{"id":24050,"date":"2019-12-30T22:46:01","date_gmt":"2019-12-31T03:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=24050"},"modified":"2019-12-31T08:31:32","modified_gmt":"2019-12-31T13:31:32","slug":"monday-morning-moment-new-years-resolutions-and-habit-formation-resolved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=24050","title":{"rendered":"Monday Morning Moment – New Year’s Resolutions and Habit Formation…Resolved"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: David Lose<\/a><\/p>\n

[Adapted from the Archives<\/a>]<\/p>\n

What do we have? 1 more day in 2019 of reckless eating, not enough sleep, routines all turned topsy-turvy. Then\u2026resolved. Right?<\/p>\n

I take New Year\u2019s resolutions very seriously. They have served me well through the years in shaking up troublesome habits as well as galvanizing better ones. New (or restored) habits that nurture the body AND the spirit.<\/p>\n

Whether sugar detox<\/a> or a decluttering project<\/a>, New Year’s resolutions are not always exercises in futility.They can be excellent devices to help us get off to a strong start into the next year. Some of my family and friends treat resolutions with disdain\u2026they never work; they never last. Oh, but not always!<\/p>\n

They are really very energizing. Whether we meet our goals or not, there is great promise within the resolution for resetting our thinking. A keen sense of self, or self-awareness, aids in our understanding of habits and true habit change.<\/p>\n

A couple of times in my life, I resolved to go off sugar. With a resolution like that, it meant abstaining from chocolate\u2026which is a topic all its own.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I was successful for over a year each of those times in excluding sugar from my diet. Never having really lost the weight from my first pregnancy, I decided to remove sugar from my diet for\u00a0the pregnancy\u00a0of our\u00a0second-born. In those days, there was a chapter of Overeaters Anonymous<\/a> in our town, and that\u00a0group was a great help in my dealing with pretty much a sugar addiction.<\/p>\n

The second time I \u201cgave up\u201d sugar was over 3 years ago, and I stayed the course of that habit change for over 1 1\/2 years. Less accountability but even more resolve. Although I am back having dessert or sugary snacks sometimes, I am still operating with more self-awareness than ever before. Self-awareness, not self-condemnation. A very different experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Without knowing it, I was using a practice of habit change\u00a0that Ken Sande<\/a> writes about on his blog, Relational Wisdom 360<\/a>. He first influenced my life years ago with his work on conflict resolution through his Peacemaker Ministries<\/a>. He is a gentle guide in many of the issues that complicate our lives.<\/p>\n

His article on Seven Principles of Habit Change<\/em><\/a> came at a great time. Sande talks quite kindly about how we develop habits and what it takes to change them. His first principle of habit change gives us a look at the cycle of habits \u2013 the cue, the routine (or response), and the reward. Anyone who loves chocolate can understand this easily. For me, in eating sugar (or in overeating, in general), the cue could be a number of things \u2013 fatigue, anxiety, loneliness, the mere presence of yummy food. It never takes much to send me to the refrigerator or pantry. The routine: feed the cue, whatever it is\u2026with high-carb oral gratification. The reward: a brief soul satisfaction and temporary relief from whatever was the cue.<\/p>\n

In my two seasons of not eating added sugar, I actually followed Ken Sande\u2019s principles below (without knowing the wisdom of it).<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Every habit has three parts: a cue, a routine, and a reward.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. You can change an undesirable habit by keeping the cue and reward but learning a new routine.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. The best way to overcome the temptation to revert to old routines is to have a detailed action plan.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Habit change builds momentum if you can change a single \u201ckeystone habit\u201d and then continue to build on consecutive \u201csmall wins\u201d.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Will power is like a muscle: it can be strengthened and yet needs to be exerted strategically.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. Faith is an essential part of changing habits.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. Habit change is more likely to occur within a community (even if it\u2019s just two people).<\/em> \u2013 Ken Sande<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [If any readers want to talk further about habit change regarding sugar addiction, I would love the exchange, either through the comments or email.]<\/p>\n

    Self-awareness is a huge factor relating to habit change.<\/strong> I can see that more now having come through seasons of looking at my own habits.<\/p>\n

    \u201cSelf-awareness is defined as conscious knowledge of oneself; it\u2019s a stepping stone to reinventing oneself, learning to make wiser decisions, and helps you tune into your thoughts and feelings. So often we place blame on externalities because it\u2019s the easiest excuse, when in fact we should be thinking about our thinking, reflecting, trying on different perspectives, and learning from our mistakes.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Paul Jun<\/a><\/p>\n

