Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. "Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny," the maxim（格言，准则） goes.
Habits are powerful factors in our lives. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character and produce our effectiveness or ineffectiveness.
As Horace Mann, the great educator, once said, "Habits are like a cable. We weave a strand of it everyday and soon it cannot be broken." I personally do not agree with the last part of his
Those of us who watched the lunar voyage of Apollo 11 were transfixed as we saw the first men walk on the moon and return to earth. But to get there, those astronauts literally had to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth. More energy was spent in the first few minutes of lift-off, in the first few miles of travel, than was used over the next several days to travel half a million miles.
Habits, too, have tremendous gravity pull - more than most people realize or would admit. Breaking deeply imbedded habitual tendencies such as procrastination（耽搁，拖延）, impatience, criticalness, or selfishness that violate basic principles of human effectiveness involves more than a little willpower and a few minor changes in our lives. "Lift off" takes a tremendous effort, but once we break out of the gravity pull, our freedom takes on a whole new dimension.
Like any natural force, gravity pull can work with us or against us. The gravity pull of some of our habits may currently be keeping us from going where we want to go. But it is also gravity pull that keeps our world together, that keeps the planets in their orbits and our universe in order. It is a powerful force, and if we use it effectively, we can use the gravity pull of habit to create the cohesiveness（凝聚力） and order necessary to establish effectiveness in our lives.
相关单词：maxim
maxim解释：n.格言，箴言
maxim例句：
Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
"Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。
相关单词：strand
strand解释：vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）
strand例句：
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。
相关单词：literally
literally解释：adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
literally例句：
He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
相关单词：habitual
habitual解释：adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的
habitual例句：
He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。
相关单词：procrastination
procrastination解释：n.拖延，耽搁
procrastination例句：
Procrastination is the father of failure. 因循是失败的根源。
Procrastination is the thief of time. 拖延就是浪费时间。
相关单词：impatience
impatience解释：n.不耐烦，急躁
impatience例句：
He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。
相关单词：minor
minor解释：adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修
minor例句：
The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
相关单词：cohesiveness
cohesiveness解释：n. 粘合，凝聚性
cohesiveness例句：
The Bogor Goals concern APEC's credibility, cohesiveness and future development. 茂物目标事关亚太经合组织的信誉、凝聚力和未来发展。
One of the most
