<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > seven, success comes from good habits</h1>
In addition to the premise of homeopathy, success often depends on the formation of good habits.
When watching basketball games, we often lament the amazing shooting rate of professional athletes - after the ball is shot, it crosses a parabola in the air and goes straight to the basket. But can the athlete accurately describe the force and angle of his shot? I'm afraid not. The moment the athlete shoots the shot, he relies on the "feel" formed by years of practice, which is more accurately a "muscle memory". Repeatedly training the action of shooting, the muscles will form a conditioned reflex to promote the formation of "unconscious" and "autonomous" shooting habits, and eventually enable the athlete to accurately put the ball into the basket. The reporter once asked Kobe: "Why are you so successful?" Bryant smiled and asked, "Do you know what Los Angeles looks like at four in the morning?" The reporter shook his head. Bryant continued: "I know, because I started training by then. ”
Studies have shown that 90% of people's daily activities stem from habits and inertia. Small things like nail gnawing, scratching your head, holding a pen, to eating healthy, exercise choices, and even daily interactions with friends, colleagues, and family are all based on our habits. To put it more deeply, even our personalities are habitual. [1]
The American psychologist William James once said: "Sow an action, harvest a habit; sow a habit, harvest a character; sow a character, harvest a destiny." "The habit of thriftiness is conducive to the continuation of wealth, the habit of being practical is conducive to the casting of real names, insisting on going to bed early and getting up early is conducive to physical and mental health, and people often say that "modest words" are conducive to establishing harmonious interpersonal relationships... Good habits are like stars, shining in the happy night sky for a long time.
Case 2.7.1 Michael Phelps – Core Habits Achieve "Fish"
American professional swimmer Michael Phelps is a household name swimmer. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, at the age of 23, he won eight gold medals, achieved an astonishing record of breaking eight world records, and became the athlete with the most Olympic medals in his career for winning 28 Olympic medals.
In addition to his innate talents such as oar-like palms, extraordinary flexibility, and slender upper body, the shaping of core habits has also become a key factor in Phelps' success. Phelps' swimming coach, Bob Bowman, believes that the key to victory for swimmers is to develop the right habitual behavior. He knew Phelps was born with a physique that was perfect for swimming, but every athlete who could make it to the Olympics had perfect muscle tissue. So he taught Phelps a habit that would make him the most powerful player in the pool in terms of spirit, and it was this that set Phelps apart from his competitors.
When Phelps was a teenager, Bowman asked Phelps to imagine the slow motion of his perfect swim after jumping into the pool every night before going to sleep and waking up every morning, imagining his own arm in the water, turning around and finally dashing after touching the pool wall, imagining the water marks behind him, the droplets of water dripping from his lips after his mouth slid across the water, imagining the power of the water that seemed to rip away his swimming cap. Phelps lay on the bed like this, closed his eyes, and "watched" the whole game, looking at every detail over and over again until he remembered every second with his heart. [2] Bowman said: "If you ask Michael what was going on in his head before the game, he will tell you that he didn't actually think about anything. He was simply following the procedure, or more precisely, it was his habits that guided him. The real event is just one link in the pattern of behavior that he started early that day, and he will undoubtedly win. ”
In the 200-meter butterfly at the Beijing Olympics, Phelps was obscured by a leaking goggle, but he still calmly finished the race and eventually won the gold medal. Recalling the course of the race, he said: "On the last round trip, I had already done 20 strokes, but the intuition formed by countless previous trainings told me that there was one more, so after the 21st stroke I hit the pool wall. After the game, a reporter interviewed Phelps about what it was like to swim without being able to see clearly. He replied: "As expected, there is no problem. I did everything as planned on the day of the race, and the leaking goggles were just a small error, which I had anticipated. ”
This is the power of habit. Core habits illustrate that success requires identifying some important priorities among many things and turning them into powerful levers. Once Bowman helped Phelps establish some of the core habitual behaviors in his life, all other habits, such as eating and training schedules, preparing for exercise and sleep habits, etc., automatically took their place. It was these habitual actions that helped Phelps to establish a state of mind that remained composed under high pressure, ensuring his extreme precision in every move in every game. Core habits can start a process that will change everything over time.
