Q Dear Miss Abigail:
I am scared to show my body in front of a guy. How can I make myself more comfortable?
Signed,
Cassidy
A Dear Cassidy:
I think this little excerpt from Margery Wilson’s “complete book of charm” (The Woman You Want to Be) says it all. And by the way, that “laughing at yourself” thing really works. Trust me. I’m just hilarious sometimes.
1942: Learn How to Relax
To clear the decks for better judgment in all matters, we take our first step toward poise by learning to relax.
Whatever may be the real self trying to express through flesh, fears, mental tangles, mannerisms and odd notions that make up the average human personality, our best approach to it is first through relaxation. Let go!
Relax so that your energies can flow together harmoniously. Relax so that your forces of mind and spirit can bring you your natural vitality ~ so that your body may become supple and graceful ~ and renewed by a free-flowing bloodstream. Relax so you may get a new mental picture of whatever is weighing on your mind, and poise will gradually replace confusion and tension.
LAUGH AWAY AWKWARDNESS. Things go a bit awkwardly at first ~ naturally one must become accustomed to thinking and planning in certain ways. But after a few repetitions your actions become automatic, which is what we really mean when we say ‘natural.’ And you really can have a great deal of fun. When you are awkward, laugh at yourself. Few of us laugh enough. Let’s not go after charm grimly, with determination. Think how funny you’d look with a set expression on your face while you said something intended to be tossed off airily. We should relax and just ‘go with the wind’ for a few days and see what happens. Make a high adventure of the conquest of charm.
Source: Wilson, Margery. The Woman You Want to Be. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1942.
~ pp. 31 ~