Whether you are a new student at Liberty University or returning for another semester, the beginning of the school year is an opportunity to leave bad habits behind.
Intentional changes are challenging, especially when it comes to breaking cycles of chronic doomscrolling, procrastination or other bad habits. Despite this, success is not measured by the end results alone, but rather the steps you take to change your lifestyle for the better.
According to St. John’s University, a healthy morning routine sets the tone for your entire day. Getting up early, practicing gratitude and eating a healthy breakfast contribute to a proactive mindset and will help students increase productivity.
The university also recommends active learning and prioritizing physical and mental health.
Sometimes bad habits are hard to shake. It can be easy to backslide into more comfortable routines that do not benefit you. Cramming for exams, unhealthy eating, not exercising or setting unrealistic expectations for yourself create issues for students trying to succeed in the realm of academia.
There are several ways to break free from bad habits, but executing the steps to change can become confusing when there is not a concrete goal in mind. Harvard Health suggests finding the reason why you want to change. By starting with this simple question, you create a solid foundation to launch yourself toward an established goal.
The article advises modifying your behavior to create different daily patterns in an attempt to subjugate old desires. Changing environments can also reduce temptation to step back into old ways that still beckon you to return to them.
Ultimately, true success also means experiencing failures along the way. That is why clinging to the truth of God’s word is the final part of the remedy for bad habits.
Galatians 5:16 says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
When we choose to follow what God says, we allow ourselves to experience the freedom that only his Spirit can bring.
So, before I wake up for another rigorous day of learning, I am going to break the bad habits that hold me back from achieving excellence.
Sizemore is the POV editor for The Liberty Champion.