Think Fast! Build habits to help you react wisely when the unexpected happens.

 You’re just turning a corner at your job when suddenly someone pranks you by targeting you with a stream of water from a hose. At your job, pranks are commonplace, everyone thinks they are funny, and you get wet all day anyway.

How would you react? Do you laugh, swear, or get angry? Do you plot your revenge or just quit on the spot after smashing a few things?

Building positive habits help us behave in a way we would choose to behave in situations where we don’t have much time to think about how we want to respond. If you habitually tell the truth, when you are confronted with a situation where lying is a temptation, being honest will be your natural default reaction.

How we habitually behave becomes what we do when we are on autopilot. Do you swear when you’re with your friends? Sooner or later you’re going to say those words in front of that nice girl you met at Vespers. Do you struggle to begin your day with morning prayer? If you persist in choosing to pray every morning, soon it won’t be a struggle, you’ll just get up and pray.  Habits are what we do. Positive or negative, habits control much of our behavior, well beyond the moments we chose to start them.

You can harness the power of habits by breaking the ones that are harmful and replacing them with ones that make your life better, but it takes time and effort. Most studies say it takes 30 days to form a new habit, but it only takes one moment to determine to choose that habit and to take the first step. As Christians, we choose virtuous habits to tame the passions, to build our character, and deepen our relationship with God.

What habit do you want to break? Choose a positive habit to replace the void left by the one you want to break and then repeat it until it becomes second nature. Get a friend to encourage you and set a goal you think you really will attain. Use small steps to reach that goal. Build the positive habit and you’ll be thankful later when suddenly, things are better for you because you automatically did the thing you would have chosen to do if you’d had that second to think about it.