that they will succeed in every case?

Unfortunately, no! But such of them as have met with temporary failure,
if they are able to assure themselves that their lack of success has
been due neither to a failure of will-power nor a fear of ridicule, will
return to the charge, once more prepared to make headway against
circumstances which they have the poise to foresee, and which they will
at least render incapable of harming them, even if they lack the
necessary force to dominate them completely to their own advantage.

CHAPTER II

THE ENEMIES OF POISE

The enemies of poise are many and of different origins, both of feeling
and of impulse.

They all tend, however, toward the same result, the cessation of effort
under pretexts more or less specious.

It is of no use deceiving ourselves. Lack of poise has its roots deep in
all the faults which are caused by apathy and purposeless variety.

We have learned in the previous chapter how greatly the vice of lack of
confidence in oneself can retard the development of the quality we are
considering.

Balanced between the desire to succeed and the fear of failure, the
timid man leads a miserable existence, tortured by unavailing regrets
and by no less useless aspirations, which torment him like the worm that
dieth not.

Little by little the habit of physical inaction engenders a moral
inertia and the victim learns to fly from every opportunity of escaping
from his bondage.

Very soon an habitual state of idleness takes possession of him and
causes him to avoid everything that tends to make action necessary.

The dread of responsibility that might devolve upon him turns him aside
from every sort of endeavor, and he passes his life in a hopeless and
sluggish inaction, from a fear of drawing down upon himself reproaches
to which he might have to make answer or of being compelled to take part
in discussions which would involve the disturbing of his indolent
repose.

Are we to suppose then that he finds real happiness in such a state of
things?

Certainly not, for this negative existence weighs upon him with all the
burden of a monotony that he feels powerless to throw off. His own
mediocrity enrages him while the success of others fills him with
dismay.

Nevertheless his weakness of character allows the hate of action to
speak more loudly to him than legitimate ambition, and keeps him in a
state of obvious inferiority that of itself gives birth to number