are good and some are bad. Our greatest challenges involve breaking the bad habits. Leaders must develop the kind of habits that promote an influence toward godliness.