We all have at least one bad habit. You may not even know it or recognize it as being ‘bad’. By definition, a habit is “a regular tendency, especially one that is difficult to give up.” Mine has always been biting my fingernails. (I know it is gross; I started it at the age of seven.) How do I know this? Why? Well, I did it for attention to start. Being the younger sibling, people paid attention to me. I was excited to be have someone acknowledge me, even it was being told, “You need to stop that!” I don’t blame my sister any longer, but like most bad habits, we choose to blame someone else for them. I am working on stopping this habit, but I struggle with it…a lot. I no longer do it for attention; it is just a bad habit!
I think attention-seeking behaviors often lead to bad habits, even if that wasn’t our intent when we started the behavior. Do you have a bad habit that began as a behavior that you thought you could control, but now find it is difficult to control? You may not even know you are still doing it.
I encourage you to pray for strength from God, to seek His attention in place of that behavior that led you to a bad habit! Change your environment, change your focus, and see what you can do to make a change. It is amazing what you can accomplish with God!