Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

Page 31 text:

. - f-.- .fe 1 A f' L . k -r ' ' selves. He sets forth that he wanted to be a priest and a pirate, a rah-rah boy and a professor, a philosopher and a lady-killer, but in time he realized that the philosopher and the lady-killer could not dwell together in the same house of clay. Since all desires cannot. be selected for gratification, those of most worth to the person should be chosen, if it can be determined what the most worthy are. A guiding principle seems to be to leave open the most ave- nues for future satisfaction. If one had only youth to live, if the span of life were only twenty-iive in- stead of seventy years, certain choices might be made which must be rejected ii middle and old age are also to receive consideration in the scheme. It is neces- sary, therefore, to establish a hierarchy of desires in which there shall be a chief 'aim in life, with other aims conforming to it. Since our future happiness depends 11ot only on the kind of a person we make of ourselves but also on the kind of an environment we have to live in, one of the chief concerns of youth should be to assist in the creation of the most congenial and helpful environment possible. For the very young child this is limited to his home surroundings, but soon it extends to his playmates and to his school and takes in the whole neighborhood. As he grows older he realizes that it is affected by the sort of a community that others have created. by the nation to which he owes allegiance, and in later years to a very marked extent by the people of other nations. In these days when we have a war it is a world war: every nation is atfected. If we have a financial depression it is world-wideg nobody escapes. To-day it is possible for a man to speak in Germany or South America and his voice is heard all over the world. No longer can we feel that we belong only to our own nation or our own empire. We are citizens of the world in a very real sense, and as citizens we are the makers of the conditions which exist through- out the world. Every thoughtful boy in planning his life must. therefore. ask himself these two questions:-VVhat kind of a self am l building, and what kind of a world am 1 building? The answer to the first question may be found by a survey of the kind of habits we are building. Hur characters are the sum total of our habits. llabits are the tools by which we achieve health, happiness. and efficiency. The person who is without friends, unhappy, poorly adjusted in his home, school, or busi- ness, who is dragging along. lnitrustworthy and inefficient, is handicapped by habits which are inadequate to meet his daily needs. A good deal of the laziness charged against boys is due to the chronic habit of day dreaming. llishonesty is a habit. An honest person is honest because of a habit of thought. It never occurs to him to be dishonest. lle is not constantly weighing the advantages and disadvantages of right conduct. All his energies are released and directed toward the one goal. Let me make a few practical suggestions that may help you in building up the sort of habits that should help you realize your best self. Firsf. Make clean. practical decisions, subject to change and modification in the light of additional information. Sccoml. Do one thing at a time. l'oncentrate attention on the one thing on hand. Only thus can you form the habit of concentration. Short periods, complete attention, no dawdling, should be the rule. 21'

Page 30 text:

... L:- '4 ' , i . Youth-Whitlier Bound ? UUNER or later every boy of average intelligence, between twelve and twenty years of age, asks himself this question, VVhat am I going to do with the years that lie ahead of me? He begins to realize something of the probable length of his life span. He becomes conscious of the fact that human life is not one year long nor a thousand years long. He knows that he has a certain limited number of years to live, approximating the years of those whom he sees around him who have grown old. He looks about him and sees middle aged and older people in a great variety of conditions of life. Some seem to be living happy and contented lives while others are living in want and privation with the dim shadow of failure ever before them. He wonders what the future has in store for him, and begins to plan for the future. l'nfortunately, many do not formulate any thoroughly well thought-out disposition of the future. They, in later years help to swell the ranks of the drifters and wasters. Others, appreciating the fact that youth is the period of foundation building, deliberately accept the task of planning for the future and of laying foundations that are destined to carry great superstructures which will stand four-square to every wind that blows. U In formulating a plan of life we must remember that while the lack of a life plan may bring calamity, so may the formulation of too idealistic or too flexible a plan. A plan in excess of capacity to perform may lead to ineffec- tual day dreaming and other forms of disintegration. A plan that cannot ac- commodate itself to unforeseen circumstances, which no one can avoid, is likely to bring unhappiness. The good life-plan will consider accidents which may be inevitable. ln attempting to help boys in formulating a plan of life we must remem- ber that what would satisfy ourselves may not be suitable to another. This is a principle often forgotten or ignored by parents who seem to be trying to force their children into the life plans which they themselves have cherished but have been unable to realize in their own persons, or, on the other hand, in which they have themselves been conspicuously successful. Carrying on father's business, going into father's oliif-e, studying music because mo- ther had so wanted to study music, are phrases commonly heard. The plans thus outlined may, of course. in many cases be quite congenial, but close scrutiny will reveal that often the plan is merely that of the parent in which the off- spring has no spontaneous interest. lt is essential to realize at the beginning that the making and following of a plan for producing the wished-for self involves the management of desires. lluman life is so complicated, our capacities are so numerous, our opportuni- ties are so various that it is physically impossible for any one to achieve all his desires in the lifetime allotted. livery boy has a great variety of mental pictures of the person he would like to be, and added to these is the picture of the person he knows himself to be. Une boy I know went about for nearly a year torn by a struggle between the desire that he should some day be a clergyman and that of being an actor. William James has described the conflict among all of his own potential 26

