Getting Back On Track

I love puns. I really do. I'm writing this as a sequel of sorts to a former post titled "Falling Off Track." That post used the real-world example of walking around the track here at school to make a point. Fittingly enough, this post is doing the same.

See, I said a short while back that I had been walking on a nightly basis for exercise, enjoyment, and entertaining others (I needed a third e-word). Walking was a habit I set out to create. I had to keep doing it night after night in order to make sure that I would build a body memory and continue to do so in the days to come. Then I got sick and couldn't walk for a week or so.

I started again two or three nights ago. I missed last night on account of studying for a midterm, but tonight I was out there on the track again. It felt great, but even more important than that is the fact that I was back at working on building a good habit.

With this comes another realization: Doing good things isn't always easy, immediately rewarding, or going to result in feeling great. Still, things like longterm health are worth working for despite these things.

Likewise, spiritual habits follow a similar pattern. I know I need to work on developing a habit of regular, extra-curricular Bible study, for example. I could make excuses. I could justify myself. I could do a lot of things, but there's really no point. There is something better that I could realistically, feasibly be doing. There's no need to further focus on what hasn't been true when I can be focused on making things better now.

I'm not fond of dwelling on the past (be the past good or bad) beyond learning from it in order to improve the future in the way I live and think now.