It took all evening to write this post. When I think about this new year, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed. There are a million things I want to accomplish and I never seem to have enough time. I need to change some habits, but the thought can be so overwhelming. Thinking of the long list of habits that I want to work on makes me want to just not start. But, if we can break these habits up into little pieces, it’s less overwhelming. This year, I’m focusing on two habits a month: one healthy habit, and one mother-culture habit.
*This post was updated April 2019
Related: The Stages of Habit Formation
Approaching Habits for Ourselves
I’m so often focused on helping other people, little people, with their habits, that mine are easily overlooked. But, the truth is that if I improve my habits, they won’t pick up the bad habits in the first place. Habit training ourselves is in some ways simpler than habit training our children. There is not so much battling of the wills, unless our motivation is a problem.
For me, having a visual cue and setting up the environment for success is always helpful. For habits of health, keeping a journal can be extremely helpful. With other personal habits, having a Bible verse or quote nearby can help, or even having a jar that you add something to can help. You don’t have to link the filled jar to a personal reward, just the act of placing a paper clip or something else into the jar every time you complete the habit can be rewarding enough.
Related: Family Habits Meeting
Healthy habits
I’m choosing a healthy habit each month, because I want my children to not live off of cheese and bread and sugar like it seems they do some days. My plan is not to lose weight (I will never, ever diet in front of my children), but my plan is to show what a healthy lifestyle looks like. I am almost positive that by the end of the year, I won’t be a clean-eating, daily-exercising, super fit mama, and that is okay with me. The goal is to model healthier habits for my children.
*Note- I don’t have any qualifications to give health or fitness advice, but these are habits recommended by experts.
Related: Keeping a Habit Training Journal
Personal Habits
I feel like I’m caught in this eternal whirlwind of busyness, so I’m not even sure what the current habits look like in my home. I’m assuming I’m not terrible at all of these, but there can probably be some room for improvement. Planning habits out like this will let me be more intentional with these habits and help me learn about my own strengths and weaknesses.
Related: Habits for The Early Years
Are there any habits on these lists that you want to work on this year?
Love these lists of habits ~ especially how you’re focusing on one thing each month. I’m going to pin this to refer back to for myself! I definitely know I need help in the healthy habits area.
Thank you, Tracey! Setting mini-goals seems to work better for me! I’m glad it will be a good reference for you!
Leah, these are fantastic resolutions!!! Will you be sharing more about them as you go through each month? I would love to hear more about what Charlotte Mason says on each of those healthy habits for moms 😉
Thank you so much, Eleanor! It’s a great idea to write about one of these habits each month- I hadn’t thought of that! Thank you!