Case 2.7.2 China's "Meritorious Qualities" and Franklin's "Self-Cultivation Program"[3]
"Meritorious Qualities" is a kind of book that records the merits of good and evil by oneself, which was originally used by Cheng Zhu theorists to encourage themselves to introspect, and later popularized by the monks and became popular among the people. Good words and good deeds "merit" are remembered as "meritorious qualities"; evil words and evil deeds are "passed", and "passed" is remembered. The "Tai Wei Immortal JunGong Passing Ge Ge Preface" said: "Cultivators, Ming Shu Sun and Moon, self-recorded merits, a small ratio in January, a large ratio in a year, and a self-knowledge of too many merits." "Those who do more are blessed, and those who do too much are to blame." Taoism uses this as a cultivation method for Taoists to self-discipline their words and deeds and accumulate merits and deeds.
Something of wisdom always has similarities, and this similarity can sometimes break down national borders and cross history.
At about the age of 24, Franklin was determined to equip himself with perfect character, and to do so he embarked on a self-proclaimed "bold and arduous plan to attain perfection." In the plan, he lists 13 virtues that he decided to cultivate: temperance, reticence, order, determination, thrift, diligence, sincerity, justice, moderation, neatness, composure, abstinence, humility. In order to effectively cultivate the above virtues, he specially produced a pamphlet, each page drawn a table, 7 columns in portrait, representing the 7 days of the week; horizontal 13 lines, with the names of the 13 virtues written on them. If you are not satisfied with any virtue you have done that day, put a black dot on the corresponding position. In addition to the cultivation goals and operational tools, in order to truly achieve the desired effect, it is indispensable to focus on the spirit of persistence. Franklin decided to give strict attention to each virtue in turn for a week. For example, in the first week, he closely prevents any very subtle acts that violate "moderation", and the other virtues, as usual, simply write down the relevant faults. Thus, if in the first week there are no "black dots" in the first line that says "temperance", then the next week there will be no "black dots" in the first two lines. This way, the whole process can be completed in 13 weeks, and the cycle can be made 4 times a year. Over time, the pamphlets that were originally painted with black dots have gradually become clean, and the good qualities that needed to be deliberately cultivated in the past have been quietly internalized into part of their personality, and good behavior has become a "routine". [4]
It can be seen that tempering a virtue in a "routine" way is exactly how Franklin can successfully achieve the perfect personality. Focusing on one thing and eventually changing it into a routine is bound to be tangled, repetitive, and even painful. In this process, we need to always remind ourselves that only by "routine" and repeated tempering of an action can we overcome the powerful power of old habits. Once we have turned the behavioral qualities we desire to cultivate into routines, the beautiful experience of "the unity of knowledge and action" will make us feel spiritual peace and pleasure. Like many people who insist on running at night, they have to go for a run every night, which seems to outsiders to be self-disciplined and difficult, but for me, this is a routine, and life has become healthy and fulfilling.
Case 2.7.3 Zeng Guofan Family Training - "Books, Vegetables, Fish and Pigs, Early Sweeping Examination Treasure"[5]
Influenced by his family from an early age, Zeng Guofan studied hard to become a talent, was modest and cautious everywhere, and repeatedly admonished his descendants to "cultivate half and read half, and be diligent and thrifty in running the family." He greatly admired the "eight-character recipe for governing the family" left by his grandfather - "books, vegetables, fish and pigs, early sweeping examination treasure". Reading, growing vegetables, raising fish, feeding pigs, for the sake of home; getting up early, cleaning, practicing sacrifices, and treating relatives and neighbors well are the ways to govern the family. This eight-character family training seems simple, and it is not easy for ordinary people's families to really do it.
In the homes of the people, first of all, there are pigs in the pen, fish in the pond, and vegetables in the garden, and there is a basic guarantee for life. Adults who work hard and run their families well will have plenty of food and clothing. Children study well and grow up healthily, and the elders are at ease. If the four words of "pig", "vegetable", "fish" and "book" are achieved, the people's families can live a well-off home.
