Turning an Impediment to Good Account

Turning an Impediment to Good Account

1988 4 April 15-16 Turning an Impediment to Good Account (470) “My hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure. Its greatest benefit has been that it has taught me the economy of words. I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. And I can now give myself a certificate that a thoughtless word hardly ever escaped my tongue or pen.”

Many people are so shy by nature that they shrink from even trying to play an effective role in private and public life. Even when they do make the attempt, hesitancy in speaking proves such a great obstacle to put across their ideas, that they can seldom make any significant impact upon their listeners.

Those so afflicted should take courage from the example of Mahatma Gandhi, who was so crippled by shyness that no one could ever have imagined in the early part of his life that, one day, he would be a great and idolized leader, able to influence millions and to sway the great and small alike.

There were many important occasions when, as a young man, he quite dismally failed to make his mark. In his book, My Experiments with Truth, he tells of how, as a young student in London, he joined a vegetarian society and was asked to make a speech at one of its meetings. When he stood up, he was so nervous that he could scarcely utter a word. In his confusion, he finally muttered a few words of thanks, then sat down. On another occasion, when invited to speak on vegetarian food, he took the precaution of writing down what he had to say. But again, his shyness overwhelmed him and he was unable even to read out what he had written. His discourse had finally to be read out by someone else.

After qualifying as lawyer in London, he started his practice in Bombay, but when he appeared in court to plead his first case, he was so nervous that he was unable to speak, and had to ask his client to find himself another lawyer.

However, as time went on, this disadvantage began to turn itself to good account. Gandhiji writes:

“My hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure. Its greatest benefit has been that it has taught me the economy of words. I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. And I can now give myself a certificate that a thoughtless word hardly ever escaped my tongue or pen.”

Mahatma Gandhi was indeed well-known for his sparing, but expressive use of words. But it is not generally known that this skill grew out of what would normally be considered a negative trait. Whereas initially his shyness had prevented him from speaking altogether, later on in life it turned him into a thoughtful speaker of rare distinction.