#34- Building the Stairway to Your Dreams

Have you ever known anyone like my Grandfather?  He was a farmer who woke up early and worked all day....almost everyday.  Only towards the end of his life do I remember him taking a brief nap after lunch before resuming his labors.  That kind of role model impacts you for life.  In fact, as you get older you begin to ask yourself how they did it. 

The answer is simple, successful people realize the power of....habits.  His drive, momentum, and flow were the result of not just one, but many habits he had developed over the years.  Take a look around and you’ll see people like this everywhere.  Great athletes know this (investigate the daily habits of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps).  Tiger Woods knows this secret.  CEO’s as well as godly parents know this.  Success does not come by accident, it is achieved not just by the development of one habit (though one habit can transform many as you’ll learn in a later post).

The power of habits works both ways.  For instance, maybe you decide to stop for a donut on the way home from work because you need some energy.  The next day you stop again.  Now a month later you are ten pounds heavier and sixty dollars poorer according to your bank statement.  Why?  You’ve developed a new habit.  Unfortunately, what seems harmless in the beginning can turn out to be dangerous.

Or maybe you decide to start walking everyday.  It’s been a month now and your jeans are a little less tight.  Because your jeans fit better, you started feeling better about yourself.  Feeling better about yourself, you decided to stop visiting the donut bakery after work and because you stopped that habit you are now sixty dollars richer according to this month’s bank statement.

If you’re wondering what new habits are worthy of developing and which ones you need to ditch, play the video.  If you stay on the path you’re on, and continue to practice your current habits, what is your destination going to be?  Will you be healthier and happier five years from now?  This sounds harsh, but will you even be alive?  Imagine what would happen if you die because of your habit and your family is left to fend for themselves.  Imagine you’re wife for instance.  She is a homemaker so now that you’re dead she has no income.  You’re children have no Dad to help them navigate their teenage years.  You’re wife finally gets a job but it’s not enough to pay the mortgage so she has to sell the house and get an apartment in the city.  You’re teenaged daughter longs for attention and starts dating a guy who is concerned with nobody but himself.  You get the picture.  

You're dreams aren't just going to fall into your lap.  You have to chase them.  Why do successful people enjoy performing mundane tasks like farming?  Successful people see ordinary tasks as stepping stones to achieving the life they've always dreamed of.  

The video we just watched is more than just a little unnerving.  If you decide to change your habit, maybe the video will play out like this.  You start walking every other day and talk with others who are trying to get healthier.  Better yet you start a walking group.  Five years later you attend your daughter’s graduation from college.  Five years later you get to walk her down the aisle.  Ten years from now you hold your first grandchild in your arms.  You get the picture.  No, we’re not in total control of our destiny, but we can stack the deck and be proactive.

There are three steps when it comes to forming new habits.  We’ll talk about these three things more in our next posts.  But for now, what is one small change you can make today that is going to take you in the direction of your dreams?  While you're at it, spend some time playing the video of how this might impact your future.