The second maxim is, _make an emphatic start._ Surround yourself with
every aid possible. Make it easy at first to perform the act and
difficult not to perform it. For example, if you desire to form the
habit of arising at six every morning, surround yourself with a number
of aids. Buy an alarm clock, and tell some one of your decision. Such
efforts at the start "will give your new beginning such a momentum that
the temptation to break down will not occur as soon as it otherwise
might; and every day during which a breakdown is postponed adds to the
chances of its not occurring at all." Man has discovered the value of
such devices during the course of his long history, and has evolved
customs accordingly. When men decide to swear off smoking, they choose
the opening of a new year when many other new things are being started;
they make solemn promises to themselves, to each other, and finally to
their friends. Such customs are precautions which help to bolster up
the determination at the time when extraordinary effort and
determination are required. In forming the habits incidental to college
life, take pains from the start to surround yourself with as many aids
as possible. This will not constitute a confession of weakness. It is
only a wise and natural precaution which the whole experience of the
race has justified. The third maxim is, _never permit an exception to
occur_. Suppose you have a habit of saying "aint" which you wish to
replace with a habit of saying "isn't." If the habit is deeply rooted,
you have worn a pathway in the brain to a considerable depth,
represented in the accompanying diagram by the line _A X B_.

A
|
X
/ \