When continuing themes emerge in one’s reading and research, it is probably wise to pay deliberate attention to the advice being offered, so although we touched on the issue of habits in Asphalt of Habits, this posting will submit further reasoning to ponder the importance of the small, regular rituals which comprise the 24 hours in a day. From Daily Rituals by Mason Currey where the author examines the routines of 161 artistic minds to Angela Duckworth’s Grit, where she shares that experts “put in hours and hours of solitary deliberate practice. They follow routines. They’re creatures of habit,” one can witness the importance of embracing that the disciplines/rituals/habits we construct into our day matter greatly. In addition, authors such as Malcom Gladwell share stories of extraordinary success of people who put in 10,000 hours of work in order to excel at music, athletics, and business.

In The Art of Work, Goins shares three requirements for deliberate practice from researchers in psychology. “First, the practice requires a context: time and energy from the individual…Second, the activity must not be ‘inherently motivating.’ It has to be something you wouldn’t naturally enjoy doing. Think of it this way: if the practice is enjoyable, then you aren’t growing. Muscle grows through strain and stress that create tiny tears in the muscle fiber and cause it to expand. Skills and knowledge are developed the same way. This is why so few people engage in the process of painful practice. It’s hard. But as Tom Hanks says in A League of Their Own, ‘It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it’…Third, the activity cannot be done a very long time without leading to exhaustion. You must take yourself beyond what you think is possible.”

If we desire to develop specific characteristics in our lives, there must be a commitment to deliberate practice which challenges us and stretches us to create new habits which moves closer to the destination of the flourishing person we desire to become. Flourishing requires a commitment to the small, daily things that accumulate over time. Ortberg shares, “Life does not have a rewind button, so we must seek to get it right the first time.” One method for “getting it right” is by establishing habits and routines in our daily schedule that demonstrates what we value most. “We all hold convictions about what matters most in our lives, about what we hold most dear. But when we take stock of our day-to-day actions, there is often a gap between what we value and the way we spend our time, money, or energy. So regret prevention means taking an honest look at what commitments are shaping our lives…Binding commitments are actions or choices made in the past that tie us to a future course of action. They determine the shape of our lives. The ultimate commitment we are called to is the one God enters into with us. All our smaller choices about relationships and work and leisure are to be shaped and evaluated by how they help us keep the one great commitment.”

Continuing with the concept of deliberate practice, Earley offers a concept in The Common Rule which “consists of eight habits-four daily, four weekly” that allow a kind of “good life” where we set limits for the sake of human flourishing. In this age of distraction, Earley encourages good habits because “habits are little liturgies of worship” and this is a modern problem with an ancient solution as we witness in the monastic context where communal programs of habit were called a “rule of life.” In Heather Erickson’s review of The Common Rule, she expresses that these habits “are designed to counter the chaos of our modern technological life…and introduce habits that push us toward community, toward presence, and toward believing the gospel more deeply.”

So, regardless of whether you take a secular or Christian worldview to the issue of deliberate practice, the habits we form, even little ones, have a great impact on who we become. From fitness routines to periods of Sabbath and rest, we all have a choice to create either good or bad habits in our lives. Encouraging you to reflect and consider your current habits, I will offer a suggestion to consider developing the Five Habits of a Flourishing Life which include awareness, margin, deep work, resilience, and growth that will be shared over the next few posts.