But as unlikely as little punctuation marks and other grammatical elements may seem as tools for personal change, author Lawrence Weinstein shows that how we use them can make a big difference in who we are and how we live.
Consider these sentences of a job applicant: "What a great pleasure it was to meet you today!! The position you described sounds absolutely perfect for me!" Such overuse of italics and intensifiers reflects a lack of trust in being heard. By cutting back on those devices--and discovering they aren"t needed--a person can begin to increase his capacity for trust in life.
Or consider how passive constructions can obscure agency, as in, "Undoubtedly, mistakes were made." (Yes, but who made them?) And compare, "My parents were the source of all my troubles," with, "I kept upsetting myself by taking my parents" criticisms too seriously." The latter sentence gives up victimhood and takes ownership of one"s fate--largely by employing active verbs.
Weinstein used to teach at Harvard, but don"t let that intimidate you. Though his book is ultimately serious in nature, drawing on both Western and Eastern traditions, Weinstein"s prose is witty, anecdotal, and packed with good, clear examples. He doesn"t claim that personal change occurs easily. But, he muses, "For the right person, that mere featherweight, a comma, can alter the course of a day." Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге Grammar for the Soul: Using Language for Personal Change (Lawrence A Weinstein)