[Quit Your Worrying! by George Wharton James]@TWC D-Link book
Quit Your Worrying!

CHAPTER XVIII
7/14

Why be so afraid of others; why so anxious to "kow-tow" to the standards of others?
Who are they?
What are they, that they should demand the reverent following of the world?
Have you anything to say?
Have you a right to say it?
Is it wise to say it?
Then, in the name of God, of manhood, of common sense, say it, directly, positively, assertively, as is your right, remembering the assurance of the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal." Don't worry about whether you are saying it in the genteel fashion of some one else's standard.

Make your own standard.

Even the standards of the grammar books and dictionaries are not equal to that of a man who has something to say and says it forcefully, truthfully, pointedly, directly.

Dr.Palmer has a few words to say on this phase of the subject, which are well worthy serious consideration: "The cure for the first of these troubles is to keep our eyes on our object, instead of on our listener or ourselves; and for the second, to learn to rate the expressiveness of language more highly than its compeers.
The opposite of this, the disposition to set correctness above expressiveness, produces that peculiarly vulgar diction, known as "school-ma'am English," in which for the sake of a dull accord with usage, all the picturesque, imaginative, and forceful employment of words is sacrificed." There you have it! If you have something to say that really means something, think of that, rather than of the way of saying it, your hearer, or yourself.

Thus you will lose your self-consciousness, your dread, your fear, your worry.


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