The Opposite of Just
By ice rivers
- 433 reads
I was watching a critical ballgame one night. The bases were loaded. The count was full. The crowd was screaming. The announcer asked "How would you like to be the pitcher right now/"
I remember thinking to myself that I would love to be he pitcher because he was either the most relaxed guy in the park or else he was going to tense up and shit the bed.
I'd love to be that guy.
The most relaxed guy in the park.
I wasn't the only one.
The picher loved to be that guy.
He turned out to be the most relaxed guy in the park.
More "relaxed" than the hitter.
He threw a beautiful curveball on the outside corner and got a called strike three.
His team won the critical game.
Of course they did.
The dude relaxed when he needed to relax. Maybe he was relaxed the whole time.
Same thing is true with writing.
When I'm relaxed, I write well.
Pretty sure that's a universal truth.
If my "writing coach" came out to me and said "Just relax"..that would only make me more tense.
I hate the word "just" when it's used as an adverb. It minmizes the effort he takes to do whatever it is that is being modified and needs to be done.
Relaxation takes no effort.
Relaxation is the opposite of effort as well as the opposite of "just".
When I make an effort, I'm not relaxed.
I'm relaxed now.
Check it out.
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