A Toast to Me!

Today I find myself doing a lot of cleaning in preparation for my impending move and I came across a copy of the Yahoo! Hotjobs section of the Daily News from October 4th.  There George Gurney writes a section called Dear Headhunter, which is essentially an advise column, similar to the Dear Abbey columns I grew up with, except it’s focus is centered on jobs and careers.  Anyways, I don’t usually keep these sections because they’re no longer as information packed as they once where – but on this day, I chose to keep it.

After sharing a quote by Jim Ryum, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”, Mr Gurney encourages his readers to take a closer look at their habits and ask, are they positive or negative?

I know that I have many habits that I work at changing.  Sometimes I’m successful, othertimes not so much.  But the following poem that Mr. Gurney shared really made me think about the power that a positive, and a negative,  habit can have over me.  Here is it for you to read and hopefully to make you take a closer look at your own habits:

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do, you might as well turn over to me,
And I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done,
And after a few lessons I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men
and, alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work will all the precision of a machine
Plus the intelligence of a man.
You may run me for profit, or run me for ruin;
It makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me
And I will put the world at your feet.
Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.

Who am I?

I am HABIT!

-Author Anonymous

Reflections habit, Reflections

Adversity is one of those things that builds character.  It tests our boundaries and takes us back to those basic rules we all learned in kindergarten.  You know – those little tiffs out on the playground with the school bully? He/She says something mean to me or pushes me.   Do I fight back?  Do I sit back and watch?  Do I act?  or do I react?

I’ve fought back, actually pulled little Penny’s braid right out of her hair one day out on the playground when she made fun of the dress I was wearing in 1st grade.  I didn’t even get in trouble.  I think the teacher was so surprised that she really wasn’t sure what to do.  That marked the end of my fighting days — because I felt bad – and yet I felt better.  Hmm, a dichotomy if I ever heard of one.

I’ve sat back an said nothing.  Actually watched a classmate pass out after the wind was knocked out of him by another in the 3rd grade.  When asked about it, I said.. well nothing.  I felt mad, but then again, I was relieved that I wasn’t being asked anymore questions. Another dichotomy.

Amazingly enough everytime I am presented with adversity, I have to stop and decide my course of action.  Fortunately for me, each experience teaches me some type of valuable life lesson.  They have helped, and continue to elp,  me become the person I am.  Truth be told, I don’t like adversity, but I do appreciate learning from it.  Hmm, would that be considered yet another dichotomy?

Reflections Reflections