Do you remember the first hospital bed you ever made, the first bed-bath you gave, the first massage? You had to be taught bit by bit, detail by detail. You did not look upon the finished whole, but gave almost painful attention to each step that led to the made bed, the completed bath, or the given massage. Your fingers were probably all thumbs unless you had experience in such things before you came to the hospital. Your mind was tired from the strain of trying to remember each suggestion of your instructor. The second time, or certainly the third or fourth time, it went better. After a week of daily experience you gave the bath or massage or made the bed with much less effort. A month later the work was practically automatic and accomplished in a fraction of the time you spent on it that first day. Now you can do it quickly and well with little conscious thought; and at the same time carry on a brisk conversation with your patient or think out your work for the day. Your mind is free for other thoughts while you perform the task easily and perfectly. Your method of doing the work has finally become a habit which saves the effort of conscious attention. The details of your routine work are directed by the subconscious. The habit will be energy and time saving in proportion to the accuracy of your first conscious efforts spent on the new undertaking. Thus, useful habit is the result of active effort. We can acquire habits of thinking and habits of feeling as well as habits of doing. But the other habits, the bad ones, are not acquired with effort. We fall into them. Hazy thinking is easier than clear thinking. Suppose you are by nature rather oversanguine or overdespondent, and you make no genuine attempt to evolve that nature into poise. Directing _will_ to do what _desire_ opposes is too difficult, and you go the way of least resistance. So easily are the bad habits formed; but only with tremendous effort of will and persistence in refusing their insistent demands can they be broken or replaced by helpful ones. But habits can be learned; and bad habits can be broken when an overpowering emotion is aroused against them, possesses the mind, and controls the will; or when reason weighs them in the balance and judgment finds them wanting, and volition directs the mind to displace them by others.