After staying at home, the next thing to think about is how to manage the family. Diligent and thrifty family, reading and scientific examinations, we must first pay attention to two words: "early" and "sweep". "Early" means that everything should be done early, and we must be diligent in labor and diligent in reading. "Sweeping" means cleaning the environment every day, and can also sweep away the dust of the soul. As long as the children in the family study hard, work diligently, and cultivate themselves, then it is just around the corner to obtain meritorious names and achieve careers.
In the family, special emphasis should also be placed on the words "examination" and "treasure". "Kao" means to sincerely cultivate sacrifices, which is to admonish family members to sincerely sacrifice and remember their ancestors; "treasure" means to be kind to relatives and neighbors, and to warn family members to be kind to the people who live together. Sincerity and friendliness are the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, the foundation of being a person, and embody a simple folk style. People in a place, living together, everyone works hard, has a strong learning style, treats people sincerely, and gets along with each other kindly, and they will live and work in peace and contentment, and talents will emerge. If the localities produce talented people, the country will be full of talents. With talent, the country thrives. When the country is prosperous, where is the reason why the small family is not prosperous? Eight-character family training, one family to serve, the family road to prosperity; family to serve, Guotai min'an.
In addition, as the eldest son in the family, Zeng Guofan paid great attention to leading by example. In a letter to his brothers, Zeng Guofan once wrote: "The way of learning is infinite, and there is always a constant. In previous years, my brother was extremely impermanent, and in recent years he was slightly better, but he was still not perfect. Since the beginning of July, there has been no interruption of the day, with a hundred words of daily posts, a hundred words of copying, reading a book less than twenty pages, and not worrying about the number of books. He also once warned his son Zeng Jize to be diligent in learning by saying, "Yu is in the army, does not waste learning, reads and writes, and does not even interrupt." Zeng Guofan was able to cultivate his heart in the daily affairs of morality, and cultivated the family style of advocating virtue and learning and being diligent and frugal with his own good habits, which can be a model for future generations.
Case 2.7.4 The Ritual of Confucius and the Maxim of Nankai Rongzhi
The Analects contain the following passages:
"Qi, there will be a garment, a cloth." Qi will change his food, and he will move to sit. ”
"Although the vegetable soup is eaten, it will be sacrificed, and it will be as good as it is."
"If a king gives food, he will taste it first, and if he gives it fishy, he will ripen it and recommend it; and if he gives birth to it, he will taste it." Serve the king, sacrifice the king, and eat first. ”
"Lift the car, stand upright, and be obedient." In the car, do not look inward, do not speak, do not kiss. ”
"If you don't learn poetry, you can't speak; if you don't learn etiquette, you can't stand." Confucius taught students to learn to express their thoughts in sincere and innocent verses, and to learn to follow etiquette to stand up. Not only did he teach his students, but he also practiced what he preached, not only in serious occasions such as fasting, sacrifice, and eating with the monarch, but also in the daily things of lifting, so that daily life was full of ritual and increased the positive experience of the heart.
President Zhang Boling, the founder of Nankai University, pays special attention to the cultivation of students' daily habits. Today, the famous Rongzhi aphorism can still be seen in many public places of Nankai University:
"The face must be clean, the hair must be rational, the clothes must be neat, the button must be knotted, the head is straight, the shoulders are flat, the chest is wide, the back is straight, the weather is not arrogant, not violent, not slack, the color is harmonious, the quiet, and the village is appropriate."
Behavior embodies habits, and habits are seen in daily life. Behavior sometimes requires a sense of solemnity, a sense of ceremony, a sense of sacredness. There is reason to follow, and the action must be firm; there is a model to imitate, and the action must be fruitful!
Jack Hodge. The power of habit[M]. Wu Xi, trans. Beijing: Contemporary China Press, 2004:8. ↑
Modern psychological research has confirmed that imagination has a strong effect on sorting out and optimizing the electrical activity of the brain's nerves. ↑
WANG Jueren. Wang Yangming's Mind Science—— Cultivating the Magical Wisdom of a Strong Heart[M]. Changsha:Hunan People's Publishing House,2013.] ↑
Song Ming's theory of "meritorious qualities". ↑
TANG Haoming. Tang Haoming commented on the quotations of Zeng Guofan[M]. Changsha:Yuelu Book Club,2008.] ↑
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