DONE RIGHT

Turn Routine into Ritual

Let’s be honest, your new routine will be disrupted- life happens. This is where I see most resolutions fail. We start the year off great. We’re excited, we set the goals, clean out the pantry, get new running shoes, buy a new journal, set our alarms, and wake up early. But inevitably, as other priorities creep in, we fall back into old habits. The pantry becomes full of junk food again, the running shoes are thrown in the back of the closet, the journal is buried in our nightstand, and we’re hitting the snooze button every morning. To maintain our resolutions, we have to find ways to adapt them to disruption so that no matter what life throws at us, we are still able to satisfy the intention behind the routine. I call this “turning routine into ritual.”

(continued on the following page)

For example, maybe you made a resolution to study the scriptures for 30 minutes and pray on your knees by your bed every morning so that you can feel the peace and love of God with you throughout the day. If the goal is to feel God’s love for you, then work to develop multiple ways to reach the desired outcome, regardless of everything else going on around you. If something urgent comes up that prevents you from reading for 30 minutes, can you read one verse and reflect for 30 seconds and still feel God’s love? If you don’t have time to drop to your knees and pray by your bedside, can you turn off the radio during your drive to work and offer a thoughtful prayer and still feel God listening? When we achieve the outcome under diverse circumstances, this means we are turning the routine into a ritual. We are able to maintain the emotional state of WHY we practice the routine.

I have worked to develop flexible routines for every resolution I’ve made so that no matter what is going on in life, I can maintain the ritual, or the WHY behind the activity. Can’t go to the gym for a full hour? No problem, I’ve got a body weight routine that requires no equipment and only takes 20 minutes. Don’t have 20 minutes for that? No problem, I can do pushups for 2 minutes. But this point is critical; for those two minutes, I am 100% focused on my physical strength and performance. This is the ritual. By doing this, I get to enjoy the emotional reward of my resolutions every day, no matter what.

Only Make Promises That You Will Keep

Remember I mentioned that resolutions are often born from guilt and regret? Giving up on our resolutions only reinforces those negative feelings. When we look in the mirror with the guilt of unfulfilled resolutions and broken promises, we tell ourselves stories about why we deserve to be miserable. Many of us struggle with self-worth, self-love, self-confidence, and self-esteem. I believe one of the fastest ways to improve in these areas is to keep the promises we make to ourselves. This means that we need to stop the cycle of making resolutions that we give up on. Start this year by only making promises that you know you will keep.

Don’t overcommit. This leads to overwhelm and frustration. I’m not suggesting we set the bar too low. We should push ourselves to be our best; but if you’ve struggled here in the past, then start by making small but significant promises and then create flexible routines so that you can always satisfy the ritual.

Instead of starting your journaling with a promise of writing for 30 minutes every day, make a promise to write 3 words. As we keep the promises we make to ourselves we will not only reap the benefits of personal development and growth, we will also feel the peace and joy that comes from living with integrity.

Keep Yourself Accountable by Joining a Community

I’m sure we’ve all noticed that when we are struggling, we tend to retreat into ourselves and isolate from others. Perhaps we are embarrassed or ashamed. We think no one else struggles the same way we do and that we should be able to overcome this on our own. Yet this is when we need support more than ever.

The FPC community of coaches and colleagues has been the single most positive influence in my life, and I am incredibly grateful to be a part of such a great company and culture. I hope that you will work to foster relationships within our community. The world will constantly bombard us with negativity. Let FPC be a refreshing source of support and encouragement. We all need it. In fact, our Personal Development workshop, held every Monday at 11am CST, is our most attended webinar each week. If you haven’t already been joining us, I encourage you to do so. Start the week off with the right focus. I promise it will make a difference.

It is my hope that this will be the last year we set weak resolutions. Instead, let’s just make one meaningful promise to ourselves, and then keep it. Every day. No matter what. As we do so, we will grow into the best version of ourselves, allowing us to help others do the same.

May God bless you all as we head into another great year together.

By: Dr. Trevor Botts