or recuperation.

"The deepened breathing supplies more air for the oxidation of body
wastes. The heightened pulse carries nourishment more rapidly to the
depleted tissues and relieves the tissues more rapidly from the poisonous
wastes produced by work. The body, the machine, runs more smoothly, and
few stops for repairs are made necessary.

"In addition to these specific functions, _pleasure hastens all the bodily
processes which are of advantage to the organism_. The hastening may be so
great that recuperation keeps pace with the consumption consequent on
efficient labor, with the result that there is little or no exhaustion.
This is, in physiological terms, the reason why a person can do more when
he 'enjoys' his work or play, and can continue his efforts for a longer
period without fatigue. The man who enjoys his work requires less time for
recreation and exercise, for his enjoyment recharges the storage battery
of energy."

But the misfit can take none of this pleasure in his work. He is unhappy
because he cannot do his best; he is wretched because he feels that he is
being defeated in the contest of life; he is miserable because he hates
the things he has to do; he can take no satisfaction in his work because
he feels that it is poorly done; and, finally, all of his joylessness
reacts upon him, decreasing his efficiency and making him a more pitiable
failure.

So this is the vicious circle:

Misfit;
Inefficient;
Unhappy;
More inefficient.

Rather is it a descending spiral, leading down to poverty, disease, crime
and death.

Now, consider the man who has found _his_ work. To him the glorious
abandonment which is the way to achievement is possible. Such a man does
not merely exist--he lives, and lives grandly. His work gives him joy,
both in its doing and in its results. It calls out and develops his
highest and best talents. He therefore grows in power, in wisdom, in
health, in efficiency, and in success. All his life runs in an ascending
spiral. No task appalls him. No difficulty daunts him. He may work
hard--terribly hard. He may tunnel through mountains of drudgery. He will
shun the easy ways and leave the soft jobs to weaker men. But through it
all there will be a song in his heart.

Work to such a man is as natural an expression as hunger, or love, or
pleasure, or laughter. He returns to it with zest and eagerness. Such a
man's work flows out from his soul. It is an expression of the divine in
hi