My wife passed away June 16, 2018, and I miss her very much, but life
goes on. A few weeks ago, I set about clearing out our closets and bathrooms of
items no longer being used. I was able to bless our grandchildren and nieces and
give them everything from shoes and clothes to jewelry and bathroom items which
had belonged to my wife.
I am alone now and have more space in both the closets and the master
bathroom. The illustration I am about to give might seem a bit silly, but I
think it carries with it a very good point. You see, I have been keeping my
toothpaste and toothbrush in a drawer next to the sink. Well, I decided to
place them, now, into a nice small vase, just the right size on top of the sink
counter.
It has been at least 3 weeks since I made the change. I brush my teeth
three times each day by habit. However, to date, every single time, I still
forget and open the drawer to get the toothpaste and toothbrush which, of
course, is no longer there. It has finally occurred to me that to form a new
habit, I must focus on also breaking the old habit.
When children come to our learning center, most of them have incorrect
or non-existent cursive handwriting. I have found that, generally, it takes two
to three weeks to break their poor penmanship habits and build the new habit of
excellence and correctness. Part of the problem is not having received the best
training in the past, but it is also true that there needs to be a purposeful
desire to break the old habit while building a new one. This thought process is
true, no matter what type of habit needs to be reordered.
Focusing on old patterns will always keep us in that mold. Focusing on
the new should carry with it the desire for advancement and improvement. It is
illustrated often with bank tellers being trained to see the correct currency
bills so that they will easily recognize the counterfeit. The apostle Paul in
his letter to his friends in Philippi used this illustration:
“And now, brothers, as I close this letter, let me say this one more thing: Fix your
thoughts on what is
true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely,
and dwell on the fine,
good things in
others. Think about
all you can praise God for and be glad about.” Philippians 4:8
“Sow a thought, reap an act; Sow an act, reap a habit; Sow a habit,
reap a character; Sow a character, reap a destiny.” Dr Anil Kumar Sinha
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