Text of the meditation
In the training of the will, the first step is breaking away from bad habits. Whoever has succeeded in grasping this simple, preliminary truth will perceive that the whole science of will-cultivation is embodied in the following seven rules. One: break off bad habits.
Two: form good habits. Three: give scrupulous attention to the duty of the present moment. Four: do vigorously, and at once, whatever has to be done. Five: live by rule. Six: control the tongue. Seven: control the mind. Anyone who earnestly meditates upon, and diligently practises, the above rules will not fail to develop that purity of purpose and power of will that will enable them to cope successfully with every difficulty, and pass triumphantly through every emergency.
James Allen (1864–1912), Book of Meditations for Every Day in the Year (1913) – public-domain text, gently modernised.
The original 1913 text is in the public domain.