First, I invite you to check out this post on healthy aging as I think it applies to any age, and it applies to what I share here today. Among other things, it speaks to the importance of Purpose… and Care… and more.
With that in Mind and Heart…
I am looking at some simple but fundamental changes of habit. Over the years, I have been introduced, on more than one occasion, to the notion of 21 days to build a habit. You probably have as well. Whether a myth or not…. I have found that Mindfulness (our awareness of our habits) matters, as does the notion that it is less about breaking a habit and more about changing or replacing them. Indeed, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. I suggest this is true of any constructive habit formation.
Yesterday, I posted on Day One, Again… and, before that, on The Unity Guy Thing. In support of both (and as noted above) … I am in the process of changing a core habit. Amidst cluing up papers and exams for this Term of teaching…. I am aware of the need for Mindfulness, Acceptance, Initiative, Commitment and Orderliness as strengths of character necessary now, for me, in making such change… as I choose to engage a new and important habit. Mindfulness enables me to be aware of what needs changing. Acceptance allows me to accept where I am. Initiative enables me to start out. Commitment fosters the follow through. Orderliness helps me plan and measure.
21 Days to Seed
I am taking the next 21 days to practice these intently, not with the sense that a new habit will firmly take root in 21 days, but that new patterns will start to seed and take root.
I have my nine year vision. I have my 5 “little buckets”. Now is about focusing on them. And I start with one change, in particular… that will found and ground the rest.
That said (and it needs be noted), I will not be posting here for the balance of the year. I will be wholly focused on living the new practice. I will indeed and in deed… share in three weeks on my findings, if you will. But, here now, I do humbly suggest some things for both me and you to consider at this time.
Get clear on what in your life MUST change. What patterns of living have served their time? Get honest about those patterns and their causes. Accept that that is where you are, now. Figure out the issue, and the path to attempt forward. But keep it simple. One habit, one practice. And manifest and practice Mindfulness, Acceptance, Initiative, Commitment and Orderliness in doing so.
My habit has to do with a morning, noon and eventide ritual around prayer, meditation and working out thrice daily, together. Working body and spirit together, thrice daily. Preparing for the day, doing a mid-day check in and cluing up the day focusing on body and spirit. My mind will have and always has enough to work with, lol. But, this thrice daily habit is my singular focus and gift to me this Season. The practice of same is made with Mindfulness, Acceptance, Initiative, Commitment and Orderliness in mind and heart. The singular focus of planting this seed is the added clarity and energy that will result, in support of all else. In Day One, Again, I established a 40 week journey. I know what is most important to me. These next 3 weeks are the seeding of the next chapter of same.
What might be one habit you want to seed over these next 21 days, whenever you read this?
I will see you January 1, 2022.
Peace. 😉
Barry Lewis Green, The Unity Guy with Epic Engage.
Developing Leadership Character – Ivey Business Journal
“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. ― Abraham Lincoln