COOPERATION 829We come now to the discussion of the principle through which
action may be developed. Understanding how to become active requires
understanding how not to procrastinate. I offer these suggestions:
- Form the habit of each day doing the most distasteful tasks first.
This procedure will be difficult in the beginning, but after you
have formed the habit you will take pride in first dealing with the
hardest and most undesirable part of your work. - Place this sign in front of you where you can see it daily while you
work, and put a copy where you can see it before you go to sleep
and when you arise: "Do not tell them what you can do-show
them!" - Repeat the following words, aloud, twelve times each night just
before you go to sleep: "Tomorrow I will do everything that
should be done, when it should be done, and as it should be
done. I will perform the most difficult tasks first because this
will destroy the habit of procrastination and develop the habit
of action in its place." - Carry out these instructions with faith in their soundness and
with belief that they will develop action, in body and in mind,
sufficient to enable you to realize your Definite Chief Aim.
I would like to refer back to what I said about the value of a hearty
laugh as a healthful stimulant to action, and add that singing produces
the same effect and in some cases is far preferable to laughing.
Billy Sunday is one of the most dynamic and active preachers in
the world, yet it has been said that his sermons would lose much of
their effectiveness if it were not for the psychological effect of his
song serVices.