Monks meditate daily.
Professional athletes practice daily.
Great marriages express love daily.
Great chefs cook daily.
Healthy 50-year-olds didn’t start eating healthy last week.
The importance of daily disciplines has hit me hard over the last few months. Maybe it’s because I have three kids and time is easier to visualize every time they have a birthday, or maybe it’s due to my “projected” 401k retirement balance.
Either way, I’ve learned that success doesn’t look like a sprint, it looks like a marathon. So, here are two helpful daily rhythms that I’ve found to be profoundly impactful in my life.
Success doesn’t look like a sprint, it looks like a marathon.
I Bless My Children Every Night
I will be forever grateful for my friend and mentor, Dan Wilt. When I first became a dad he invited me and 2-3 other dads to meet occasionally to discuss fatherhood. It was informal but impactful. The topics we covered ranged from the historical context of fatherhood to being a dad in today’s culture to understanding the future implications of our actions.
The one thing that stuck with me more than anything else was the concept of physical touch and how our hands are one of the primary instruments for blessing our children.
My oldest child, Felix, is now 5 and a 1/2 years old and there’ve been very few nights where I have not taken 10-15 seconds to stop. Lay hands on each of my kids. Then speak out loud a blessing over their minds, emotions, spirits, destinies, or bodies. It’s a practice I hope to continue for years. It’s also a moment to wash away all of the other junk or negativity that was picked up throughout the day.
Desperation prayers in times of trouble are well and good, but when it comes to my kids, I’d prefer to watch God’s blessing & power be nurtured over a lifetime.
I Write Down What I Did Each Day
Some people write long-form journal entries every day. I’m just not sure where they find the time.
I, on the other hand, have a memory journal designed to capture less than 1 paragraph of notes from each day for the next 5 years. Each page captures the same day for 5 years. So, on July 28th, you write the year and a small bit about your day on the first 1/5 of the page. Next year on that page I’ll write 2019 and a small bit about that day. And so on.
For a busy person like myself who is learning to say “no” more often, this is a great way for me to reflect on my day without feeling like it’s another chore to complete before bed.
If You Liked This Post
I have a theory on blog posts that I’m trying out. If you find this post useful and would like to thank me for it, here’s an opportunity to do so financially. You can always leave a comment below as well. I’m using the tool Selz.com because it’s free to use. If you want to check it out for yourself, here’s my Selz affiliate link.
