THE COMPOUNDING POWER OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

“Life is a process of accumulation. We either accumulate the debt or the value, the regret or the equity.”—Jim Rohn

Never underrate the exponential power of your daily behaviours! This exponential effect is the major reason why habits are so important.

Today’s article will enlighten us on the invisible force that controls our lives so that we can take charge of the steering wheel before we are driven to a destination that is far from where we truly want to be. 

Awareness precedes choices!

Becoming the wise pilot of our own mental plane will enlist in our cause one of the greatest forces on earth; whereas failing to do so will put us in the same situation as the servile majority of the populace; the segment of people who are on the receiving end of their own lifestyles.

This force is what makes good habits a form of blessing that keeps on giving to its proactive builders. Conversely, it is the same force that makes bad habits a form of curse that never fails to sabotage anyone of its dutiful slaves. 

And I think the English polymath, John Lubbock, was referring to the consequences of good and bad habits when he said: “A pleasure is full grown only when it is remembered {for good}. True pleasures are paid for in advance; false pleasures afterwards, with heavy and compounded interest.”  

THE CYCLE OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR 

“Little drops of water make a mighty ocean,” is an old saying that is perhaps most relevant to the exponential power of human behaviour. It starts little and before you know it, it has become a mighty force; almost beyond the control of its maker. 

What begins as insignificant deed can snowball into either a big advantage or an awful disadvantage, with the passage of time; depending on whether it is good or bad. 

Therefore, you only need to be slightly getting better, day by day to reap huge benefits of compounding power. This means if you can do a handful of right things, on a consistent basis, you will be on your way to becoming one of the lucky few on this planet. 

And, it is so because doing well for a while greatly improves your odds of doing better for another while; until you can no longer live the wrong way, even in the face of temptation. Here in lies the magic of exponential force because the good cycle cements you permanently for fortune, health and happiness.

Likewise, you don’t need to be dramatically bad either. You only need to repeat some bad behaviours over and over again for a long enough time to attract the stiff penalties of compounding force.  This is so because people that can do a handful of wrong things, on a consistent basis are the ones who accumulate enormous damage for themselves in this life.   

What seems like nothing at the beginning can lead to self-destructive habits when repeated over time.

In short, those that are slightly getting better end up with the majority of the world’s splendours. While those that are slightly getting worse end up with all the hassles of servitude. This is why the German theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein said: “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. The most powerful thing I have ever encountered. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”

BUILD YOUR CHARACTER, DAY BY DAY

“The more we progress the more we tend to progress. We advance not in arithmetical but in geometrical progression. We draw compound interest on the whole capital of knowledge and virtue which has been accumulated since the dawning of time.”—Arthur Conan Doyle

The Scottish industrialist, Andrew Carnegie once said that, “The first essential for success in any calling of merit is sound character.”  And sound character, like leadership virtue, is not built in a day but it is a daily work in progress.

In his book, “The Compound Effect,” Darren Hardy explains to us that the greatest rewards hardly come from dramatic life changes but the simple fundamental behaviours that compound over time. 

It is on this basis that I want to urge you to build your character as investors build their equity portfolios. They don’t achieve it in one day; rather they build it one step at a time. So use the power of compounding force to your advantage by consciously choosing knowledge over neglect, every single day.

My practical tip on this concept is that we should choose to read at least a page of a character-building book, everyday. And with time, we will multiply in knowledge and vitality. 

Or we can care less about such behaviour, thinking it doesn’t matter.  And with time, we will find ourselves multiply in ignorance and staleness. The choice is ours! 

Meanwhile, we must not only study, we must apply what we learn for we advance only by doing.

Finally, in a world of compounding power, the development of our mind and character is practically the most profitable business anyone can ever build. And the best way I know to do it is: day by day. We live in a knowledge-based society.