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“How
to Develop Self-Confidence
In Speech and Manner” eBook Online Version
But along with a man's concentration there must be actual performance. Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler says that "Indefinite absorption without production is fatal both to character and to the highest intellectual power. Do something and be able to do it well; express what you know in some helpful and substantial form; produce, and do not everlastingly feel only and revel in feelings--these are counsels which make for a real education and against that sham form of it which is easily recognized as well-informed incapacity." The power of concentration is to be developed so as to enable a man to do better work, to produce the best of which he is capable. It does not mean brooding and meditating, with no thought of action and production. It is to encourage work, not restrain it.
It is a mistake to think that concentration means a straining of the mind. On the contrary, it is power in repose. It is not a nervous habit of doing one's work under pressure, but the ease of self-control. Every man should have one great ideal in life toward which he directs his best powers. By constantly keeping that aim before him, by bending his energies to it, he may hope eventually to attain to his highest ideal. When a successful financier was asked the secret of his great success, he said that as a young man he made a strong mental picture of what some day he would become. Day and night he concentrated his powers upon that one goal. There was no feverish haste, no nervous overreaching, no squandering of mental and physical power, but a strong, reposeful, never-wavering determination to make that picture of his youth a living reality. Such is the power of concentration; such is the secret of success.
Chapter VII
PHYSICAL BASIS
It is difficult to imagine a hopeful, self-confident, buoyant man dragging around a half dead body. The mental and physical natures are so interdependent that you can not affect one without the other. Hence the ideal has ever been "A strong mind in a strong body."
What a boon is health to man, yet how easily it is squandered. In many cases a horse is better groomed and receives better care than his master. "Give me health, and a day," sings Emerson, "and I will make the pomp of kings ridiculous." This exuberant health is the very joy of living and the basis of self-confidence.
First, then, let the student assume the physical attitude of the man he would be, with erect carriage, chest high and active, the back of the neck pressed against the collar, and the manner suggesting power in reserve. In a remarkably short time, by merely "playing the part," he will establish it as a habit, and the mind itself will assume these self-same qualities. Don't forget the order: An act, a habit, a character.
A still better way is to hold in the mind a vivid picture of the physical man you would be. Think of yourself as of manly and dignified bearing, with spine strong and straight, shoulders thrown back, countenance clear and frank, the step sure and firm. Think of yourself as positive, deliberate and magnetic. Endeavor to make this picture a reality by putting all this into practice. Resolve to make the most of yourself, beginning not tomorrow but to-day--now. At this moment while you read these words, straighten yourself up, draw in a full deep breath, and ask whether this simple act does not increase your feeling of self-reliance. Avoid the "leaning" habit. Many men feel uncomfortable unless they can rest their chin on the hand, cross their legs, or find constant support for their back.
The difficult problem of how a busy man may properly exercise is still unsolved. He has tried the gymnasium, but found no inspiration there. There is no fun in exercising at a mechanical rowing machine. He has bought a "home exerciser," but after a few mornings both his enthusiasm and the exerciser disappear. He has bought a library of books on physical culture, but some of their pages are still uncut. What is he to do?
Listen:
Two minutes devoted regularly each morning upon rising, to half-a-dozen bending, twisting, and stooping movements of the arms, waist and legs, coupled with right habits during the day, will give an average man all the physical exercise he requires.
The importance of the daily bath should no longer need to be emphasized. The particular form--whether it be hot or cold, sponge or tub, at night or in the morning--may be adapted to one's particular case, but the entire surface of the body should be washed at least once a day. The reason is not so physiological as it is psychological. A clean body has a most direct and immediate effect upon one's thoughts. The mind telegraphs its message by delicate and mysterious means to all parts of the body. A bath has an intimate relation to a man's soul. Physical up building should be part of a man's every-day life. On his way to the office he can get off the street-car ten blocks away and feel the invigorating effect of walking for the rest of the way. During the day he can rise from his desk, inhale a deep breath six times or more, accompanied by a movement of the arms, and return to his duties refreshed and exhilarated. Especially can he be careful to sit up straight, to breathe deeply, and do his daily work without strain. It is a nervous age, when men do everything under pressure and tension. If such a man would begin his day an hour earlier, he could conduct all his affairs deliberately and even leisurely, and feel that he was always an hour ahead. To start in good time will often obviate the wear and tear of the average business life.
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