A few days ago I mentioned my goal to read the Bible daily throughout 2023 and complete it all by the end of the year. I also discussed where I had attempted reading the Bible many times throughout my life, even sometimes before I became a Catholic. Each of these previous attempts simply failed because I didn’t have a plan and I didn’t allow enough time to develop it into a habit and a routine in my daily life. Of course we can certainly spend a lot of time talking about bad habits, but for this writing I want to talk about developing good habits.
Experts who have devoted their life to studying human behavior refer to the 21/90 rule regarding habits. Basically, it is understood that it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to make it part of your daily life. So as I apply the 21/90 rule to my 2023 Bible in a Year Plan I’ve certainly met the 21 day mark of creating the habit and I’m over half way to making it a part of my daily life.
Of course, being retired has its advantages. Specifically to my daily Bible reading, I’ve blocked an hour in my morning to devote to reading the Bible and reciting my daily Rosary. I find reciting the Holy Rosary immediately after my Bible reading to be the perfect time. As a point of reference, I began reciting my daily Holy Rosary in the fall of 2019 and haven’t missed a single day since and based on the above mentioned 21/90 rule, I actually look forward to and even crave this very important part of my daily routine.
Finally, I believe the best advice I could offer to anyone who wants to develop habits for prayer and devotionals is to start off small. What I mean by that is pick something such as reading the Bible, praying the Holy Rosary or even praying the Liturgy of the Hours and slowly work towards the time it takes to make it a daily habit. You’ll find that once it becomes a formed habit, it is much easier to introduce something else to your daily prayer life.
Until next time…
Fratus tuus in Christo,
Jerry