It’s always a great feeling of revelation (not to mention vindication) when something you have long suspected or known to be true suddenly pops up and proves itself out in the real world. I found this recently regarding the power of being precise.
Now, naturally I have always known that smoking is not a wise habit in terms of one’s health – hence, I eventually managed to quit. Its effects are difficult to ignore: after all, they are printed on the packet. Difficult, but – in some cases – not impossible.
For example: ‘smoking causes aging of the skin’. Hmm. A rather cursory, vague warning this – it has the feeling of a meagre afterthought, and one that is quite easy to dismiss.
But compare this, which I saw in a skincare clinic: ‘Two cigarettes a day can destroy the entire RDA of vitamin C in your body’.
Crikey. The details in that are impossible to ignore. It manages to be succinct, specific and surprising in a very real, very vivid way. I’d definitely be stubbing out now if I hadn’t already.
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