7 Habits That Will Change Your Life

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Simple Life-Changing Habits

What habits do you practice every day? Have you ever stopped to think about what impact these habits have on your life? What if making just a few simple changes in your daily habits could make a positive impact on your life?  Would you make those changes?

I have a few simple habits I practice every day.  I always make my bed every day.  The bed has to be made. When my children were small, I would make their beds every day, too.  I also make sure the dishes are washed or loaded into the dishwasher every night after dinner.  I don’t like a counter covered in dirty dishes.

Habits don’t have to be overly complicated to be life-changing.  If we think about it, it’s probably the few simple habits that we practice every day that will make the biggest difference.  Habits require discipline every day over long periods of time.  It’s the continual practice of habits that gives them such a large impact on our lives.

These seven habits are important for moms, but these habits are not just for moms.  We can teach these habits to our children, too.  The most powerful way we can teach our children is by example.  Second, we can teach our children to develop these habits through repetition in their everyday activities. The habits we help our children develop when they are young may impact them as adults.  While we have influence as parents, we want to teach our children the right habits.

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7 Habits That Will Change Your Life

Daily Study of God’s Word

A daily quiet time reading and studying the Bible is a life-changing experience.  We can learn from every page and every character in the Bible.  There is no experience we have in life that is not addressed in the Bible. We can find all the answers we need in God’s Word.

As we spend time reading God’s Word every day, it changes us little by little and day by day.  It changes how we think and what we believe. It gives us God’s perspective. It’s the little changes that, over time, have a huge impact on us.

If you are looking for a Bible study plan, I recommend the Daily Grace Co.  They have printed and digital Bible study resources. I have a study I’m personally working on and a study I’m doing with my daughter for school. 

You might also like 10 Bible Studies to Encourage Moms

Make Your Bed Every Day

Making up your bed every day is a simple discipline.  It’s the first step to picking up your bedroom and keeping it neat and tidy.  Admiral William McRaven, in his book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life … and Maybe the World, argues that making your bed gives you a small accomplishment or win for the day that will set you up for success.

I have made my bed every morning for years. To me, it’s the starting point of keeping my bedroom/personal area neat and clean.  If I don’t make the bed, why would I feel the need to hang up my clothes and put my shoes away in the closet?  Why not just leave things lying around out of place?  It’s a mindset.

We want to teach our kids the same habits.  Keeping your bedroom and, eventually, your home neat starts by making your bed every day and picking up your room.  Learning the mindset of cleanliness and neatness is important to teach at a young age.

Start Your Day Early

Most of my life I have been a night owl.  I would stay up late every night and sleep later in the mornings.  But, in the last year, I have started getting up at 5:00 am and going to bed earlier, I have noticed a huge difference. I was not productive in the evenings.  I stayed up late, but I got very little done.

When I get up early, I have quiet time and time to focus on my priorities. I am well-rested and able to give these activities my full attention.  You don’t have to start your day at 4:00 am or 5:00 am. But you may realize the morning hours could be more productive for you because you are rested and have more energy.

We can also teach our children to get up early.  Maybe we have them get up 30 minutes before they need to get ready for school to spend time reading or studying their Bible.  They can also use this time to read or work on a hobby they enjoy (my son loves to draw freehand, this is a great time to practice).  You don’t want your children to get up early and then just play video games.  Let’s teach them to use their early morning hours with intention and purpose.

Plan Your Day

Learning to plan your day is so important.  I have not always planned my day.  For many years, I would write down a few things I needed to do, schedule appointments, but mostly I would go through my day on the fly.  Whatever happened, happened.  I was just reacting.  Here are some of my favorite planners for moms.

If you don’t plan your day, you miss completing the important things.  I am learning the importance of having a “today’s one” and daily hot list.  For more about how I am working to plan my day, read my post, Manage Time Like A Pro.

Planning your day is a great way to be successful.  It’s an important habit to teach our children.  I have noticed in school (as early as first grade) they are teaching children to use an agenda or planner.  Make sure your child learns to use their planner.  Don’t let them bring home blank pages every day. A well-planned day is a great skill for children to learn.

Learn Something New Every Day

Throughout our entire lives, we should to be learning new things.  Just because we have completed high school and have a college degree or two, doesn’t mean it’s time to stop learning.

Make it a habit to read new books and continue studying topics that interest you. You may find as you learn new things, you have new hobbies and new interests.

Of course, we also want to encourage our children always to be learning new things too.  When they ask you questions about current events, history, or science, share your knowledge with them and encourage them to learn more on their own.

Be Thankful Every Day

Learn to have a thankful heart.  Be thankful for the blessings in your life. We all have something we can be thankful for. When we have a grateful heart, it’s hard to critical and negative.

You can practice thankfulness by taking time each day to write your thoughts in a gratitude journal.  On the difficult days, remember to go back and read all the wonderful things you are thankful for.  It truly is a wonderful life.

Don’t Be Negative, Focus on What You Can Make Better

It’s so easy to see all the wrong in our lives or in the world. Rather than focus on the negative, look at what you can change and make better.  Some wrongs we cannot right in this life, and we have to accept that. But many times, we can change things and make a difference.

Dwelling on the negative is harmful to our spirit. Negative feelings grow. Don’t let negative feelings get a foothold in your heart.

We can also teach our children to stop focusing on discouraging and negative thoughts and look for ways to be positive.  When we hear our children make negative comments we can ask them how to fix it and what they can do to make the situation better. Encourage them to be a problem solver.

These seven simple habits practiced daily make big differences over time.  Start with reading God’s Word every day, making your bed, planning your day, always learning, tackling the day early, having a thankful heart, and not being negative.  Let me know how the habits change your life.

Your Turn…

Which life-changing habit will you be starting?  Which habit do you already do that is making an impact in your life?

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