Poise: How to Attain It

The text argues that personal poise arises from mastery of self, combining will, reason, accurate self-appraisal, sincerity, and balanced pride. It first outlines the need for poise, its enemies—timidity, excessive self-consciousness, and nervosity—and the ways these diminish mental efficiency and social effectiveness. The second half gives a practical program to cultivate even temperament, contrasting modesty with effrontery, advocating sustained will and clear reasoning, and presenting a sequence of physical and practical exercises grouped into series. Emphasis is placed on disciplined, regular practice and the gradual internalization of habits that produce steady confidence and self-control.