PREFACE
All efforts directed toward the correcting of temperamental or mental
blemishes or defects and nervous conditions are of benefit to humanity.
In producing this book the Author's purpose was to help mankind to
overcome these weaknesses, which are a serious impediment to mental
development, and hinder personal advancement and general progress. The
aim of the Publishers in issuing this translation is to put into the
hands
themselves, and command the attention and respect of others, a work that
has been thoroughly tested abroad and one that will be found of
exceptional service in attaining the end in view--the securing of a
perfect balance.
This book is written in two parts. The first points to the need of Poise
in daily life, indicates the obstacles to be overcome, and discusses the
effects of Poise on personal efficiency. The second instructs the reader
how to secure that evenness of temperament which is the chief
characteristic of Poise. It includes, in addition, a series of practical
physical exercises to be used in acquiring Poise.
If such a work as this is to do good, if the reader really wishes to
benefit by the advice that it gives him, it must be read thoughtfully
and diligently, not fitfully and forgetfully, and the reader most
steadfastly keep before him the maxim of the Author--"Poise is a power
derived from the Mastery of Self."
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FOUR SERIES OF PHYSICAL EXERCISES
FIRST SERIES--BREATHING The point of departure for the cultivation of poise, like that of everything else in fact, must be a well-ordered system of hygiene, far removed from excess, and insisting only upon the points we have already indicated. ... MODESTY AND EFFRONTERY CONTRASTED
"Never force your talents" a well-known writer has said. One always feels like crying this to those who, thinking to reach the goal of poise, fall into excess and develop effrontery and exaggeratedness. Poise can not exist without coolness. We h... PHYSICAL EXERCISES TO ACQUIRE POISE
Before preparing oneself by the exercise of reasoning and will-power for the acquisition of poise, it is vitally necessary to make oneself physically fit for the effort to be undertaken. One should begin with this fundamental principle: Timid... PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR OBTAINING POISE
COMPOSURE One of the essential conditions of acquiring poise is to familiarize oneself with the habit of composure. Timid people know nothing of its advantages. They are always ill at ease, fearful, devoured by dread of other people's censure... PREFACE
All efforts directed toward the correcting of temperamental or mental blemishes or defects and nervous conditions are of benefit to humanity. In producing this book the Author's purpose was to help mankind to overcome these weaknesses, which are a... THE ENEMIES OF POISE
The enemies of poise are many and of different origins, both of feeling and of impulse. They all tend, however, toward the same result, the cessation of effort under pretexts more or less specious. It is of no use deceiving ourselves. Lack of... THE NEED OF POISE IN LIFE
Lack of poise has always been an obstacle to those who are imbued with the desire to succeed. In every age the awkwardness born of timidity has served to keep back those who suffered from it, but this defect has never been so great a drawback a... WAR ON TIMIDITY
One can not be too insistent in asserting how harmful the lack of poise can be, and when once this weakness has reached the stage of timidity it may produce the most tragic consequences not only so far as the daily routine of our lives is concerne...