Happy Sunday,
These first few days of Lent are so critical in determining how the rest of our Lenten journey goes. We are asked to focus on three pillars during Lent, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, in order to grow closer to God. However, the idea is that we use these 40 days to create habits that will last beyond Easter. That our growth during Lent will carry over and become a part of our regular daily routines. This is what makes the first few days so important. Habits are formed from repetition. If we do something two days in a row, we are 150% more likely to continue. The longer we stick with something the more likely it is to become a habit.
If you think about your day, you can probably see a number of habits that you have. We sometimes call these routines, but they become routine when we form a habit. How you get ready in the morning, what you do when you get to work or get home, how you go to bed. All of the little things we do every day have become habits. Lent offers us a chance to break negative habits and create more positive habits. I for one found that my biggest habit throughout the day was reaching for my phone to open social media. I realized this habit was taking away from many different aspects of my life. So, my goal during lent is to break that habit. However, breaking the habit isn't enough if we use that time to form other bad habits. If instead of opening social media I open a game, I am just breaking one bad habit to form another. We need to fill that void with something more positive.
The other thing that we should consider as we break and form habits during Lent is that we must want these habits to continue. For me, I have often gone into Lent with a goal, but also I see an end point. "If I can just make it to Easter, I can go back to doing the things I want." That defeats the purpose. I am trying to change that mindset this year by saying to myself, "If I can just make it to Easter, imagine how much easier it will be to continue these habits!" I want my new good habits to permanently take the place of my old bad habits. Will I stay away from social media forever, of course not. Yet, if I get out of the routine of checking it all the time, and create habits to fill the void, then I will have a healthier relationship with it once I go back.
So much of our relationship with God revolves around our mindset and our habits. If your mindset is that God must be central to everything you do, then you will be more likely to form positive habits. If you attend mass for two straight Sundays, you will be that much more likely to go a third. If you pray before every meal for a week, then you are so much more likely to continue that habit. However, the opposite is also true. If we ignore our relationship with God, we tend to form habits that pull as away from him. So use this Lenten season to form habits and to develop a mindset that will help you grow closer to God. Then hold on to that mindset and those habits after Easter and make them a permanent part of who you are.
God Bless,
Mr. O'Neill