Developing Habits Leads to Success

If you are at all interested in blogging, you’re probably aware of Problogger.net and the advice of professional blogger Darren Rowse. Even if you’re not interested in blogging, you'll want to read his post on Wednesday about habits:

I was speaking via email this week with a professional tennis player about blogging and they asked me the question: ‘how do I become a more successful blogger?’ I like to answer questions with question and shot back one of my own: ‘how do I become a more successful tennis player?’

The conversation that ensued was quite insightful. Not only did I learn how to improve my tennis but I learned a thing or two about blogging.

One of the things that I noticed about how this tennis player spoke was that he used the word ‘habits’ quite a bit. His philosophy was that one of the keys to his success was that he’d taught himself a series of habits that had become a part of his ‘tennis life’. He practised these habits consistently over time (most of them did not come naturally to him at first) until they became automatic reflexes. Over time as the habits became second nature he found they combined together in ways that began to lead to increased success.

We unpacked some of the habits he’d learnt over the next half an hour and I was interested to find that some of them were ‘skills‘ based habits (ie hitting a top spin serve) and some were ‘attitude’ based habits (ie always looking for opportunities no matter how desperate or hopeless the situation).

As I listened to my tennis playing friend I found myself reflecting upon the similarities of my experience of blogging. Good bloggers don’t just happen. Most emerge over time as they develop skills and attitudes that combine in ways that improve their blogging. Some of these habits seem to come pretty naturally but many need to be practised and intentionally worked upon.

So how do you become “successful” in your relationship with God? You develop, through practice, a series of habits that combine to improve your ability to speak to God, to hear Him and to understand Him. In one sense the effort you put in is not that different than the effort an athlete or a blogger puts in. (Remember the Apostle Paul compared his efforts with those of an athlete.) It takes some self-discipline, persistence and continuity. However, I think as you practice you will realize that your rewards are much greater than those of a tennis player or a blogger. You will begin to sense the Holy Spirit assisting you in your efforts and to realize you are in a dynamic and growing relationship with God.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to gat a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly...." 1 Corinthians 9:24-26.