Napoleon Hill wrote in his wonderful book, “You Can
Work Your Own Miracles,” about the far-reaching power of the Law of habit on
the workings of the entire universe:
“The
Law of Cosmic Habitforce is the comptroller of all other natural laws, and is
the power which gives fixation to all habits of every living thing in
the lower orders of life than that of man.
It
also fixes the habits of energy and matter as well as the distances and the
relationships between all the stars and planets.
Man
alone has been provided with privilege and the means by which he may fix his
own habits, good or bad. Man’s privilege to make and to break his own
habits has been so definitely left in his own hands that he is not bound by any
form of inherited limitations, such as all lower forms of life.
Day
and night, the seasons of the year, the law of balance, and every living thing except
man, are bound by inexorable habits which make their movements and
actions accurately predictable over long periods of time and far in advance
of their happenings.”
The foregoing facts establish that the overall plan of
the universe works based on natural laws and these laws are so regular and
fixed— a fact which makes them habitual— that we have absolute belief in their unbreakable
continuity.
That’s why the sky is safely suspended above us for thousands of
years. And we live serenely with faith and confidence that it will remain safe
tomorrow, and the next, and the next, simply because of the understanding of
this Law and Power of the Creator.
In other words, the Law of Cosmic Habitforce is the law
of habits.
The
philosopher CS Peirce even suggested in the early 20th century that the
regularities of nature may be more like habits than laws.
NOW, THE
ESSENCE OF HABIT
The inherent and most important quality of habit is its
dogged consistency. Its toughness. Its constancy. Its rigidity. Just like
astronomical matters of nature and the kingdom of lower animals, we humans are
also regulated by habits.
The only difference is that, we have the inalienable power
to fix our habits and to change them for better, whenever we choose. However,
whether choose to exercise this prerogative or choose not to, habit still
controls our lives.
The bright side is that, we can choose a good quality
that we like; fix it in our daily lives through regular practice. With enough
repetition, it will become a habit and when it does, the end result will be
nothing short of sublime. A lion, as powerful as she is, has no such privilege.
The Sun, as humongous as it is, has no such choice. However, humans, as frail
as we are, we do. Is that not uplifting?
MAKING
HABIT AN ALLY: THE PRIVILEGE OF CHOICE
For most of us, our greatest challenge with regards to
glory and goodness is steadfastness and unwavering continuity. We don’t know
how to stay consistent on what is best for us. Sometimes, we are in the flow,
many times we are not. Suddenly, we are on top of the world, other times, it is
hard to even wake up on time.
For far too many, our relationship with success is
sporadic and erratic. So, the lasting good we desire keeps eluding us.
The crux of this piece is to look into nature for a
permanent solution to this challenging up-and-down performance. This is where the power of habit resides.
If we resolve to use this compelling force for good, in
time, we will be up-and-coming. If we don’t, bad and negative habits will
automatically steamroller us to mediocrity or to doom.
As
the Law of Cosmic Habitforce is what fixes the habits of the stars and the
planets, the crucial source of our
disciplined habits is internal decision.
If
we decide and have the full commitment to see the decision through, no matter
what, the inevitable end results will be habits leading to health, productivity
and felicity.
We can choose to use this unstoppable force for good by
structuring our lives in line with the laws of nature in terms of purpose,
discipline and justice.
I intend to bring our attention to the importance of habit
through the operation of natural laws in regulating, efficiently, the
gargantuan network of planets and galactic matters of the universe. And how we
can enhance the quality of our lives through the application of the principles
they demonstrate.
If the advancement in science and technology came as a result
of application of the lessons from nature, then, can we go wrong to positively
pattern our lives based on the principles of steadfastness, constancy and
dedication?
These principles are definitely the key fundamentals of enduring
success as established and proven by natural laws.
Habits
impact everything in our lives. Our results, therefore, follow our habits,
whether they are awesome or unwholesome.
Tom
Corley, in his book, “Change Your Habits, Change Your Life,” he conducted a
study on habits of 177 people. And one of his conclusions is:
“The blueprints of our lives and the lives of
our children are determined by habits.”
If this is true, then we have a greater responsibility
to reform ourselves for the sake of our children and the future of mankind in
general.
Therefore we should take the advice of the great
American industrialist, Jean Paul
Getty to heart, when he said:
“The individual who wants to reach the
top must appreciate the might of the force of habit and must understand that
practices are what create habits. He must be quick to break those habits that
can break him and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits
that help him achieve the success he desires.”
My final thoughts are, if we believe we still have
changes we need to make in our lives, at work and at home, we can start the
good behaviours today. And with commitment and persistence, the better practices
will unfailingly become formidable ramparts, safeguarding us from all destinations
we earnestly desire not to be.
