THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF COSMIC HABIT FORCE I013Voluntary habit-building is self-discipline in its highest and
noblest form of application, and all voluntary positive habits are
the products of willpower directed toward the attainment of definite
ends. They originate with the individual, not with Cosmic Habitforce.
And they must be grounded in the mind through the repetition of
thoughts and deeds until they are taken over by Cosmic Habitforce
and fixed in place, after which they will operate automatically.
The word habit is an important word in connection with this
philosophy of individual achievement, for it represents the real cause
of everyone's economic, social, professional, occupational, and spiritual
condition in life. As has already been stated, we are where we are and
what we are because of our fixed habits. And we may be where we
wish to be and what we wish to be only by the development and the
maintenance of our voluntary habits.
Thus we see that this entire philosophy leads inevitably to an
understanding and application of the law of Cosmic Habitforce-
the power of fixation of all habits.
Each of the sixteen preceding lessons is intended to aid you in the
development of a particular specialized form of habit that is necessary
as a means of enabling you to take full possession of your own mind.
This too must become a habit. And the purpose of this philosophy is
to enable you to develop and maintain habits of thought and of deed
that keep your mind concentrated on success.
Mastery and assimilation of the philosophy, like anything desirable,
has a definite price that must be paid before its benefits may be enjoyed.
That price, among other things, is eternal vigilance, determination,
persistence, and the will to make life payoff on your own terms instead
of accepting substitutes of poverty and misery and disillusionment.
There are two ways of relating to Life. One is that of playing horse
while Life rides. The other is that of becoming the rider while Life
plays horse. The choice as to whether one becomes the horse or the
rider is the privilege of every person, but this much is certain: If you