The Success Habit

 

We have all heard someone say they are a “creature of habit.” The fact is, we are all creatures of habit. We are very aware of some habits and others we never notice, but they are habits all the same. Look at things like how you get dressed, how you go to or from work, even the way you eat – all habits that we do without thinking about them. Novelist Agatha Christie said, “Curious things habits.  People themselves never knew they had them.”

Scouts learn to understand that the habits we form in our thinking have more impact on our lives than the habits we perform. A person can avoid behavioral habits like drugs, drinking, and sexual bondage and still be a slave to fear, anger, and negative thinking. Nineteenth-Century pastor and educator Alexander Vinet said, “Habits of thought are not less tyrannical than other habits, and a time comes when return is impossible, even to the strongest will.”

“Successful people are simply those with successful habits.”

Brian Tracy

Author

 

It takes far more than will power to change a bad thinking habit. You can feed yourself a day full of positive affirmations and still find the night full of fear and negative thinking. A man or woman can change his or her behavior, but only God's power can change the heart. Even Scouts can buy into the trick that all you have to do is stop thinking negatively and start thinking positively to have a good thinking habit. It is more than that. Fear and anger are heart problems, not behavior problems. Only the power of Christ Jesus in a person's life can change the heart and bring peace and confidence.

Some may say, “But I am a Christian, and my life belongs to Christ, and yet I still have fear and anger in me.” That is usually because you see the peace and positive thinking that Christ brings, as a rule, to follow rather than a life to live. Some see Christ’s instruction to be at peace as a command and try on their own to follow it. It is not a rule, but a direction on how to live and, therefore, will keep itself. Frank Crane said, “Habits are safer than rules; you don’t have to watch them. And you don’t have to keep them either. They keep you.”

Once you have built a positive and healthy habit, you do not have to fight the inner battle. It is how you live, how you look at the world, and how you react to things that happen around you. Live a life of victory and maintain good habits in your heart, as well as in your behavior.

Scouting Out of Uniform is a personal blog based on the lessons learned from Scouting that relate to personal development and success principles and is not an official site of The Boy Scouts of America. John Patrick Hickey does not represent or speak for the Scouting program; however, he does completely support and encourages Scouting for both young and old. John Patrick Hickey is an author, speaker, Personal Development Coach, and proud Scouter. To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   © 2020 John Patrick Hickey