SELF-CONTROL SISness, but the person who loves so deeply that his or her happiness is
placed entirely in the hands of another is literally out of control.
A person with well-developed Self-Control will not permit him-
self or herself to be influenced by the cynic or the pessimist; nor will
they permit another person to do their thinking for them.
A person with well-developed Self-Control will stimulate their
Imagination and their Enthusiasm until they have produced action) but
will then control that action and not permit it to control them.
A person with well-developed Self-Control will never, under any
circumstances, slander another person or seek revenge for any cause
whatsoever.
A person with Self-Control will not hate those who do not agree
with them; instead, they will endeavor to understand the reason for
their disagreement, and profit by it.
We come now to a form of lack of Self-Control that causes more
grief than all other forms combined; it is the habit of forming opinions
before studying the facts. You will find that this subject is covered
more fully in Lesson Eleven, on Accurate Thinking, but the subject of
Self-Control could not be covered without at least a passing reference
to this common evil to which we are all more or less addicted.
No one has any right to form an opinion that is not based either
on what they believe to be facts, or on a reasonable hypothesis. Yet,
if you will observe yourself carefully, you will catch yourself forming
opinions on nothing more substantial than your desire for a thing to
be or not to be.
Another grievous form of lack of Self-Control is the habit of
spending beyond one's needs.
I am safe in assuming that you are struggling to attain success, for
if you were not, you would not be reading this course. Let me remind
you, then, that a little savings account will attract many an opportunity
that would not come your way without it. The size of the account is
not as important as the fact that you have established the Habit of