Let’s be real –– all of us have things we want to do, dreams we want to chase, changes we want to make…but oftentimes we just procrastinate, right? We know what we want to do, but then we just don’t do it.
I want to share a simple challenge with you today that, if you take it, will absolutely change your life. And it only takes two minutes.
To start, think of what one thing you’ve been dying to start doing. Or maybe you haven’t been dying to do it, but you know you need to do it and you just keep putting it off. We know we want (or need) to _______________. Insert “read the Bible,” “pray,” “play with my kids,” “workout,” “apply for that job,” etc. in that blank…but then we don’t start that habit.
Here’s what I want to tell you: all you need is two minutes to get started.
Why? Because the most challenging step in any change is getting started. So if you just set aside two minutes to get started, that seems totally doable, right? Because it is. Once you get the ball rolling on that habit two minutes every day, then you start to build up an appetite and a familiarity with doing these things.
Let me give you an example. If you’re saying to yourself right now, “I want to read the Bible every single day,” that is absolutely the right thought! You are so right to want to do that.
Now, go the extra mile (except the mile is only two minutes!! What?!). Set a stopwatch for two minutes, choose a proverb or choose a psalm, and just read it for two minutes. Two minutes. All of us have a-hundred-and-twenty seconds at our disposal. Read as much as you can until the timer goes off, and then when the two minutes are up, stop or just finish the chapter you’re on.
If you do that every single day, before you know it, you’re going to be looking forward to it.
And what I’ve found is once somebody masters two minutes, then they can totally do more, especially if it becomes a regular rhythm in your day that you look forward to, or feel like something’s missing without it. The same is true for any habit, like prayer, for instance. Set a stopwatch, pray for two minutes, and right when the stopwatch goes off, either stop or just go a little bit longer.
If you start with one small step and you do it every single day, before you know it you’re going to be reading and praying, talking to your kids, whatever it is. I heard from someone recently that watching our Two Minute Messages was the first step in her attending church! She said starting with a two minute message helped her get into a rhythm where now she enjoys hearing even longer Bible teachings.
I rest my case, but I dare you to take my challenge: pick a habit (or five habits even!) and start practicing them for just two minutes every day. I promise you, two minutes can absolutely change your life because it’s a simple way to leverage the opportunities God gives us, right here and now, to grow.