the lost man chronicles
the daily chronicle


energy redirected

herein is an unsolicited bit of advice, forgive me for asserting my opinion here, but i would not bother lest i thought you were worthy of my time and what bit of wisdom this youthful soul can afford to offer.

whether it be with me, any other prospective friend or lover, or even a prospective employer, being conscious of the usage of the personal pronoun is of utmost importance. this is one of the most invaluable lessons learned by yours truly over the years.

"I" is perhaps the single most abused word and vowel in the American-English language, especially if it begins practically every sentence of a letter. this is not meant to be a personal criticism, because you are worth improving, as we all are, thus the dare to irk your ego and sensibilities.

what I do (forgive the contradiction here) is typically print out a letter and circle all the "I"s. you may be startled by how frequently these seemingly innocent narcissistic emblems populate the page. by being conscious of this rule we direct energy more efficiently, because correspondence is always intended to impact, effect, or move the recipient.

hence, if we re-channel energy away from the protagonist (that is you) and use proper nouns or names or a little more of "you" rather than "I," you just might find your target ends up being a better listener than expected. and it is always satisfying to know that others are listening to you.

moreover, you may be perceived as just a little more humble, and that is usually positive, even if in reality we exude extraordinary self confidence. also, you are more likely to convince your subjects of your qualities if you do not phrase them so self-determinably, or at least in an original manner that escapes being skimmed over because all the "I"s make it look all the same: I, I, I, am, am, am, this, this, this and that.

finally, your prose just may end up reading a little more fluidly, if not poignant and poetically, as a result of being a little more self-aware of what you write. you may be amazed by how often you are inadvertently praised for your phrasing, simply because you made a conscious effort to cleanse it of all the self-deference.




in the beginning .00 the beginning return to thelostman.com daily archives daily archives


legal l.m