I have historically not been the best scripture reader. Our ward has issued a Book of Mormon challenge, and while that has helped me become better at reading, I still sometimes struggle to get my scripture reading done. Often, what happens is that I start doing other things before I read my scriptures. I open up Instagram or Facebook and an hour later, I decide I should start getting ready for the day and scripture reading has slipped my mind.
Well, one thing my siblings and I are pretty good at is competition. So recently, my brother started a Duolingo club so we could compete against each other in learning Spanish. Well, since I like to win, I decided I needed to be more diligent about my Duolingo practices. Knowing I also needed to be better about scripture study, I decided to pair the two together and challenge myself. I wouldn’t allow myself to get on social media until I had read my scriptures and done my Duolingo for the day.
I haven’t been doing it for that long, but the period I have done it for has been night and day. First off, after reading my scriptures and practicing my languages, I am always far more motivated to get stuff done. Instead of laying in bed scrolling through Instagram in the morning, I complete my tasks and get out to exercise. Secondly, my desire to look at social media has declined immensely. I can’t even tell you why this is, but it has happened and I love the feeling of liberation it has brought me.
We talk in the Church about making sure our priorities are in order, and I think one way we can make sure they’re in order is putting them in order within our day. There’s nothing wrong with reading scriptures at night, I used to be an all star at that. However, I think that when we wake up and immediately look at social media, our very first thoughts of the day are not on improvement and progression, but on comparison, and I do think that’s a problem.
What are some things you want to prioritize in your life? Try and put them first in the day and see if that makes it easier to focus on them.
Emma Jarvis - Blossom Girl |
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