The cure of self-consciousness / by James Alexander.

  • James Alexander
Date:
1915
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The cure of self-consciousness / by James Alexander. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    98/176 page 78
    (a) How to Gain Self-Reliance.—Let us first try to grasp what self-reliance means. The word really is a compound of re (meaning “ back ”’) and ly or lie (meaning “‘ to rest’). To rely on anything meant originally to rest by lying back on the thing, hence the word reliance came to signify dependence on some thing, or object; by a natural exten- sion the word was applied to persons, signifying depend- ence on others. Opposed to this came the word self-reliance signifying dependence on one’s self, on one’s own powers and abilities. | How is a man to proceed who desires to become self- reliant? The answer is simple—he must give up the prac- tice of leaning on others. He must think things out for himself, he must try to form his own opinions on all kinds of things, he must learn to act on his own initiative. Instead of waiting for others to come to his aid, he must strike out for himself. He must constantly spur himself on with auto-suggestion. Thus he will say: ‘‘ I am re- solved to think this thing out for myself,’’ ‘‘ I will find the way to do this thing,’’ ‘‘I have every faith in my own abilities.”” He must carry the spirit of these affirmations into everything he does, everything he attempts. It will assist you greatly in seeking to cultivate self- reliance if you will carefully think out to what extent you really rely on others in your daily life. Ask you- self to what extent you rely on others in forming your opinions—do you rely on a particular book, magazine or newspaper? If so, do a little hard thinking instead ; use your reasoning powers and see where they lead you. In business, do you rely on some particular person to help you in a difficulty? If so, try to solve your difficul- ties yourself. Exert yourself, think for yourself, act for yourself, and then you will naturally come to rely on yourself; you will be self-reliant. (6) How to Gain Self-Confidence.—The man who has learnt to rely on himself will find that he has taken the first step towards gaining self-confidence.
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