Thought Adjuster: “You could liken the acquisition of self-mastery to a thorough house cleaning:  You get rid of what does not serve your highest good and make space for something better. 

“What do you hoard in your soul that hampers its sound development?  Self-Mastery is all about substituting bad habits and addictions for practices that have a positive impact on your life and environment.

“It is the reason why the child-rearing role of parents is so crucial, as what the child experiences under their guardianship significantly impacts its outlook on life and, consequently, its destiny. 

“As the child naturally looks up to its parents, it learns by emulating their behaviors and initially, due to the lack of reference points, considers them as ‘the norm’ for living. Over time, the hand-on experience will become another teacher—often perceived as a disciplinarian.

“When faulty role models have warped the child’s perception and fogged its understanding, life will orchestrate circumstances meant to set the record straight and help the child identify areas where a dysfunction has crept in.  Sadly, for many, it stops there if they adopt a victim mentality and do not activate their will-power to self-determine.

“The good news is that, once you can identify the faulty areas in your routines, you can reach the turning point where you ‘decide’ to adopt better ways.  You ‘re-form’ your character by ‘forming’ new habits.  Once acquired, they exert an indubitable influence over you.  Bad habits seem to hang on for dear life, offering much initial resistance to the introduction of their antidote in your routine.  If you hold firm to your resolve, they will soon lose their stamina in this tug-of-war.  Never forget:  By their very nature, your weaknesses are weak and your strengths are strong.

“Trust in the fact that your unruly nature can become tamed by the quality elements you introduce into your life.  You may initially experience uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal as you flush out the spiritual toxins that squatted in your inner world, acting as your landlords. 

“Once formed, good habits have such a positive impact on your life that they gain in momentum and are the fertile soil for the highly diversified crops of your God-given potentials.”