Riddle Me This

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.

Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me,
and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done,
and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.

I am the servant of all great individuals.
And, alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine,
though I work with all the precision of a machine
plus the intelligence of a human being.
You may run me for profit, or run me for ruin;
it makes no difference to me.
 
Take me, train me, be firm with me,
and I will put the world at your feet.
Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.
Who am I?

I am habit!

January 16, 2015 

 

Have you read this poem before?  It's by an anonymous author.  Yesterday, I wrote about having to create some sort of daily schedule for myself and then I read this poem about the importance of habits.  Joseph Kaines goes so far as to say, "Habits form character and character is destiny."

There are still some new years resolutions that I have yet to establish into habit.  Which means that I drag my feet doing it.  What are some of your habits?  Destructive or otherwise?  Were you able to guess the answer to the riddle?