Are there any means of modifying inherited dispositions?
Yes; marriage, for the race; education, for the individual.
How may a bad habit which has its rise in an inherited disposition be corrected?
By the contrary good habit: as Thomas à Kempis has said, “One custom overcometh another.”
Trace the genesis of a habit.
Every act proceeds from a thought. Every thought modifies somewhat the material structure of the brain. That is, the nerve substance of the brain forms itself to the manner of thoughts we think. The habit of act arises from the habit of thought. The person who thinks, “Oh, it will do;” “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” forms a habit of negligent and imperfect work.
How may such habit be corrected?
By introducing the contrary line of thought, which will lead to contrary action. “This must be done well, because——”
Is it enough to think such thought once?
No; the stimulus of the new idea must be applied until it is, so to speak, at home in the brain, and arises involuntarily.