Page 32 text:

3 wt- P E : Tllfllltlxf iillliluiir- W Third. Be efficient in what you do. Vllork for complete success in every undertaking. Thus you form the habit of successful achievement. Do not table a task that is foredoomed to failure. Take a pride in your skill. Nothing is worth while doing that is not worth doing well. , Fourth. Never run away from difficulties that should be faced. Aiidfdi the situation with vigorous action. If you have a problem, get busy and do something about it. Learn to face reality courageously. If you do not know how to tackle it, seek the knowledge you need from some more experienced per- son and seek it at once. Avoid worry. Put forth your best effort and then rest your case on the determination that no matter what happens you will make the best of it. Carry your burdens in a sportsmanlike way. None of us are immune from all of life's perplexities. Some of life's conflicts are 11ot capable of solution, circumstances and conditions may exist that are beyond the power of man to alter. Such problems as sickness and death we should face as real sportsmen and be good losers. Fifth. Keep work, play, rest and exercise in their proper relative positions. Keep them well separated. Wt.ll'li when you work, play when you play, and do nothing when you rest, and make each of these a part of your daily routine. Stifffl. Settle your moral accounts every night. Never hold a grudge: never let the sun go down upon your wrath. Look upon each new morning as a new day in which to improve, but do not carry over troubles from yes- t e rda v. Scecnilz. t'ultivate the attitude of dependence on the unalterable laws of nature. Do not expect tl1e1n to be changed to suit your convenience, but strive to place yourself in harmony with them. Attune yourself to the infinite, with a determination that you will play your part to the best of your ability. It may be that your answer to the question of VVhat kind of a self am I building? will be found by contemplation of these suggestions. Vllhen we tackle the other problem VVhat kind of a world am I build- ing? we must examine the ends toward which our present civilization is lead- ing us, make an effort to know the facts, draw conclusions, and openmindedly a11d fearlessly face the future. No intelligent person can be satisfied with the world as it is to-day. The spectacle of long queues of breadlines and the knowledge of the fact that mii- lions of men and women who want work cannot find employment causes us deep concern. ln fancy we can see the wistful faces of hungry children as they appeal to father and mother, who are unable through no fault of their own to satisfy their needs. Yet. there is no famine in the world. The wheat granaries are full. There is plenty for everybody. VVho would have believed a few years ago, that our farmers would some day be poor because they had raised too much grain? That day has arrived. Manufacturers and merchants are growing grey and their faces are haggard as they are forced to lay off old and faithful employees, because the sales force is unable to market the product that fills the warehouse. VW are faced with the dilemma of over production and under consumption. lt is not that our factories have not produced sufficient for all, but rather, there is too much. lt seems to be a matter of exchange. One very prominent manufacturer of chewing gum has arranged to exchange his wares with the western farmer for his wheat, but the millions of people who have no wheat 28