In the place of New Year Resolution and goal settings that often fail us
We are talking about how to CHANGE OUR HABITS
You can approach things in a better way
We mentioned various things but tonight, I will emphasize what we can IDENTITY BASED CHANGES
Let’s say you struggle to read books before now
Your goal for the new year is TO READ 10 BOOKS

That approach is called OUTCOME BASED APPROACH
And then, you begin to make efforts and pursue reading 10 books.
Who reads BOOKS…a reader.
But look at it this way
Are you a READER?
There is a difference between a person that says…. AM POOR AT READING, I am going to set a goal to read 10 books this year
And a person who says I AM A READER, and so, I am going to read 10 books
Nothing changes on the outside until you have changed the person on the inside

And it all starts with WHO YOU ARE
And that should start with changing your IDENTITY
You are not trying to change how you behave but changing you

Now, once you believe and confess your new identity always, you should begin to provide EVIDENCE for your new identity
Okay, you are a READER…every day you read even if it’s a page on the principle of 1% change. You are affirming that you are a reader
So, you must stop saying NEGATIVE IDENTITY
I Am lazy
I laugh in the public
I sleep too much
I am not living healthy
I live healthily
Into new ones
I am hardworking.
I control my laughter
I sleep adequately
The more your identity is cemented, the better you get in your new nature

And then, everything you do toward that goal cement your identity.
To form a new habit, let’s check

HOW HABITS ARE FORMED IN THE FIRST PLACE

Let’s talk about HABIT FORMATION
When you are bored, what do you do?
psychologists believe in a 4-way process of forming new habits-

CUE👉🏼CRAVING👉🏼RESPONSE👉🏼REWARD
Some people play games
Some people scroll the social media
Some people watch movies
Etc

The next time you got bored, after thinking for a while, you do the same thing
How did you think it started?
One day, you got bored CUE
You were looking for a way out of the boredom CRAVING
You picked up our phone to play games RESPONSE
You feel satisfied REWARD

It has now grown beyond just spending a little time but you can’t wait to escape work and start to play games
The third time, without thinking, you just do it
You become addicted!
There are several habits like that going on around us
I am supposed to have drank up to two bottles of coke or malt in the just concluded week or at least today

Whenever I feel stressed and didn’t eat CUE
I just want to eat something because I wasn’t ready to rest CRAVING
So, I will drink coke or male RESPONSE
and feel relieved REWARD

but because I had ca ough and soft drinks aren’t good for coughs, somehow I went through the week without DRINKING A SOFT DRINK
I didn’t realize that I had formed a habit of tasking soft drinks without knowing.
Even though I have the same feelings I used to have
They didn’t come automatically, you LEARNT them
Same way, several habits rule our lives
When you get in from outside, I am sure the first thing you do is cut off your clothes and wear comfortable ones
When you feel sexually aroused and you watch pornography or masturbate it was a habit you FORMED over time
No one has to remind your brain, you just found yourself doing it!
You have formed the habit
Why?
How?
To now unlearn a habit, you can follow the same pattern
That is the process of HABIT FORMATION

Let’d break it down
If I want to form a new habit today…

CUE makes the cue VISIBLE
CRAVING makes the craving ATTRACTIVE
RESPOONSE Make the response EASY
REWARD make the reward SATISFYING

I want to start waking up EARLY.
That’s my goal or my new habit
How can I make it VISIBLE?
To attach identity to it, I would just say I AM A SUCCESSFUL PERSON and every successful person wakes up early.

1. Write it on the wall of my bedroom.
2. Change my phone password to “early riser”
3. Tell me every night and morning.

And many more…
Making my cue visible makes it possible for me to always remember and see it.
Once the alarm rings, I SEE IT ON MY PHONE
I can set activity on my alarm for 55 amand labels it “early riser”

Step 2, Craving… MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE
Calling myself a successful person has made it ATTRACTIVE already!
Meanwhile, I can attach it to something I enjoy doing.
I have observed that when I wake up, I enjoy going through my phone. It makes my face get lit and cleared.
So, I told myself one time, when I woke, up I will go through my phone
Meanwhile, I always snooze my first alarm unless I am fully awake or disturbing someone
So, before the next alarm, I have risen because my face is now cleared
That way, I have made waking early attractive to my body
Once I roll out of the bed, that’s it!

Step 3: RESPONSE, make it easy.
I used to hold my urine cos I know once am up even if it was 1hr before my waking time, I can’t get proper sleep again
Make it easy for yourself to take the first step
In your case, it could be throwing away your blanket!
Your own could be removing the pillow
So, this time, your aim is not to WAKE EARLY but to throw away your blanket at 5:30 am
Just look for an easy way to start
Someone wanted to be s reader and so he said “at least do 2minutes”
If you plan to read your Bible daily. The day you were supposed to miss, just do *2-minutes*.
Soonest, you will find yourself befriending your Bible more than ever
You can write it in a book. And marked yourself as a success
Of you succeeded in waking up. Do something for yourself that looks like a celebration

Step 4- Make it satisfying.
Is someone getting me?
Such a thing will make your mind wants to go for it again and again
So, ask asking Yourself.

Step One- HOW CAN I MAKE IT VISIBLE

step two- HOW CAN I MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE

Step three- HOW CAN I MAKE IT EASY

Step four- HOW CAN I MAKE IT SATISFYING

If you study the process of HABIT FORMATION, it can help you to form and unlearn habits
Receive grace and help in JESUS’ NAME

Titus 2:
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, note

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,

Father we thank you for your word tonight help us to be that e doer, empower your son the Jesus’in Jesus’ mighty name I have prayed