Changing Habits

    Look at your life, not too bad, huh? But what if I told you that you could make your life better with only a 1% lifestyle change? You'd think I'm crazy. "Jason, this sounds like an infomercial." That's true, but this really works! All you need to do is change 1% of you relationships, spiritual life, and media intake.

    Let’s start with relationships. We have relationships with family members, friends, teachers, and strangers. What if you took one of these relationships and put more time into making it stronger? You could take a sibling out for ice cream, do your chores without being told, welcome a new classmate into your circle of friends, etc. If you’re happy with the result, start to strengthen another friendship.

    Another important part of your life is spirituality. If you don't have a connection with your Creator, how can you know your purpose in life? The 1% change could be having a reflection of the day each night, praying in the morning, or stopping at church to pray in front of the Eucharist. One little thing to strengthen your relationship with God will greatly benefit your everyday life.

    Finally, change 1% of the media intake. The media gives us a unique opportunity to control what we take in. But media also has the ability to control us. There was a study done where a group of people went 24 hours without technology. After about 12 hours, their brains started showing signs of withdraws similar to drug addicts. The 1% change in media is to help you control the media rather than the media controlling you. It could be fasting from the internet and video games every Wednesday (exception of school projects), no electronics after 9:30pm, or limiting your TV/movie intake to 7 hours a week. The amount of time you will gain from this will astound you (you could learn the guitar).

    These 1% changes are small, but you will notice benefits in less than a week. It gives you an opportunity to live your life rather than be controlled by fear, shame, or technology. If you need extra motivation, remember that you have been called to a life of greatness, not comfort. Choosing to do homework rather than watch TV is choosing greatness rather than comfort. Imagine all you could accomplish with starting with just this 1% change.