The WOW Report

  • WOW Report
  • About
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!
  • WOW Presents Plus
  • What to Watch
  • Store
You are here: Home / Entertainment / Books / #QueerQuote: “Always Behave As If Nothing Has Happened, No Matter What Has Happened.” – Arnold Bennett

#QueerQuote: “Always Behave As If Nothing Has Happened, No Matter What Has Happened.” – Arnold Bennett

By Stephen Rutledge on April 20, 2019 8:45 am

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Arnold Bennett (1867 – 1931) was a popular English writer of theatre, journalism, propaganda and films. He was a gentleman from modest roots who focused on making it big in London. He taught himself about art and music and literature and became a literary superstar through talent and hard work; not connections or birth. Bennett died in spring of 1931 from typhoid at his home on Baker Street in London, in March 1931, after returning from a visit to Paris where, in defiance of a waiter’s advice, he had drunk tap water in a café. His death is believed to have been one of the last occasions when the practice of spreading straw in the street to dull the sound of traffic outside the home of a dying person was carried out in London.

Bennett wrote in many genres: novels, plays, film adaptations of his fiction, magazine pieces and self-help books. My favorite in How To Live On 24 Hours A Day (1910), where he offers droll, practical advice on how one might live (as opposed to just existing) within the confines of 24 hours a day. In it, Bennett recommends that you set aside 90 minutes each day dedicated to bettering yourself through reading. Bennett:

Those 90 minutes can be claimed in the evening, in the morning, on the train to and from work, or other time that isn’t put to good use. He recommends evenings for most people, but it depends on your schedule.
Use that 90 minutes to improve yourself. Over the course of weeks and months, the knowledge gained in those chunks of time will add up to a significant amount.


Literature is not the only means of self-improvement. Other reading can be very beneficial, including learning more about your business, learning about the causes and effects of things, and learning about history and philosophy.

He also warns against:

…becoming a prig and insisting others follow the same improvement program. It is enough to worry about your own improvement.
Becoming a slave to your program. You should be flexible enough to allow other things in your life. At the same time, it must be rigid enough to actually be called a program. Finding that balance between rigidity and flexibility isn’t easy.
Being rushed and constantly worrying about what one has to do next, which he said is like living in a prison. The evil springs not from persisting without elasticity in what one has attempted, but from originally attempting too much, from filling one’s program till it runs over. The only cure is to reconstitute the program, and to attempt less.
Failing at the beginning of the enterprise, may easily kill outright the newborn impulse towards a complete vitality, and therefore every precaution should be observed to avoid it. The impulse must not be over-taxed. Let the pace of the first lap be even absurdly slow, but let it be as regular as possible.

Show the love:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Books, Culture, Entertainment, LBGTQ

More

John Waters! Jacob Elordi & Barry Keough! Ben Platt! The WOW Report for Radio Andy!

John Waters! Jacob Elordi & Barry Keough! Ben Platt! The WOW Report for Radio Andy!

by Blake Jacobs on September 22, 2023 10:39 am

#QWERRRKOUT Tuesday: “We are All Uniquely Weird, So Embrace Yourself for Who You Are!”- Alora Chateaux

#QWERRRKOUT Tuesday: “We are All Uniquely Weird, So Embrace Yourself for Who You Are!”- Alora Chateaux

by Paisley Dalton on September 19, 2023 10:01 am

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Trending


#FirstLook: ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ Has 456 Real Contestants Vie for $4.56 Million – Watch

#BornThisDay: Henri III, King of France

Remembering Cass Elliot; She Died From a Big Heart

Leslie Jones Quit Comedy for 6 Years after Bombing, New Memoir Reveals

#FirstLook: Troye Sivan Gets Naked & in Drag in “Got Me Started” – Watch

About

From the creators of The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Party Monster, Million Dollar Listing, RuPaul's Drag Race, I Am Britney Jean, Big Freedia, and more.

Lisa E! The Rolling Stones! WOWlebrity Kate Flannery Joins Us for the WOW Report for Radio Andy!
Miley! Cher! Obama! Rachel Sennott & Ayo Edebiri! The WOW Report for Radio Andy!
The Top 10 Music Videos of All Time that Make Us Go WOW on Radio Andy!
Hurricane Hilary! Ronan Farrow Profiles Elon Musk! Alec Mapa Joins for the WOW Report for Radio Andy!
Halle Bailey! Taylor Mac! Madonna! Melissa McCarthy! TS Madison! The WOW Report for Radio Andy!

© 2021 World of Wonder Productions, Inc | World of Wonder is a trademark of World of Wonder Productions, Inc | Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in