Habit Saves Worry and Rebellion.—Habit has been called the "balance wheel"
of society. This is because men readily become habituated to the hard, the
disagreeable, or the inevitable, and cease to battle against it. A lot that at first
seems unendurable after a time causes less revolt. A sorrow that seems too
poignant to be borne in the course of time loses some of its sharpness.
Oppression or injustice that arouses the fiercest resentment and hate may finally
come to be accepted with resignation. Habit helps us learn that "what cannot be
cured must be endured."
3. THE TYRANNY OF HABIT
Even Good Habits Need to Be Modified.—But even in good habits there is
danger. Habit is the opposite of attention. Habit relieves attention of unnecessary
strain. Every habitual act was at one time, either in the history of the race or of
the individual, a voluntary act; that is, it was performed under active attention.
As the habit grew, attention was gradually rendered unnecessary, until finally it
dropped entirely out. And herein lies the danger. Habit once formed has no way
of being modified unless in some way attention is called to it, for a habit left to
itself becomes more and more firmly fixed. The rut grows deeper. In very few, if
any, of our actions can we afford to have this the case. Our habits need to be
progressive, they need to grow, to be modified, to be improved. Otherwise they
will become an incrusting shell, fixed and unyielding, which will limit our
growth.
It is necessary, then, to keep our habitual acts under some surveillance of
attention, to pass them in review for inspection every now and then, that we may
discover possible modifications which will make them more serviceable. We
need to be inventive, constantly to find out better ways of doing things. Habit
takes care of our standing, walking, sitting; but how many of us could not
improve his poise and carriage if he would? Our speech has become largely
automatic, but no doubt all of us might remove faults of enunciation,
pronunciation or stress from our speaking. So also we might better our habits of
study and thinking, our methods of memorizing, or our manner of attending.
The Tendency of "Ruts."—But this will require something of heroism. For to
follow the well-beaten path of custom is easy and pleasant, while to break out of
the rut of habit and start a new line of action is difficult and disturbing. Most
people prefer to keep doing things as they always have done them, to continue
reading and thinking and believing as they have long been in the habit of doing,