It's New Year's Eve and we're not only about to start a new year but a new decade. Plus it's 2020. Very few people were around for 1919 and fewer still will be here for 2121. So this is a special one. Many will be looking to start anew. This might be wiping the slate clean and getting a fresh start. It's like making your bed and cleaning your room. You feel a sense of accomplishment and want to keep it up as long as you can. I'm sure this is how many feel with their health and fitness as we prepare for a new year. And if we flashed forward 12 months to this time next year I can tell you right now, without any doubt, whether you will be successful or not. And I know this because of one thing. And that one thing is your habits. Let me share a quick story about habits with you. It involves our 4 year old daughter Vangie. Every since Vangie was old enough to communicate with us I've said the same thing to her at dinner time. I ask her: 'Vangie, do you want to say grace?' Similar to our family...holding hands and praying before we eat. Sometimes she rolls her eyes. Other times she'll ask why we have to? And on occasion she'll just start eating. But even if she's reluctant to do so she'll always lead our family in grace. She'll add her own version every now and again as well. We'll usually hold hands as we pray but she may mix it up and cross her arms to the opposite sides and want the other family members to do the same. She's also be known to link with the person beside her with knuckles and finish the amen...

We are creatures of habit. There are certain things we do routinely, or ritualistically, in our lives. I'm sure we all do certain things every morning as we start our day. And we do them the same way. For me, it would be waking up in the morning and going to the bathroom. And unfortunately, I'm on my phone for the first part of the day. I say unfortunately because this usually involves checking social media to see what everyone else in my circle of 'friends' ate for their last meal. Or to check in for any potential spoilers in the shows we watch. Obviously I don't need to be doing these things every morning when I wake. And I should add a new ritual to break this habit. Another example of a daily routine can involve the commute in to work. Have you ever been deep in thought about something and driven right past where you need to turn? And when you finally snap out of your day dream you realize you've driven well past your exit. But habits can be positive and helpful. They can help us conserve energy. We don't have to work too hard for something to comes to us automatically. They can help us reduce brain fatigue. It does't take a lot of focus or attention to brush our teeth in the morning. [caption id="attachment_5304" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Steve Jobs over the years. Could this fashion ensemble be the reason for the iphone? They can help reduce stress. When  things are straightforward and easy for us to do we can relax a bit. Think back to the last time you had to try something new. It was a little more stressful, wasn't it? They help us quickly complete a task. If we don't something many times before...