Habit the color of perception
"Habit is a force which is generally recognized by the average individual, but which is sensed in its negative nature to the exclusion of its positive nature. It has been well said that all men are ‘the creatures of habit,’ and that ‘habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day and it becomes so strong that we cannot break it.’"If it be true that habit becomes a cruel tyrant, governing and compelling men against their will, desire, and inclination –making their desires mere whims ,fancies and vague ambitions. - And this is true in many cases – the question naturally neglected in the thinking mind is whether this force can take a servants place in the service of men, just as have other forces of Nature. This being accomplished, then man may master habit and set it to work, cowing its trick star nature and uncrowning this force of its virtues, thereby making a life out of its knowledge. And the modern psychologists and researchers tell us in no uncertain tones that habit may certainly be thus mastered, harnessed, and set to work, instead of being allowed to dominate one's actions and character. And this knowledge being shared should turn the force of habit into new channels and avenues, and help compel it to work their machinery of action, instead of being allowed to run to waste, or else permitted to sweep away the structures that men have erected with care and expense, or to destroy fertile mental fields.
"A habit is a ‘mental pathway or pattern’ over which our actions/notions have traveled for some time, each passing making the path/pattern a little deeper and a little wider, forging it into a force of nature on its own”. If you have to walk over a field or through a forest, you know how natural it is for you to choose the clearest pathway in reference or comparism to the less worn ones, and greatly preferred to step out across the field or through the bush and making a new path, the line of mental action and thinking is precisely the same. It allows for movement along the lines of least resistance - passage over the Well-worn pathways or patterns. Habits are most definitely created by repetition and are formed in accordance to a law of use, observable in all animate things and some would say in inanimate things as well- it is known that a piece of paper once folded in a particular pattern will fold easily along the same lines the next time. And all users of sewing machines, or other delicate pieces of machinery, know that as a machine or instrument is once ‘broken in’ so will it tend to run thereafter. The same law is also observable in the case of musical instruments. Clothing or gloves form according to the person using them, and these creases once formed will always be in effect, notwithstanding repeated pressings. Rivers and streams of water make their way through the land, and thereafter flow along the habit-course. This law is in operation everywhere around us.
"These illustrations will help you to form a basic understanding of the nature of habit, and thus aiding the formation of new mental pathways and patterns - new mental structures. It is stated and should be noticed - the best (and one might say the only) way in which old habits may be removed is to form new habits to counteract and replace the undesirable ones. Form new mental paths over which to travel, and the old ones will soon become less distinct and in time will practically fold up from disuse. Every time you travel over the path of the desirable mental habit, you make the path deeper and wider even strong through the law of use, and make it so much easier to travel it thereafter. This mental path-making is a very important thing, and I cannot urge upon you too strongly the injunction to start to work making the desirable mental paths over which you wish to travel.it has rapturous strength to catapult you and initiate the desired energy to foster the desired change.
Practice, practice, practice - be a good path-maker."- Napoleon Hill
The following show the rules of procedure through which you should form the new habits you desire:
Step 1: At the beginning of the formation of a new habit put force and enthusiasm into your expression. Let your emotions affect what you think. Remember that you are taking the first steps toward making the new mental path-way; thus it is much harder at first than it will be afterwards. Make the path as clear and as deep as you can, at the instance, so that you can readily see it the next time you wish to follow it.
Corollary 1: make sure you believe the path and use all your effort to make efforts in the direction of the path, DO NOT HESITATE, when travelling on this new path, strength comes to those who face adversity, with boldness.
Step 2: Keep your attention firmly concentrated on the new path-building, and keep your mind away (avoid the old path-ways this attitude makes you aware of the new path-ways) from the old paths, lest you incline toward them. Forget all about the old paths, and concern yourself only with the new ones that you are structuring to order.
Corollary 2: focus on the new things you have set your mind towards and do not allow the old path-ways influence your choice of style. LET YOUR YES BE YES AND YOUR NO BE NO. Say no to the old patterns and yes to the new chosen patterns.
Step 3: Travel over your newly made paths as often as possible. Make opportunities for doing so, without waiting for them to arise through luck or chance. The oftener you go over the new paths the faster and easier will they become well-worn or a norm and freely traveled. Create plans for passing over these new habit-paths, at the very start and this step contains one of the major ingredients to sustain any form of change.
Corollary 3: this is where we must introduce the LAW OF REPITITION as a variation of the LAW OF USE. The constant repetition of these new formed habit patterns will create by the LAW OF ATTRACTION, more circumstances that allow for the use of these new habit patterns and thus giving life to them. This series of events then trigger the precognitive brain to identify these patterns as the way to do things.
Step 4: it is normal for you to feel the urge to travel over the older habit patterns, paths you have been used to before in the past. RESIST THE TEMPTATION. Every time you resist a temptation, the stronger do you become, and the easier will it be for you to travel down the new habit pattern the next time. Note that every time you yield to the temptation, you give strength to the old habit pattern, and the easier it becomes to yield again, making more difficult it resistance the next time. The fight you have on the start, is a t the critical time, prove your determination, persistency and will-power now, at the very beginning.
Corollary 4: introducing a concept from the bible – it states “FLEE ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL”, another portion of this great book reveals “resist the devil and he will flee from you”. A friend once said “Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope for more than you work”-pearl buck, the change you desire is shown in your ability to trust in these new patterns of habit , follow them with enthusiasm , the mind will eventually come to accept and make them as real as you held them up to be.
Step 5: Be sure that you have mapped out the right pattern or strategy, as your desire, and then go ahead without fear, hesitation, and doubt.
Corollary 5: According to the bible- "Place your hand upon the plow, and look not backward." Select your goal, and then make good, deep, wide mental patterns leading straight to your aim or desire. As you have already observed, there is a close relationship between habit and self-suggestion.
An application of the law of use
Through the use of these laws of habit, AN ACT repeatedly performed in the SAME MANNER has a tendency to become Permanent, and eventually we come to perform the act automatically or unconsciously we will become prone to these series of actions. For instance playing a piano, for example, the artist can play a familiar song while his or her mind is on some other subject.
Self-suggestion is the tool with which we dig a mental pattern; Concentration (focus) is the hand that holds that tool; and Habit is the blueprint or design which the mental pattern follows. A desire intended, to be transformed into terms of action or physical reality, must be held in the mind faithfully and persistently until habit begins to give it permanent form in physical expression.
Influence of the environment
