SUBTEXTtable, or send back a dish that isn't done properly. This takes a
surprising amount of courage. Argue with a supermarket clerk
about the price of an item, or get into a cab and tell the driver
the exact route to take to get you where you're going—your way,
not his or hers.
You may win out in some of these arguments, though sometimes
it seems that it's a rare person who can win over a cab driver or
a waiter. But the point of these trials is not to win, rather to
experience the risk, to experience failure as well as success, to
learn that risking and losing are not the end of the world. Taking
risks will also strengthen the subtext that you send out.
The following risks are divided into classes A, B, and C, with
C the easiest.CLASS-C RISKS
Once you're comfortable with these warm-up exercises in asserting
your own will, once your subtext is perceived in a positive way,
you're ready to move on to some serious risking. In effect, you've
tested your wings and found that you can fly.
Just as victory may have been less satisfactory than you thought
it would be, failure may not be as devastating as you expected
either. If you've survived the warm-up, then you're ready for some
Class-C risks.
(1) Tell somebody off, whether it's a coworker, your lover or
mate, your neighbor, sister or brother, parent, or even your child.
The person you tell off shouldn't be someone above you, but an
equal.
(2) Insist that your husband, wife, or lover do something you