Wednesday Wisdom #1

This my first Wednesday Wisdom that I'm sharing and I do hope you enjoy it.  I'll be sharing poems and articles that I find on the web and through ezines etc that touch my heart and soul.

Habits Die Hard

Here's a little test to understand the power of our habits. Cross your arms as you normally would, and look down to see which one is on top. When I speak and do this exercise with audiences, invariably about half of the audience members will have their right arm on top (I do) and the other half will have their left on top. When you crossed your arms for the very first time, you might have been still in your playpen, and you've been crossing your arms the same way ever since.  Now, cross your arms again, but this time put the wrong arm on top. It feels extremely weird! If I were to challenge you to cross your arms the "wrong" way for the rest of your life, could you do it? Probably. Would it be difficult? You bet it would!

Here's the point: Habits—good or bad—are difficult to break. Aristotle said it best: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act...it's a habit."

Here's the reason I wanted to write this book with one of our best-selling authors, John Murphy. Not long ago, I read a short essay and said, "Wow, how true it is." I shared it with John, and said, "We need to write a book on the power of habits." Just reading the essay inspired both of us to move forward and today, I'd like to share it with you:

An excerpt from
Habits Die Hard
by Mac Anderson & John J. Murphy

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest asset or heaviest burden.
I will push you up to success or down to disappointment.
I am at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me.
For I can do them quickly, correctly, and profitably.
I am easily managed; just be firm with me.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a
machine and the intelligence of a person.
You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.
Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me.
Lead me. Reward me.
And I will then...do it automatically.
I am your servant.
Who am I?
I am a habit.