the excitement of habits

Lewis talks about the excitement of a new activity today in A Year with C.S. Lewis.

And that brings up the idea of excitement. What excites us? Well, generally we get excited about something novel. Something we haven't seen before. And it's dangerous to get into the habit of always looking for something NEW to give us that rush. Because it means that we give up on old activities, locations, and people when they no longer have that "new" feeling.

But reverse the words "habit" and "excitement", and you find something very healthy and worthwhile. You find the excitement of habits. See, when we find GOOD habits, and invest our time and energy into them, it produces a different kind of excitement. The excitement of progress toward a worthwhile goal.

If I get into the habit of working out regularly, I begin to see improvement. I can walk or run longer without getting worn out. I can pick up heavier things. I see a difference in the shape of my body. That's exciting.

If I think that drawing is something I would like to pursue, then maybe I should begin a habit of drawing every day. And over time, as I put in the sometimes boring hours of practicing drawing, I begin to see a difference in my drawing ability. I see that I can come much closer to the pictures in my head when I put pencil to paper. That's exciting.

So we see that when we apply ourselves to goals that we have for our lives, and develop habits that, like rungs on a ladder, carry us up one rung at a time, higher than we can go if we just jump, we find ourselves in a whole new place, doing things we couldn't do before. That's the excitement of habit.

God, thank You for giving us talents, and for helping us develop habits that bring the excitement of new ability.