#subtracting

day from day, I add this woman’s ankles

to my days of atonement, her lower lip, the formal bones of her face.

We were making love all evening—

I told her stories, their rituals of rain: happiness

is money, yes, but only the smallest coins.”

“We become what we repeatedly do.”

― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

― Jim Rohn

For the second part of my November blog, I’d like to share some of the habits I had to do, stop doing and change in order to change for the better.

SUBTRACTING

Use of social media:

I had to stop posting on facebook about EVERYTHING that causes negativity, posting photos, particularly, selfies EVERY DAY and being always available to EVERYONE.

Watching:

I had to stop spending time watching Youtube videos that not only corrupt my mind but also consume most of my time. Which also included unsubscribing to channels that were only focused on spreading hate and gossips. Furthermore, videos that weren’t contributing to my current journey of self-improvement.

Procrastinating:

Yep. I had to stop procrastinating. This is a journey, so I still get too lazy sometimes but I have a stronger conviction now so it’s not that hard to do things and try my best to finish them. 

ADDING

Writing:

I started writing tasks for the day to help me focus on the things I need to accomplish. I also started writing blogs and or/articles which some of my works were accepted on a website of a local company and now I get paid for. And I also am writing now regularly in my devotion notebook and journal.

Listening:

Before, I just listen to my favorite bands or artists on Spotify but now I am also listening regularly to inspiring podcasts, talks on TED radio, and classical music. Listening has never been this fun!

Inspiring:

Talking to people, not online, but in person. And when I say talking to people, what I also mean is talking to strangers to inspire them of my life testimonies and how good God is in my life. Which led me to say yes to speaking engagements. I’m just starting, so I’m no expert on this but I added it so I can beat my stage fright. Moreover, I added the habit posting blogs and inspiring contents on my social media accounts.

CHANGING

Morning habits:

I’m not a morning person and until now after a few weeks, I still find it hard to wake up early. But I can say it’s easier now than before. I used to wake up late, coz my work starts at 12 noon. Then I will unlock my phone and spend the next 30 to 50 minutes looking at my messages, app notifications and stalking some friends. But now, my morning habit’s like this: I wake up at 5:30 in the morning and thank God for the peaceful night I had. Open my Bible and start doing SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer) until 6:30. Then I make my bed and do stretching and squats before going to the toilet. Then I listen to music or podcasts, mostly music, while I take a bath. I do my makeup after and make sure I only do it in no more than ten minutes. Then I eat my breakfast which I didn’t do for the last 4 (or more) years! Then I prepare my go-to meal.

Spending spare time in the office:

There’s been a lot of changes on how I spend my free time at work.Like,  I read a lot now both physical and e-books in the office. (I’m currently reading Good or God? By John Bevere and studying John J. Collins’ Introduction to Hebrew Bible 2nd Edition and they’re really soul-satisfying!). I also watch videos about the Bible and talks of some famous apologists like Ravi Zacaharias. I also try to do some planning about Bible study topics, schedules, budgeting, etc. when I have more free time.

What I feed my mind:

I love reading. I read almost everything. From leaflets to hard-bound, physical to virtual. I just love learning new things and simply, reading. But I had to stop reading some books and articles which don’t help in improving my mindset and only feed my weaknesses. The biggest battle I am facing is inside of me. It’s in my head. So, if I want to change the words that come out of my (literally) big mouth, I have to put good ones inside. So from reading fiction, YA and romance I changed them to Religion, Philosophy, History and Spiritual. And because of that, some of the writers I follow are not just the modern ones anymore but also the classical. I am enjoying C.S. Lewis’ work more now than before. And lastly the other references such as from the websites like  www.desiringgod.org , www.teachwithjoy.com , www.biblegateway.com blogs and articles from www.medium.com , www.desiringgod.org , www.tumblr.com

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