The Laws of Behavior

Human life is governed by certain predictable laws. Whether you are aware of their existence or not, they exist and their existence affects us –every one of us – every day of our lives. Most of us have heard of the physical laws governing our world such as the law of gravity, but few of us have become familiar with the laws which more closely affect our personal lives. These are the laws that determine the absolute direction and destination in the game of life. There is one major law that governs success: The law of cause and effect.

Everything in the universe operates on the law of cause and effect (Skinner, 1971). There are no exceptions to this. Nothing does or will happen by accident. For every effect there is a cause. You have only to take care of the cause and the effect will, without exception, take care of itself. Good cause … good effect. No cause … no effect. Bad cause … bad effect. It’s good to be a student of cause, because there is a reason for everything that happens. If you don’t like the effect, you change the cause. Anything that’s occurring in your life, whether it’s happening to you personally or whether you see it in the behaviors and the actions of the people you encounter, you have created, intentionally or unintentionally. That is a fact. It is a law of the universe. Nothing you can think about or whine about will change the law. The law of cause and effect is predictable and irreversible. “Knowing how to use the law, kids can attract success and happiness. Ignorance of the law can result in boredom, frustration, and failure, which can lead to fear, drugs and suicide.”(Bruns, 41).

From the Center of Disease Control’s Study, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, it is stated that youth victims of violent crimes is on the increase:

If we allow actions to have random effects instead of structure, our children will not know what to expect later in life when the rules will be firm in the workplace. Here are simple rules of life that lead to success:

Accountability: This is for actions which will hold true for the entirety of their lives. We do not have a choice of whether we want to play by the established rules. In most cases, we have to.

Responsibility: When we survey our lives, we have no one but ourselves to thank for what we see. We have the ability to change our position or keep it the way it is.

Learn to Earn: “Kids Must Learn To Earn” (Bruns, 44). Just as any game has rules, so does life. Earning one’s way in life is paramount, and kids need to be taught this at the earliest possible age.

These concepts are best taught during the critical stages of learning, ages seven through sixteen. During these years, children must become able to learn skills such as: read, write, calculate, and perform household chores. It is through their contribution to home, school, to a social group, and to society as a whole, that children learn to earn in a positive sense. This will instill a sense of achievement and personal satisfaction. Yet in our society where the individual is often catered to, the positive ethic of contribution is not always learned. The negative ethic of instant gratification, drugs, and the social allure of gangs often prevail. “Happy Kids Are Deserving Kids” (Bruns, 49). Now here’s the principle that hurts and no one wants to talk about it. Need is not the deciding factor as to who gets the rewards, rewards are given to those who deserve them and to those who have earned satisfaction of a job well done. Someone who receives a reward without earning it does not have a sense of appreciation. “Life responds only to those who deserve, not to those who need” (Bruns, 52). This sums up the point of EasyChild. The chart below illustrates that 57% of American’s feel that moral values are a major cause of poverty. Again, it’s the universal law of Cause and Effect at work: