Break Bad Habits
Build Better Ones
Become Better Men
- Nate Whitson -
Have you ever had one of those days (or maybe it feels like YEARS!) when everything feels off?
You sleep through your alarm…
Lose your patience with your kids…
Fall back into that habit you swore you were done with…
And by noon, you're thinking, “Man, I wish I could just hit reset.”
I’ve had more of those days than I can count. Days where I wish life had a "do-over" button — a blank slate — where I could just start fresh.
It turns out… maybe that’s exactly what we need.
And according to the Bible and behavioral science, that longing for a fresh start isn’t just wishful thinking — it’s a powerful way to purposefully create real change.
It’s called “The Fresh Start Effect.”
It’s the idea that certain dates or moments in our lives feel like a new chapter or a new beginning— and when we step into those moments intentionally, we become far more likely to change our behavior.
“Fresh starts create new mental accounting periods, making people feel like they have a clean slate. That makes them more likely to pursue goals.”
– Katy Milkman, How to Change
A clean slate. A fresh start. A do-over.
Think about it:
- New Year’s Day
- Birthdays
- A new job
- A move to a new house
- Mondays
- The 1st of the month
- Even the morning after a tough day
Those aren’t just days on a calendar — they’re psychological mile markers. They say: “You can begin again.”
Scripture says the same thing.
Lamentations 3:22–23 (NLT)
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
God has already built fresh starts and do-overs into the rhythm of our lives. Every single morning is a new mercy. A new CHANCE to change and get better.
Or, how about this one:
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
In Christ, you don’t just get a fresh start — you become one!
Practically Speaking…. Here’s how you can use this idea to create change in areas of your life where you might currently feel stuck or in slow motion.
Pick a fresh start moment in your life right now.
-
- New month? A new season of life? A birthday coming up? A Monday around the corner?
Use that moment to start something super small with the Start Super Small System that I teach. (*learn more about it here)
- Start with your goal then dig deeper to find what it is beneath that surface-level goal that you Really Want.
- Rewire: Don’t set 10 new goals. Pick one super small step.
- Remember: You need a cue to trigger you to move. I call this trick After Stacking -> take a habit you already do (brushing your teeth, grabbing your coffee, getting out of the shower) and stack the new behavior to it so you can remember to do it.
- Reward: celebrate doing the new rewire every time immediately afterward so your brain thinks: "I love how that feels to do that!"
Let it be the “new beginning” that leads to momentum.
Here’s the thing…
You don’t need a perfect track record — just a fresh start.
God built mercy into every morning and change into every moment.
You don’t need to feel ready. You just need to begin.
You don’t have to stay stuck! In Christ and with this Start Super Small System, you have everything you need to change bad habits and behaviors and build new ones.
Why does that matter? Because God made you for Kingdom missions, and you’re needed in it more than ever!
Nate
----------------👇🏻 👇🏻 ------------------
P.S.
Everybody needs a fresh start every now and then.
It's not a mark of weakness. It's just a sign that you're human.
God knows, and He's provided fresh starts for us every day. We just need to intentionally look for them and take advantage of how they work for our benefit.
What fresh start will you choose?
Not sure, click here to see if this system might help.
Like I always say - You don't have to stay stuck!
