It is a common enough observation, that habit renders functions easy, and that habits are hard to break; indeed, all treatment of habits is likely to degenerate into the commonplace.

But, when looked at as related to the attention, certain truths emerge from the consideration of habit.
In general, we may say that habit bears a twofold relation to attention: on the one hand, _facile attention shows the reign of habit_.

The solid acquisitions are those with which attention is at home, and which are therefore more or less habitual.

But, on the other hand, it is equally true that _attention is in inverse ratio to habit_.

We need to attend least to these functions which are most habitual, and we have to attend most to those which are novel and only half acquired.