    It is possible to affect true habit change if we are willing to take a studied look at ourselves<\/strong> \u2013 our awareness and our engagement with\u00a0making choices\/decisions\u00a0and within relationship. I used to think that self-awareness was morally charged, i.e., it drove us to becoming more self-centered. That doesn\u2019t have to be the case. When we take time to really examine where our minds go, through the day, we can train our thinking toward what matters most to us \u2013 related to people, resources, and life purpose.<\/p>\n

    When we are willing to do that, New Year\u2019s resolutions can become much more life-changing than just going off sugar for a few weeks. These same habit change principles can apply to anger issues, pornography, other addictions, and pretty much any habitual process that negatively affects your work, relationships or general peace of mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    A couple of years back, our pastor Cliff<\/a> challenged us at Movement Church<\/a> to commit to some resolutions to the Lord\u2026together [podcast of 12\/31\/2017 here<\/a>].\u00a0 I have kept the resolutions made that day in a visible place, to be reminded of the good change in life, and the struggle… I still have them in view…two years out. Still relevant to now. For 2020, on it again.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Jonathan Edwards<\/a>, the great 18th century preacher and theologian, definitely understood the importance of praying through and writing out resolutions that would inform his daily life. Over the course of several months, he composed seventy resolutions for life. You can read them here<\/a>. The five resolutions I made during church on a New Year\u2019s Eve are weighty enough for me\u2026can\u2019t imagine 70! Edwards just gives an example of a man who, even as deeply devoted as he already was, did not want to miss God in a busy life of ministry. Nor did he want to miss the people God placed in his life as the focus of that ministry.<\/p>\n

    Resolutions help us to keep the main thing the main thing. Sure, we may struggle to keep our bodies and houses in order. Those are temporary situations. Where we hope most to be successful is in keeping our hearts tuned to what matters most. Going deep with God and others. I am resolved\u2026<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Reformed Outfitters<\/a><\/p>\n

    New Year\u2019s Day \u2013 Resolved<\/em> \u2013 Deb Mills Writer<\/a><\/p>\n

    Resolved \u2013 The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

    Do You Want to Change Your Habits?<\/a><\/em> \u2013 Relational Wisdom \u2013 Ken Sande<\/p>\n

    Seven Principles of Habit Change<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Relational Wisdom \u2013 Ken Sande<\/p>\n

    13 Questions to Increase Your Self-Awareness<\/em><\/a> \u2013 The Mojo Company \u2013 Matt Monge<\/p>\n

    Make Habits, Not Resolutions<\/em> – Justin Whitmel Earley<\/a><\/p>\n

    Why Self-Awareness Is the Secret Weapon for Habit Change<\/a> <\/em>\u2013 Paul Jun<\/p>\n

    RW Acrostics in Action<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 Relational Wisdom \u2013 Ken Sande<\/p>\n

    Ten Questions for a New Year<\/em> – Don Whitney – Desiring God<\/a><\/p>\n

    Need Help With Your New Year\u2019s Resolutions?<\/em><\/a> \u2013 David Lose<\/p>\n

    Understanding True Habit Change and Rocking Your New Year\u2019s Resolutions<\/em> \u2013 Deb Mills Writer<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Photo Credit: David Lose [Adapted from the Archives] What do we have? 1 more day in 2019 of reckless eating, not enough sleep, routines all turned topsy-turvy. Then\u2026resolved. Right? I take New Year\u2019s resolutions very seriously. They have served me well through the years in shaking up troublesome habits as well as galvanizing better ones. … Continue reading Monday Morning Moment – New Year’s Resolutions and Habit Formation…Resolved<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1264,1269,2986,1628,2126,1148,7027,6548,3208,249,1454,33,1450,353,610],"tags":[2643,7855,3238,2573,6317,2363,4825,2624,1459,7853,2592,2644,2655,963,2629,7854],"class_list":["post-24050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-addictions","category-addictive-personality","category-attitude","category-character","category-community","category-critical-thinking","category-decision-making","category-depression","category-finishing-strong","category-food-drink","category-fresh-start","category-inspired","category-monday-morning","category-monday-morning-moment","category-thanksgiving-or-gratefulness","tag-david-lose","tag-don-whitney","tag-habit-formation","tag-jonathan-edwards","tag-justin-whitmel-earley","tag-ken-sande","tag-lisa-drayer","tag-matt-monge","tag-monday-morning","tag-monday-morning-moments","tag-new-year","tag-new-years-resolutions","tag-paul-jun","tag-resolved","tag-self-awareness","tag-stephanie-langford"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-6fU","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24050"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24063,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24050\/revisions\/24063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}