I learned some very important life principles from this book by Jim Loehr and Tony Shwartz.  The basic premise of the book centers around the fact that fully engaged energy not time is our most precious resource.

The most important concept from my standpoint was the power of positive rituals.  This simply affirmed some of what I have done over the years and motivated me to take advantage of this concept to an even greater degree.

The power of positive rituals is simply learning to accomplish more by establishing positive habits in your life.  Habits can be positive or negative but one thing is for sure – once they are established they are hard to break.  When the habit is positive, it can help you achieve success in life and satisfaction with life.

In my life, as a young Christ follower I established the habit of spending a few minutes each morning with the Lord.  This habit is so engrained in my life, that is challenging to break it.  While I seldom do nothing more than reading a devotional or passage of scripture along with spending some time in prayer, I truly believe that this habit has been a huge part of the transformation that has taken place in my life.

As a young adult, I discovered that I had extremely high blood pressure.  With a history of heart problems on my father’s side of the family (he died at the age of 52) I decided that I needed to exercise regularly.  I built another ritual into my life by spending 30 minutes or so each morning exercising.  I have done everything from jogging to palates.  I have never joined a health club or any formal  program.  After a few years on blood pressure medication, I was able to get off the medication and maintain a healthy blood pressure.

I have several other rituals or habits I have built into my life that have made a difference.  For instance when I take my shoes off in the house, I always put them by our back door if I am downstairs or in my closet if I am upstairs.  It is amazing but this little habit is hard to break and has saved me lots of time compared to other family members who spend a considerable amount of time looking for shoes.

Reading has become a habit for me.  I fill space in my life by reading.  I always have a book in my car and one in my house.  If I have few minutes of time, I will read a few pages.