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When I see young children with a bad habit, it hurts me because I see most parents are not trying harder to caution them and put them in the right way, and in some cases, these kids were taught but due to their stubbornness, they act on their own will with no one stopping them. I overheard a parent some weeks ago when she was explaining how her mother had to teach her child how to use the right hand to eat; the grandmother would make sure the child always used his right hand to eat and when he did not, he was not eating that food. This was how they changed him into someone who now uses his right hand to eat even though he uses the other hand for tasks.
My parents tried a lot to take away some bad habits from me. I was used to picking my nose while I would eat whatever came out of it as I saw it sweet to me even though there were dirts in it; I wouldn't mind. I was used to eating my fingernails and even started scratching my buttocks in public. All these habits were taken away before I grew up. Another bad habit was licking my plate with my tongue when I was done eating; it was even my grandpa who took this away from me with force because I wasn't willing to stop the habit lightly and with strong beating and slapping my body, I had to change. But I wouldn't be talking about all of these as there is one particular habit I was taught that has been ingrained in me till now.
If there is one thing I enjoyed so much about my childhood is punctuality. When I was young and also a teenager, I would always get to church early because I wanted to sit at the front while listening to my Sunday school teacher, a woman in her early thirties. She would always commend those who arrived at church early and this was a motivation for me not to be late.
This was one reason I always look forward to Sundays where I would have ironed my clothes, and set everything in place on Saturday night, just for mom to wake us up and get dressed for church. Punctuality is something crucial that must be ingrained in a child at the earliest stage to become a habit for him or her. This is something my parents taught us as they were so intentional about our growth in church as children, especially when they were always excited seeing us reciting the Bible verses; they made sure we were always in church as early as possible while taking part in different activities and this was something that helped me grow into someone who would always arrive early wherever I am being called upon.
My best friend and I got a prize in church for being punctual teenagers and this motivated me more as I wanted to keep getting prizes when any programme about teenagers was organised.
The habit of being punctual turned into a lifestyle that started in childhood; from church to going to mom's shop very early in the morning to get everything organised and my mom would always praise me for taking such a habit seriously.
I grew up with this lifestyle/habit and to tell you that it has helped me a lot in life as people have known me to be time conscious. My time is always on point as I dislike people wasting my time or trying to delay me. This is one reason I get annoyed when people do not keep to time when it comes to planning things together.
Most people fail to realize that punctuality is a habit but choose to ignore how important it is in their lives. Once I know about a particular event in which I am involved, I must plan and get there on time.
During my time in the university, I would always arrive early to the lecture hall because, in my department, we were over 300 students and most serious students would always fight their way to the front seat, once you got late, it meant you would be sitting with the bad guys who love to make noise at the back while you end up not understanding anything from what the lecturer is saying. So, with this, I get to school early, at least an hour before the time while waiting for the lecturer in charge of the course for the day and it has always been helping me. It was due to this habit that I became fond of Mathematics during my 200 level coupled with the fact that the lecturer was so good at teaching the course.
When it comes to assignments, instead of being like most people who would wait till the deadlines to start rushing everything, I try to start on time as this helps me take my time in getting all relevant information to avoid any rushing hours. They say a punctual person leads a disciplined life and that is something I am glad to inculcate in my life today and seeing how things turn out makes me happy. Punctuality leads to a successful life and one who is punctual is always tagged as a responsible and organised fellow.
Thanks for your time on my blog.
