In the episode of Open Your Eyes, McKay discusses a grip that often takes hold in our life and directs our actions.  This grip, which McKay describes at the jaws of life, often lurks just outside our view and, little by little, changes the way we think, act, and live. What are these jaws?  Habits.  These habits can change our view of reality and over time pull us in a direction we otherwise would not go.  McKay discusses how we can avoid the jaws of life and build productive habits that help us live a healthy life.

This episode opens with a narration of the tragic death of young Lane Graves who lost his life to the jaws of an alligator. Like Lane, McKay says many of us are pulled in opposite directions by the jaws of life. The reason? Our habits. McKay explains the power of habits and what happens when you lose control to poor habits. He describes how the habit of complacency causes us to settle and highlights the need to avoid the habit of pulling others down. Mckay draws this important episode to a close by detailing how to form new habits through creating a keystone habit and changing the habit loops in which we often find ourselves. Listen in today and gain a better understanding of these jaws of life and how to direct your life in a positive fashion.

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• The tragic death of Lane Graves
• How the jaws of life grip and affect us
• The power of habits
• What happens when your habits take control of your life?
• How to avoid complacency in life
• How habits are formed
• Overcoming your habits
• What is a keystone habit?
• The dangers of putting others down

Quotes:

“There are jaws in our life that hold our future and how we live in their grip. And like an alligator's forceful grip, these forces in our life can seize control, and pull us in one direction or another.”

“Habits can grip your life and carry you in a positive or negative direction. And the difference between the positive and negative is how purposefully you approach life.”

“The key question is, are you directing your life, or are your habits directing you?”

“If there's a plague in our generation today, it is more ease, more time, more leisure, and more choices. And all of these things can be blessings, and curses, depending on how we use them. Use them wisely and you can craft a meaningful life, a life of purpose.  Use them unwisely and the opposite will happen.”

“We are what we repeatedly do. Laziness or complacency then is not an act, but a habit.”

“There's greater rest and peace in a life with purpose.”

“When I have a purpose that consumes my thinking, I am much more apt to create habits to meet that purpose.”

“Displacement involves taking a hostile emotion from one situation and transferring it to another.”

“Starting small allows you to find success on your way to larger habit changes.”

Show Links:

Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen