This week, one of my mentors challenged me to take a deeper look at my habits. Routines—the things I do every single day, sometimes without even realizing it. He shared a surprising statistic: nearly 40–45% of our day is nothing but habits. Almost half our lives are rinse and repeat.
That stopped me in my tracks. Half my day? The same motions, the same patterns, the same loops? No wonder it can feel boring or stuck.
So, I decided to change things up.
The Dog-Walking Experiment
If you know me, you know I love to work. I can dive into a project and stay there for hours. But work habits—good as they may be—can also crowd out space for life. So, in an effort to break routine, I decided to do something totally different: walk my three dogs.
Now, walking dogs is not really my thing. But it was a break from work, and I thought maybe it would be good for me. So, I got them all leashed up, stepped outside, and asked my son to film this new adventure of me breaking my habit of working too much.
He laughed, pressed record, and off we went.
Five seconds down the driveway I knew this was a mistake. Three dogs pulling in three directions is not exactly life-giving! My son quickly stopped the camera and came to help. That’s when he said something that became my “shot in the arm” for the week:
“I think you have to be intentional about what you choose to add or take away from your day.”
Intentional Habits
That word—intentional—stuck with me.
It’s not just about breaking habits for the sake of something new. It’s about knowing the motivation behind what we do. Was I walking the dogs for me? No. I was doing it for them. Would I have rather just gone for a walk in the sunshine, enjoying the fresh air and quiet? Absolutely.
That’s when I had to face the truth: I have a habit of not taking care of me. I’m so busy caring for others that I forget to ask if a habit is actually helping me.
The Heart Behind the Habit
Here’s the lesson I want to pass on to you:
Be intentional with your habits. Pay attention to the heart behind what you do every day. Ask yourself:
- Why am I doing this?
- Who am I doing it for?
- Is this habit giving me life—or draining me?
And if there’s a voice inside nudging you to create a habit of doing something every day just for you—listen. Show up for yourself.
Habits can be powerful. They can keep us stuck in rinse-and-repeat cycles, or they can be intentional rhythms that make us healthier, lighter, and more alive.
This week, I’m choosing to focus on the heart behind the habit. I hope you’ll join me.