We ourselves are the builders of our habits, and therefore we are the creators of ourselves in that sense. This quotation is frequently given: “We sow a thought and reap an act, we sow an act and reap a habit, we sow a habit and reap a character, we sow a character and reap a destiny.” I believe that’s true and I believe that we should always be conscious of that. Coupled with that is the thought that we alone are shaping our own habits, our own destinies. We build habits through adherence to principles, and considering habits, let us remember that we are talking of and considering principles. It has been put this way: “Self-respect, self-help, application, industry, integrity are all of the nature of habits, not beliefs. Principles, in fact, are words, but habits are the things themselves.” Then how do we form our habits? I think we form our habits by the secret thoughts of our hearts; and that’s where our responsibility lies, and we can never avoid it. Habits are the results of our thoughts and largely, I think, the results of our secret thoughts, the thoughts of our heart. …
I think that’s another truth we should always bear in mind, that, in one sense, there is no such thing as a secret thought. We may think there is, we may think we are having secret thoughts, but every secret thought comes out on us. We cannot hold them in. They are an integral part of our character. We act because we’ve thought; so let’s not ever consider that we’re having secret thoughts. We’re having thoughts that will appear on the surface, that will manifest themselves in our character, that will determine our decision on important matters and that will come out in many other ways. More than that, religions have said that the time will come when our secret thoughts will be declared from the housetops. So let us give up the idea of any secret thoughts.
Thoughts are the tools with which we shape our character, just as truly as a great sculptor with chisel and mallet chips and chips on the rough marble until it’s shaped, perhaps into a Moses, or a David; a splendid and perfect work of art. Just so every thought is shaping our character and, consequently, shaping our destiny and our lives. Therefore the result is, in all our thoughts, the creation of character. It’s character that holds the world together; it’s character that in the end you’re striving for here and that will give true success as you go from here. Character is the power that moves the world, and that achieves the greatest things.
– George Q. Morris, “The Importance of Habits,” Provo, UT., May 20, 1953
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