Talks to Young Men, V: Habit

TALKS TO YOUNG MEN. v.—HABIT AS RELATED TO CHARACTER. But, after all, it is almost as important that you should form the habit of reading in your young days, as that you should know what is best for you to read. " How use doth breed a habit in a man."—Shakespeare, What you get used to by constant repetition, up to your twentieth year, will be pretty sure to remain with you as a habit the rest of your lives. I had a good friend who told me, when I was fourteen years of age, that if I would refuse strong drink for the next six years, there would be little fear that I would ever thereafter care for liquor, or become a drunkard. At that time, I was very fond of liquor, and, in one of my serious moments of reflection, I saw where it might lead me, and told my friend that I feared the results. It was then he told me how to avoid danger. I followed his advice, and liquor is no temptation to me now. But my habit was not formed without severe training of my will, without strict and frequent repetitions of self-denial. My friend understood the power of habit, and I learned that habits are formed as well by the repetition of denial as by indulgence. "Every action, every thought, every jeeling, contributes to the education oj the temper, the habits, and understanding, and exercises an inevitable influence upon all the acts oj our future life."— Smiles. It is a good thing to read good books. How can this habit be formed? By reading a good book, and then by reading an- other; and thus by action of the will repeating until you form a habit, which is a "second nature," that, once formed, you can

378 IMPRO YEMENT ERA. never wholly overcome, any more than you can your natural de- sire to eat and sleep. It is a bad thing to drink liquor, but by indulging once, and repeating, you soon form an evil habit that can not readily, if at all, be overcome; but by denying your appetite, and constantly repeating that denial, you also form a habit that will prove a powerful aid in the formation of a good character. A beautiful behavior is better than a beautiful Jorm; it gives a higher pleasure than statues and pictures; it is the finest of the fine arts- Emerson. How then, are habits, good or bad, formed? By the repeti- tion of actions. Good deeds and behavior tend to good habits, and these are the foundation of good character. Every young man is in duty bound to aim at reaching the highest standard of character: to be rich in spirit, great in true honor, the most vir- tuous, the most truthful, the most upright, the most honest, and the most persevering in the path of duty. These desirable ends can not be reached without diligent effort, constant self-watch- fulness, self-discipline and self-control. But with a strong spirit, a determined will, and an upright heart, habits may be formed that will surely lead to success in the attainment of these ends. "All habits gather by unseen degrees, As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas."—Dryden. But all this may appear to be beyond the reach and under- standing of the average boy. How will the simple surroundings of the average boy enable him to form habits that will lead to such great results. Ability to form habits is one thing in which all men are as near equal as they can be in anything. Habits are personal, and no one is much more favored than another in the possibility of their formation. If anything, a condition of poverty is perhaps more favorable to the formation of good habits than riches, or favorable financial surroundings. Nothing stands in the way of the country lad forming habits that are just as good as those of the city lad; and, on the contrary, there is little in the city, even with its numerous vices and temptations, that the coun- try does not produce in one form or another. There is nothing to hinder a boy determining to be prompt, to be always on time. A determination to be prompt in all your affairs will soon distinguish

TALKS TO YOUNG MEN. 379 you, and make you beloved by all your associates. "That boy is never late," will be a wonderful recommend to you. Are you careless in this regard, then change your habit of "always late" to "always on time." Or better still, form the habit of promptness. Keep your word. That is another habit that some young men seem not to value. "Did John say he would pay you today?" "Yes." "Well, you will be paid, then." Such a reputation for veracity is better than much money, and is one of the most im- portant elements of success. But what shall be said of the habits of industry, self-control, of the power of governing the temper, of temperance and the thousand virtues of the sermon on the mount? By the exercise of a strong will and a determined effort they may become traits in the character of every young man. "But now ye also put off" all these: anger, wrath, malice, blas- phemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another."—Col 3: 8, 9. In this warning, Paul names some of the bad habits that are to be overcome, or, better, never formed. Keep in mind that it is perhaps easier to form evil habits than good ones, and steel your- self against taking the first bad step. That is much easier than to avoid a repetition of an evil deed, when once it has been done. It is also much easier to do right voluntarily, and because of a love of the right, than to be compelled by others or by our cir- cumstances. An eastern publication illustrates this: "Under old business methods a young man who sought employment in some great house must appeal to his friends for 'bonds.' Today he must appeal to a guaranty company; and the first question asked him is, 'Do you gamble?' The second is, 'Do you drink?' If he cannot answer 'No' to -each, and back up his reply by the evidence of his friends, he may pound stone, but he cannot handle cash. The Sunday school has now a powerful assistant in the packing house and the bank. The area in which a young man may sow wild oats is being narrowed every year, and the young man who 'must have his fling,' may have it out on the levee, but not in the business marts. Fathers and mothers, sad to say, do not send detectives to the race track to see who is betting on the horses there, but the bond companies do; and many a young fellow who sneered at his mother's tearful entreaty has listened very