Over come Bad Habits

“An old man, sensing that his time was almost up, called his three sons and took them to a nearby field. In the field were three types of plants: (1) a tiny sprout; (2) a bush; (3) a full – fledged tree.

He asked the youngest boy to pull out the tiny sprout. which he did without the least difficulty. He asked his second son to pull out the bush. The boy pulled first with one hand, then with the other, but the bush would not come out. Then, using both hands together, he pulled  as hard as he could and the bush yielded to his strength. He asked the eldest and strongest son  to try his hand at pulling out the full-grown tree. The young man tried with all his might and said: “Father, it cannot be done!”

The old man asked all the three sons to do it together. They tried but failed. Turning to them, he said : “My children, I may pass away any day. But may you never forget the lesson of the plants. Our bad habits, when they are still in the formative stage, can easily be overcome. When they are full grown, you can do nothing to uproot them. So be careful especially in regard to drinking, gambling and idle gossip”.

It has been rightly said that if you cut the first letter of habit ‘a bit’ will remain. If you cut of the second letter, ‘bit’ will still remain. If you cut off the third letter, “it” will remain. So beware!”