Old Habits Arise in Stressful Times

Aylmer Maude

Habits are apt to follow from afar. A man's conduct may be influenced by new thoughts and feelings, but his future conduct will result both from what he was and from what he wishes to become. In the same way as when a billiard ball driven by a cue and, meeting another ball in motion, takes a new line, due partly to the push from the cue and partly to the impact of the other ball. 

Leo Tolstoy: A Short Biography, from
The Spiritual Works of Leo Tolstoy

[This quote caught my eye because I've noticed how emotional and even physical habits of childhood return during stressful times. Sometimes this can be a shock to the 'spiritual ego', the person who thinks they are past all that.]