I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me
and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed – you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done;
and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great individuals and, alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision
of a machine, plus the intelligence of a human.
You may run me for profit or run me for ruin – it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
I am called Habit.
-Anonymous
Habits, once created, can be one’s best friend. Some people believe they weren’t “born organized” and therefore will never be organized. The good news is that being organized is a LEARNED skill and gets easier when practiced. It becomes even easier when the skills become HABITS.
What kind of habits?
– PUTTING THINGS AWAY instead of putting them down
– Keeping “LIKE” THINGS TOGETHER near where you use them
– ASSIGNING HOMES FOR EVERYTHING in order to find them easily
– Assessing WHAT’S IMPORTANT, rather than what’s urgent or feels good
Carve out a bit of time each day to work on making a desired process a habit. Yes, it requires self discipline in the beginning, but before long it will become, as the riddles states, your constant companion and greatest helper!