"That which we persist in doing"

On Saturday I was watching BR do his chores and marvelling about how far he's come since we first started teaching him how to sweep, vacuum, do the dishes, etc. And I was reminded of the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased.” I noted to myself how true this quote is and that my children have proved it to me. I then continued thinking about this quote and had further insight that I'd never had into this concept before. I thought of it in context of some of my less glorious habits, like nagging at my children, and how it remains just as true for negative behaviours as well as positive. So, I persist, for example, in nagging at my children then this behaviour becomes easier, if you will, or more ingrained, my power to nag increases. The habit soon becomes second nature to me, and is continually harder and harder to break. Knowing this, I now have resolved to reverse that process and choose a positive behaviour with which to replace the negative one, and work to make the positive one second nature. If I persist in finding something to praise my children about, rather than nag, then that behaviour will become easier because my power to praise will increase....now to put it into practice. :-P