Above Yourself

Welcome to Above Yourself, a blog about self-improvement and faith. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe in a reader or subscribe by email. Many of the topics here are related to my faith in Jesus Christ and Mormonism, but all are welcome to share their own beliefs. Thanks for visiting!

Turning a goal into a habit is all about consistency. When we start to do something as part of our routine, it becomes a habit, but the hard part is to incorporate it into our routine. This can apply to our own personal daily goals or anything we want to start doing on a regular basis. Lifehacker.com explains Jerry Seinfeld’s productivity secret, which is as simple as a calendar and a marker. For example, if I my goal is to read the scriptures every day, I make a big red X in the box for today when I’ve accomplished that goal.

“After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.”

When I started this blog, I made it my own personal goal to have one post every weekday. As you can see, once that chain got interrupted it became a whole lot easier to skip writing. I’ve now got a calendar and a marker near my desk so that I can more easily highlight my accomplishments. I’ve renewed this effort, because I want to see that chain grow.

I personally recommend using a paper calendar, but others may prefer a web calendar. Whichever you choose, make sure that your calendar is in a place where you can refer back to it easily.

Update:
A quick, easy-to-use task manager Joe’s Goals has added this functionality into its system. Read more about how they use Productivity chains.

We live in a time where we’re blessed to have access to God’s word through the scriptures. These holy books contain God’s word written by his prophets. Many of us have read some part of the scriptures before, but why should we read the scriptures on an ongoing basis? Elder Henry B. Eyring replied to that question in a discussion on scripture study:

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, and we learn about Him in its pages. We know that it has great power. It has the power to change lives. It has the power to convert. If you read it with an open heart, you will know that it is the word of God and that it is true.

Through the Book of Mormon the Lord can also teach us about being with and serving people. This book reveals the will of the Lord for family life in a way that the other scriptures don’t even approach. I believe that is largely because of its interesting structure. It’s about families; it’s about people’s relationships. It starts with families, it ends with families, and we come to love these families.

Like any habit, daily scripture reading takes practice. To start, it’s best to decide on a time each day that you can read the scriptures. If you can make a habit of getting up early, beginning your day with scripture reading can have a profound effect on your life. Keep track of your progress and set goals, perhaps using the online tools at Readthescriptures.com. My wife and I are on a scripture-reading “team” that lets us keep track of each others’ reading, as well as to keep track of our family scripture reading.

Let us know of any tips you may have for daily scripture reading in the comments.