Have you ever wondered if you can really change?
How can you take an old habit and make it into a new habit? Well, as I have recently discovered, is that things can change and we have to change with it.
A perfect case in point is…how many spaces are there after a period in a sentence or paragraph? Well, for about the last few months, my son, Rob, and I, have been going over various documents. Rob said, “Dad, it’s one space after a period.” I said, “Rob, no. It’s two spaces.”
Finally today, we solved the problem. When there’s a conflict like this, how do you solve the problem? The answer is easy. You go to the internet. Well, that’s not really the answer, but you seek to find some authoritative place that you can go.
So indeed, in this case, we went to the internet. What we found the reason there were two spaces after a period. When there were typewriters, the “W” was a wider letter than an “I”, which was skinny. There was no way to make it a proportional letter. There had to be a period and two spaces.
When I was in high school and took my typing class, and in our English classes, we were taught two spaces. So that’s what’s in my head. That’s the rule. But what we found is today, as we studied this more carefully, is that times have changed. The computer will automatically proportionalize every letter. It’s automatic. Now the new rule, and it’s been this way probably for a few years, is one space after the period. This is now standard in style books, standards of excellence, and style in writing style.
So there’s the answer.
Now, I have a new set of knowledge in my mind. Times have changed, and the rule is no longer two. The rule is one. And so, all day long, is I’ve been typing letters. I’ve been having to go back and fix it. I’m learning new habits.
So what allows me to do this? It is the knowledge of what’s right or what’s wrong.
Applying the Power of Knowledge, one of the 12 Habits of Highly Successful Leaders, is something we need to apply all the time. Things are changing, so how do I gain the knowledge that allows me to change with it to form new habits? Now that I understand, you can count on Steve Shallenberger, putting one space after the period.
That’s my message for today. And people all the time ask, “Well, do you have other things that I can use that will help me as I master the 12 principles?” Well, one of those is the Five Minute Leadership Makeover and you’ll be able to find that on our website and other resource as well. Wishing you a nice day!