The Habbit
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act ,but a habit.
(Aristotle)
Our Character,
Basically is a composite of our habits.” Sow a habit, reap an action; sow an
action , reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character , reap a
destiny,” the maximum goes.
Habits are powerful factors in our lives . Because they are
consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly , daily , express our
character and produce our effectiveness… or ineffectiveness.
As Horacre Mann, the great educator, once said,” Habits are
like a cable. We weave a strand of it every day and soon it cannot be broken”.
But I know they can be broken. Habits can be learned and unlearned. But I also
know it isn’t a quick fix. It involves a process and tremendous commitment.
Those of us who watched the lunar voyage of Apollo 11 were
transfixed as we saw the first men walked on the moon and returned to earth.
Superlatives such as “fantastic” and “incredible” were inadequate literally had
to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth. More energy was spent
in the first few minutes of lift-off, in the first few miles of travel, than
was used over the next several days to travel half of million miles.
Habits ,too have, tremendous gravity pull-more than most people realize or would admit.
Breaking imbedded habitual tendencies such as procrastination , impatience,
criticalness, or selfishness that violet basic principles of human effectiveness involves more than a little willpower and a few minor
changes in our lives ,”Lift off” takes a tremendous effort, but once we break
out of the gravity pull, our freedom takes on a whole new dimension.
Like any natural force, gravity pull can work with us or
against us. The gravity pull of some our habits may currently be keeping us
from going where we want to go .But it is also gravity pull that keeps our
world together, that keeps the planets in their orbits and our universe in
order. It is a powerful force, and it will use it effectively, we can use the
gravity pull of habits to create the cohesiveness and order necessary to
establish effectiveness in our lives.