Stratford Central Secondary School - Collegian Yearbook (Stratford, Ontario Canada)

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COLLEGIAN, 1930 itself along those lines. Each individual neurone becomes a better vehicle for that impulse every time we perform that deed. Think of the effect one exception has on these paths of discharge. Everything is disarranged. It is like a man magnetizing a piece of steel. As long as he rubs it in one direction with one pole he m-agnetizes the steel. But let him change the direction of the magnet or the pole and the steel loses its magnetism. The last maxim Prof. James gives is this. Q35 SEIZE THE VERY FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO ACT ON EVERY RESOLUTION YOU MAKE, AND ON EVERY EMOTIONAL PROMPTING YOU MAY EXPERIENCE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE HABITS YOU DESIRE TO GAIN. He adds, It is not in the moment of their form- ing but in the moment of their producing MOTOR EFFECTS that re- solves and aspirations communicate the new 'set' to the brain. Rip Van Winkle is a classic example of the fault which the father of psy- chology warns us from in the above. We all know how Rip kept saying that he was going to stop drinking but that he would not count this one. How many times have we said similarly foolish things? To these maxims we might venture to add two others. C45 DO NOT TRY TO BREAK HABITS ONE AT A TIME. MAKE ONE BIG BREAK. It would seem on first thought that this would be the wrong way. In most things it is better to do one thing at a time. I do not think this applies to habits. When you are going to break a habit try to make a change in the old routine. For instance, if the habit you want to acquire is concentration, get up in the morning and take a bath and make yourself stand particularly erect, walk sharply, etc., etc. You will find that this will help you to concentrate. C55 DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GET RID OF AN OLD HABIT WITHOUT ACQUIRIN G A NEW GOOD HABIT IN ITS PL-ACE. For instance, if you decide to conquer the habit of reading too much fiction, do not just stop reading novels, but start reading fascinating books of the more serious kind. flncidentally, I do not think that you can simply stop reading too much fiction unless you cut it out entirely. Novel- reading is a hard habit to break. There can be no half-way measures. It might also be well to observe that in starting to read educational books it is folly to start with anything but the most easily read book of this type.D Perhaps undue stress seems to have been laid on habits, but let me assure you, gentle reader, that this is not so. For habits will be your greatest aid or greatest impediment. And RIGHT NOIW you are determining what they will be. Now that we have seen the importance of them let us consider what habits are particularly useful. One habit which I think is of great importance is that of constantly asking questions. Every time we look at something different we should ask ourselves, Why? What does this mean? Thus we become truly educated. Another important habit is that of observation. This is rarely acquired to its fullest extent. Consider this: if your best friend suddenly disappeared, how accurately could you describe him. One of the most valuable assets we can have is the ability to do one thing at a time and to stay Wlith it until it is fin- ished. Make it a habit, too, to see the other man's viewpoint. And so we could go on for pages with habits of tidiness, cleanliness, accuracy promptness, dependability, which We should have. ' One habit which We should get rid of with all speed is that of -14-

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COILLBGIAN, I9 30 day-dreaming. In this useless fashion we all waste much, far too much, time and energy. By this means we create for ourselves a visionary world which at times is rudely shattered by the real world. This habit of seeing the world as it is NOT tends to damage our think- ing powers and to give us a biased view of life and thus hold back progress. If we are to be successful we must keep both body and mind in good health. I am afraid sometimes we do not value our bodily health enough. But you can easily realize that if the body is not sound very few of us would amount to anything. Then, too, we should regard the mind as an organ to be kept in condition like the body. If we do not use a muscle, that muscle will cease to exist. If we overwork it, its function becomes faulty. So with the mind, it becomes useless if we do not use it. If we use it too much, for one thing, it becomes more or less deranged and we become monomaniacs. This brings, me to an important consideration in our striving toward success. W'e must have relaxation. We all realize that this is an age of specialization. However, we should have more than one interest. I have a theory, that a man to be sane and happy and live his life to the full must have two great interests-one, the greater, he follows as his profession, the other, the one he follows as a hobby. Care should be taken that we do not confuse the two. Many people, I think, make the mistake of following what should be their hobby as a pro- fession and their profession as a hobby. The writer knows of a case where a young man was contemplating a practical profession when he should be a man of letters of some sort. He realized his mistake in time, probably, to prevent great unhappiness. Success and happiness are closely related. Much can be con- tributed to both, I think, by a contented and appreciative mind. I think many of the men who pride themselves on being practical miss much by not giving more attention to the various arts. I do not think any life can be complete without a love for poetry, music, fine paintings and beautiful things in general. It is a shame that so many students go out of school without a love for poetry and an appreciation of fine music. Both of these may be acquired 'by a little effort on the part of the individual. Yet these blessings are often missed and the student loses the inspiration of Browning and Tennyson or the pure joy that Ts-chaikowsky and Beethoven bring. Perhaps one of the chief factors in success is optimism. You will not succeed unless you have the pluck to keep on fighting. The man who is going to win is the man who can get up after a severe de- feat and fight again, determined not to be beaten. Be determined to win, have conidence to win, and you WILL win. In conclusion let me say this: I have tried to lay before you some simple, familiar rules that will help towards success. However, no matter how many rules you formulate you will never make a short cut towards success. It is the amfount of work you do that is going to cover the ground. If you are willing to work, if you are willing to do the right in all things, you will be able to say with the Alpostle Paul, as Life's sun sinks below the horizon, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faithg henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day. E. BARRETT. --5B. .-I S..