Habit

Author: Zhou Jianwu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-12-12
Features: Excerpt:
Potential master Anthony Robbins once said, "Whatever your goals are, that is the kind of life you will have."
Once you set goals for yourself, they work in two ways: they are the direction of your life and the motivation for it. Goals give you a tangible target to aim at. As you strive to achieve these goals, you will experience a sense of accomplishment and happiness, which in turn will drive you to work even harder.
Three workers were laying bricks when someone approached them and asked what they were doing.
The first worker grumbled, "Can’t you see we’re laying bricks?"
The second said, "We’re building a magnificent building."
The third whistled happily and said, "We’re constructing a beautiful city."
Ten years later, the first worker was still on the construction site laying bricks; the second became a famous architect, while the third had become the mayor of the city.
This story teaches us that having goals leads to success. No matter when, we must love our work and have confidence in life. As long as you hold hope in your heart, there will come a day when you succeed.
On the morning of July 4, 1952, the coast of California was shrouded in thick fog. Twenty-one miles west of the coast, on Catalina Island, a 34-year-old woman entered the Pacific Ocean and began swimming toward the California coast. If she succeeded, she would become the first woman to swim across this channel. Her name was Florence Chadwick. Before this, she had already become the first woman to swim across the English Channel. The water that day was freezing cold, and the fog was so dense that she could barely see the boat that was escorting her. As time passed, millions watched her on television. Several times, sharks approached her, but they were shot away by people on the boat, and she still persevered. However, after 15 hours and 55 minutes, exhausted and chilled, she regretfully gave up the attempt because she could no longer see the distant shore. In reality, the place where she was pulled onto the boat was only half a mile away from the California coast. Afterward, when she learned this, Florence deeply regretted giving up. She admitted to a reporter, "To be honest, what made me give up halfway wasn’t fatigue or the cold. I’m not making excuses. If I had been able to see the land in front of me, I might have been able to keep going." Two months later, the determined Chadwick successfully swam across the same channel. She not only became the first woman to swim across Catalina, but also broke the men’s record by about two hours. Although Chadwick was an excellent swimmer, she needed a clear goal to have the confidence to complete the task.
Sailing through turbulent seas without the guidance of a lighthouse, you are likely to veer off course or run aground, unable to reach your desired destination. Walking through dense, shadowy forests without a compass, you may not be able to observe the sun, moon, and stars, even with a strong body, making it difficult to find your way out. On the long journey of life, without a correct life goal, no matter how hard you work, you will not achieve success in your career and will ultimately end up accomplishing nothing.
Therefore, it is said that setting the right