Choice of Habits by AGAdams Lyrics
Choice of Habits
The story of the Other Wes Moore is an interesting story of two men with a similar name.They both grew up in a deprived community in the same city of Baltimore, Maryland. The two men’s name is Wes Moore who both grew up fatherless and involved in infringements. However, when both Wes Moore were growing up, they took different paths because they did not have the same family background and support system. As Malcolm Gladwell writes in Outliers, “what your parents do for a living, and the assumptions that accompany the class your parents belong to, matter” (131).The author Wes Moore finished a degree in college and became successful, on the other hand, the other Wes Moore committed a crime and was punished by death in prison. Their two different habits and mindsets of how they developed as adult men were influenced by social and environmental factors and by the people that surrounded them.
The author Wes accomplishments were swayed by proper supervision and constructive support from his family, his friend, and from the officers in Valley Forge Military Academy where he learned to understand the true meaning of respect, leadership and making the correct choices. The author Wes father was a journalist, his mother attended American University in Washington D.C. and his grandfather completed an education as a minister in a church at
Lincoln University located in Pennsylvania. In Outliers, Gladwell writes “The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape the success pattern of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine” (19). Although the author Wes's father passed away, he was guided into the right direction for success and had the opportunity to attend a private school through the support of his selfless loving mother, grandparents, and relatives. The author Wes developed a growth mindset because of his mother’s consistent discipline. Even though the author Wes made many mistakes at his young age, for example, missing school,
having bad grades, doing graffiti, hanging out with the wrong people, and violence against his sister, his mother never gave up correcting Wes’s misbehavior. The author Wes’s mother sent him to Valley Forge Military Academy so he would have a better opportunity to succeed and learn more about discipline.
The author Wes tried to escape multiple times from Valley Forge Military Academy because he did not like the place. However, when author Wes had no choice but to stay at Valley Forge Military Academy, he changed his habit of stubbornness to a habit of becoming a respectful man. The Power of Habit by Duhigg pointed an idea “Sometimes in the heat of a crisis, the right habits emerge” (160), and for a habit to stay changed, a person must believe change is workable, (92). Moreover, the author Wes changed his life in a positive way as an individual and academically. He earned multiple ranks and received a recognition as the youngest senior noncommissioned officer in the whole corps. After high school the author Wes graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy. He finished college at John Hopkins University
and completed his master’s degree in International Relations at Oxford University as a Rhode Scholar.
On the contrary, the other Wes Moore was not successful in life because of his fixed mindset and habits that were influenced in a negative way. The other Wes grew up feeling neglected by his father who never took care of him and idolized his older brother Tony who was involved in drugs and gangs at an early age. The other Wes’s mother Mary attended John Hopkins University, but she did not finish her education because she stopped receiving the grant. Mary started working full time and lost her focus in guiding Wes into the right path, and developed a bad habit of selfishness. Duhigg writes that “Bad habits emerge without our permission (26). But, since we often don’t recognize this habit loops as they grow, we are blind to our ability to control them. By learning to observe the cues and rewards, though, we can change the routines” (27). Mary’s bad habit loops: her cue—“me”—her routine—ignoring the problem---her reward---no stress. Mary could have changed her habit of being a selfish mother;
however, she was not willing to change her ways, and never took her time to discipline the other Wes’s misconduct in selling and using drugs, in doing a robbery, for having a violent behavior, for not doing well in school, and for using a gun.
Sadly, the other Wes developed a bad habit loop as well. His cue—money and nice things---his routines--selling drugs and robbery---his reward--earning easy money. Duhigg also
writes “over time this loop-cue, routine, reward—become more and more automatic (19) which the other Wes became uncontrolled in selling drugs and doing the robbery. The other Wes tried to break his bad habit in selling drugs and his involvement in the robbery, unfortunately, he started to sell drugs again because of his frustration to support his family financially. According to The Power of Habit by Duhigg, “Habits never really disappear. They are encoded into the
structures of our brain, and if someone has a bad habit, it will always stay hidden there, waiting for the right cues and rewards” (20). It is sad to say the other Wes Moore's bad habit caused him to be in jail for the rest of his life for shooting an officer.
The two Wes Moore drifted different paths because of their habits and mindsets that they developed from the people around them. The other Wes Moore learned a bad habit of selling drugs from the involvement of seeing his brother Tony wearing expensive accessories. The other Wes started to crave for those things that Tony had. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, stated “Craving are what drive habits. And figuring out how to spark a craving makes creating a new habit easier, (59). When the other Wes saw a kid on the street wearing headphones, he immediately craved the satisfaction of earning money and created a new bad
habit of selling drugs, so that he could buy some expensive valuables for himself. Compared to the author Wes, he stayed in Valley Forge Military Academy and learned the true meaning of reverence. He craved to earn respect for himself and from others that drove him to build a new habit of being a respectful man.
Another reason why I feel both Wes Moore had dissimilar paths is because they had different opportunities in life, love and care, and financial stability from their mothers.
The Other Wes Moore's mother Mary had financial problems and lack of concern to other Wes’s life. In comparison, the author Wes Moore's mother Joy never stopped providing discipline, love and care to author Wes. In Outliers by Gladwell, “Practice is not the thing you do once you are good. It is the thing you do that makes you good” (42) and ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert----in anything,” writes the neurologist Daniel Levitin (40). Mary lacks the qualities of a loving mother to other Wes, while Joy took care of author Wes with affection and care.
The lack of parenting to children can create a negative impact on their life because kids need boundaries and parental discipline have a great effect on a child’s determination to succeed. If Mary was a good mother to other Wes, consequently other Wes would not end up selling drugs
and not be in jail. However, I am not convinced because as kids start to grow as an adult, their choices will be made within themselves.
