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People talk a lot about good habits, but how can we incorporate them into our daily routine to win battles against vices? That’s the big question we’ll answer in this article.
Overcoming these three battles will help us to have a better daily routine, because if we want to find the perfect balance for all areas of our life, it’s important to start taking control.
Psychologist Carmen Hernandez, who works with young people and adolescents, shared with Aleteia the importance of forming good habits in our daily lives. “Habits are a reflection of our inner self, so there must be congruence. If your habits are good, you’ll have better quality of life, as well as good emotional health,” she says.
Good habits will help us win the first battles we face at the beginning of the day, and this will make us stronger to face bigger battles during the rest of the day.
Thus, we will be able to counteract our bad habits—the ones that become vices if we aren’t careful—in all areas of our life.
We’ve made a selection of three good habits that you can start doing as soon as the sun rises.
1
FIRST BATTLE: LAZINESS
We always blame the alarm clock, and we see it as our worst enemy. Who hasn’t had the experience, after having a lovely deep sleep, of hearing the alarm suddenly go off to indicate that it’s time to get up!
Surely our first reaction is to hit the “snooze” button so we can rest a few more minutes, but when we do that, guess what? We’ve already lost the first battle of the day, which was against laziness.
So here’s the solution: apply the “heroic minute” technique, proposed by St. Josemaría Escrivá in his book The Way:
The heroic minute. It is the time fixed for getting up. Without hesitation: a supernatural reflection and… up! The heroic minute: here you have a mortification that strengthens your will and does no harm to your body.
(The Way, 206)
2
SECOND BATTLE: FORGETTING MORNING PRAYER
This and the rest of our daily battles are related to the first one, because delaying the alarm clock causes us to wake up late, which delays our whole routine. This means that we often forget to say good morning to God.
How can we win this battle?
We need to make it a rule to dedicate a few brief minutes upon waking up to thank God for the new day He has granted us. It helps us to renew our awareness that every day is a new beginning and a good opportunity to be the best version of ourselves.
Don’t forget to entrust your activities and your whole day to the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that she may help you overcome temptations and sin with fortitude and temperance during the day.
Keeping it brief — and thus not intimidating — at first can be helpful; then, as we consolidate the habit, we can spend more time on it. Also, thinking of the morning alarm clock as being a reminder to pray, and not just wake up, might be useful.
3
THIRD BATTLE: BEING PUNCTUAL
Remember that we have an orderly God, so we too must be orderly in our lives, dedicating time for everything.
Other people’s time is just as valuable as ours, so we should get into the habit of arriving a few minutes early to every appointment, to school, or to work.
If we don’t have to leave home, we can still set a schedule for each thing we need to do so that we can finish them in a timely manner.
And today we celebrate...