Yeah! It's February 2025! That's how fast time is going by. Here is a question to ponder. Have you given upon the goals you set for the new year? A great majority of people do not get to day 11 of January. If you are still on track on achieving your goals, congratulations . . . you are a rare person indeed. But why is it so easy to quit, so easy to give up on something that can actually help you? Psychologists have debated back and forth on what creates a state of automaticity.
What is automaticity? The state where a habit you are trying to create becomes automatic. Many years ago, a group of psychologists realized that it takes about 66 days for a habit to become automatic. These 66 days have been broken into 3 equally divided sections of 22 days a piece. It was found that in the first 22 days, a person experiences the HARD part of habit formation. it's called the "destruction" phase.
During this time everything you are trying to do seems impossible. Most people quit before the 22nd day. The next 22 days of habit formation are MESSY. It's what the psychologist call the "installation" phase. A person is beginning to install new habits into their lives. While it is still hard to create the habits, they are not destructive and a person begins to see how these habits are starting to change their lives!
The final 22 days of habit formation are GLORIOUS. Psychologists call this phase the "integration" phase. After over two months of working on your new habit, one is able to see the integration of that habit in all aspects of life. The benefits and the habit reach the level of automaticity which means they are no longer destructively hard and the installation is no longer messy. If one reaches day 66 he/she has now reached a level that many do not reach.
This Sabbath day, if you have given up on your goals . . . go back to them and stay committed for 66 days straight. If you are still going strong on accomplishing your new habits and goals for 2025, keep going! Sixty-six days will take you to March 7, 2025. At that date, you will have reached the level of automaticity! I can guarantee . . . your life will never be the same! From that point forward, you can add new goals and accomplish things you didn't think possible.
So, until the next time, this is Pastor Tello reminding you that thoughts do change lives!
Pastor Howard Tello