The story of the Other Wes Moore is an interesting story of two men with a similar name.They both grew up in a deprived community in the same city of Baltimore, Maryland. The two men’s name is Wes Moore who both grew up fatherless and involved in infringements. However, when both Wes Moore were growing up, they took different paths because they did not have the same family background and support system. As Malcolm Gladwell writes in Outliers, “what your parents do for a living, and the assumptions that accompany the class your parents belong to, matter” (131).The author Wes Moore finished a degree in college and became successful, on the other hand, the other Wes Moore committed a crime and was punished by death in prison. Their two different habits and mindsets of how they developed as adult men were influenced by social and environmental factors and by the people that surrounded them.
The author Wes accomplishments were swayed by proper supervision and constructive support from his family, his friend, and from the officers in Valley Forge Military Academy where he learned to understand the true meaning of respect, leadership and making the correct choices. The author Wes father was a journalist, his mother attended American University in Washington D.C. and his grandfather completed an education as a minister in a church at
Lincoln University located in Pennsylvania. In Outliers, Gladwell writes “The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape the success pattern of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine” (19). Although the author Wes's father passed away, he was guided into the right direction for success and had the opportunity to attend a private school through the support of his selfless loving mother, grandparents, and relatives. The author Wes developed a growth mindset because of his mother’s consistent discipline. Even though the author Wes made many mistakes at his young age, for example, missing school,
having bad grades, doing graffiti, hanging out with the wrong people, and violence against his sister, his mother never gave up correcting Wes’s misbehavior. The author Wes’s mother sent him to Valley Forge Military Academy so he would have a better opportunity to succeed and learn more about discipline.
The author Wes tried to escape multiple times from Valley Forge Military Academy because he did not like the place. However, when author Wes had no choice but to stay at Valley Forge Military Academy, he changed his habit of stubbornness to a habit of becoming a respectful man. The Power of Habit by Duhigg pointed an idea “Sometimes in the heat of a crisis, the right habits emerge” (160), and for a habit to stay changed, a person must believe change is workable, (92). Moreover, the author Wes changed his life in a positive way as an individual and academically. He earned multiple ranks and received a recognition as the youngest senior noncommissioned officer in the whole corps. After high school the author Wes graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy. He finished college at John Hopkins University
and completed his master’s degree in International Relations at Oxford University as a Rhode Scholar.
On the contrary, the other Wes Moore was not successful in life because of his fixed mindset and habits that were influenced in a negative way. The other Wes grew up feeling neglected by his father who never took care of him and idolized his older brother Tony who was involved in drugs and gangs at an early age. The other Wes’s mother Mary attended John Hopkins University, but she did not finish her education because she stopped receiving the grant. Mary started working full time and lost her focus in guiding Wes into the right path, and developed a bad habit of selfishness. Duhigg writes that “Bad habits emerge without our permission (26). But, since we often don’t recognize this habit loops as they grow, we are blind to our ability to control them. By learning to observe the cues and rewards, though, we can change the routines” (27). Mary’s bad habit loops: her cue—“me”—her routine—ignoring the problem---her reward---no stress. Mary could have changed her habit of being a selfish mother;
however, she was not willing to change her ways, and never took her time to discipline the other Wes’s misconduct in selling and using drugs, in doing a robbery, for having a violent behavior, for not doing well in school, and for using a gun.
Sadly, the other Wes developed a bad habit loop as well. His cue—money and nice things---his routines--selling drugs and robbery---his reward--earning easy money. Duhigg also
writes “over time this loop-cue, routine, reward—become more and more automatic (19) which the other Wes became uncontrolled in selling drugs and doing the robbery. The other Wes tried to break his bad habit in selling drugs and his involvement in the robbery, unfortunately, he started to sell drugs again because of his frustration to support his family financially. According to The Power of Habit by Duhigg, “Habits never really disappear. They are encoded into the
structures of our brain, and if someone has a bad habit, it will always stay hidden there, waiting for the right cues and rewards” (20). It is sad to say the other Wes Moore's bad habit caused him to be in jail for the rest of his life for shooting an officer.
The two Wes Moore drifted different paths because of their habits and mindsets that they developed from the people around them. The other Wes Moore learned a bad habit of selling drugs from the involvement of seeing his brother Tony wearing expensive accessories. The other Wes started to crave for those things that Tony had. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, stated “Craving are what drive habits. And figuring out how to spark a craving makes creating a new habit easier, (59). When the other Wes saw a kid on the street wearing headphones, he immediately craved the satisfaction of earning money and created a new bad
habit of selling drugs, so that he could buy some expensive valuables for himself. Compared to the author Wes, he stayed in Valley Forge Military Academy and learned the true meaning of reverence. He craved to earn respect for himself and from others that drove him to build a new habit of being a respectful man.
Another reason why I feel both Wes Moore had dissimilar paths is because they had different opportunities in life, love and care, and financial stability from their mothers.
The Other Wes Moore's mother Mary had financial problems and lack of concern to other Wes’s life. In comparison, the author Wes Moore's mother Joy never stopped providing discipline, love and care to author Wes. In Outliers by Gladwell, “Practice is not the thing you do once you are good. It is the thing you do that makes you good” (42) and ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert----in anything,” writes the neurologist Daniel Levitin (40). Mary lacks the qualities of a loving mother to other Wes, while Joy took care of author Wes with affection and care.
The lack of parenting to children can create a negative impact on their life because kids need boundaries and parental discipline have a great effect on a child’s determination to succeed. If Mary was a good mother to other Wes, consequently other Wes would not end up selling drugs
and not be in jail. However, I am not convinced because as kids start to grow as an adult, their choices will be made within themselves.