Evening star., 1927-10-02

/ self always avoided dificult decisions
and disagrecable tasks. The Young
mind is extremely initiative, and it
did not take this boy long to learn
! how TO dodge responsibility and choose
/ the easiest paths.
! When he took his first position he
found his boss a great stickler for
! being on time in the morning and
/ staying until closing time at night.
| This he found most disagreeab.e. He
/ WAS frequently late on the job. always
giving his boss "A plausible excuse and
! expecting 10 he forgiven. as he had
! always heen by his mother, for sins
Of omission.
! When the boss would not condone
such conduct the young man resigned
! his position and justified his action
/ Ivy saying that no one could be eX
! pec;ed To work for such an unreason-
| able person. Later he took another
/ position, and here it was found that
/ he never completed the assignments
Of work allotted to him. He would
start off with dash and appear TO
he doing good work. only TO drop the
task half completed and take up some
other more agreeable line of activity.
! This again resulted in loss of his
position, and now the boy is prac-
/ ticallv an object of charity, but always
! q
Ing the responsibility on the other
fellow.
ONE of the principal reasons for
faiiure in youth is that young Ieo-
pie are often controlled by their emo.
tons rather than by their reason. OF
course, adolecCence is a time when
6s,, tI,.o
but it is a grea; mistake to let them
guide us to our lifework when a little
intelligent thought on our own part
or on the part of those who are ad
Nsjng us would point in another di-
rection.
Emotion is guiding Philip for in
stance. when he wants to he a lawyer
because two generations before him
have been lawyers. although he him
self has no qualifications for that pro
fession. and emotion is guiding Mar
garet when she wants to he social
worker because she feels that in this
field there is great opportunity for
helping the downtrodden to adjust
themselves to their difficulties. AL
though, regarding herself as down
trodden, she has never been able to
settle her own problems. And emo
tion is guiding Mabel when she ac-
cepts an attractive invitation which
will keep her from work for a day
without stopping to reason that the
excuse she gives for being away from
the Office is bound to be detected and
lead to her discharge.
How can we overcome this tendency
to react emotionally, for overcoming
it is sure to add to our chances for
success? The answer is-by training
ourselves to reason. When it be
comes necessary for lis to make de
ClsIon we can stop and ask ourselves
Am | planning to do this simply be.
cause I want to, or heca use. the facts
being SO and so, it is the wisest thing
for me to do?.'
| know young man whose first
Job was selling insurance. He had |
never thought out his problems and |
so when he started his work and Wis.
tied few prospects who did not buy |
he reacted emotionally became dis
couraged, made no more calls. and |
thus did not produce. This youth |
thinking with his feelings instead of |
his reason. sad. Selling life insur.
ance is slow starvation" and gave it |
up. If this boy had reasoned from |
the facts, that ones sales in insur-
ance are in definite proportion to
the prospects seen, he would have
ndd courage 10 keep on ana so not
encounter defeat at the beginning of |
his career.
MANY young people are endowed |
AZ with good minds, have a sense
Of responsibility. a willingness to fol-
low through, and endeavor to reason
out their problems. but fail because
they have never taken a wholesome
intercSt in the hnp1an hpinpS aho,lf
them. We speak of such people as
socially maladjusted. This type OF
maladjustment is frequent cause Of
failure. because no matter how good
a Young persons intellect. how pa
tient a nd nersistent he iS ni ho1,, u.aI