Written by Leonard M. Leonard
Designed + Illustrated by Will Dinski
Original Copyright 1952

You know that when you want to cut cord, you you make it taut and more resistant to the knife? The limp string is always harder to snip in tow. And there is a lesson for you. If you don’t bend, you may break.

Ben Franklin quotes a piece of advice he received in his youth: “You are young and have the world before you; stoop as you go through it and you will miss many hard thumps.” The point was to be humble, but it might just as well have been to relax, to yield.

Here is an interesting fact and a valuable tip to go with it: if you are stiff, tense and nervous, you are likely to be much more sensitive to pain than a relaxed, calm person. Therefore, teach yourself to “let go” when facing a painful ordeal.

Having your teeth filled is anything but a painful ordeal these days, yet many “he-men” dread the thought of going to the dentist. You are afraid of being hurt, and are already anticipating the suffering from the drill as you sit in the waiting room. By now, you know why – you are resisting the operation. Well, next time, try giving yourself this mental anesthetic:

When your turn comes in the chair, note the tenseness throughout your body. Probably all your nerves will be taut and alert, as though prepared for battle instead of a filling. Let them go limp. Instead of fairly rising out of the chair, let yourself sink into it as the work proceeds.

The minute you are willing to be hurt, something happens. Your never and muscles relax. They are, in a sense, too limp to flash pain messages to your head. You may not enjoy sitting in the dental chair, but you’ll find that it isn’t nearly so bad as you had expected.