Stop while you’re ahead. I used to hear this phrase a lot; not so much nowadays. It means to cut it out, stop doing or saying whatever. It’s useful in a lot of circumstances, but certainly in speaking or writing.
One of the hardest things a writer has to do is delete those unnecessary words or phrases, or sometimes whole pages. The thing to remember is that at times less is more. The same is true when painting a picture. A painting can look pretty perfect, but colors are fascinating. Just a bit more here or a tiny dab there, and before we know it, the whole effect has changed from one of clarity to one of clutter.
How many times have you heard a speaker speak forcefully, make his point, and then drone on and on. As a child, I heard a dear, old preacher who couldn’t stop after his sermon had ended. He just wasn’t aware that it was over. He repeated, he said the same thing a dozen different ways. He used flowery words and phrases that didn’t fit and didn’t embellish. My mind wandered to what we were having for Sunday dinner, and the point of his good sermon was lost.
Many times, things are best left unsaid or unwritten. I wonder how many fights or misunderstandings have started because a person didn’t stop speaking when he was ahead? Words are fun; they are wonderful tools, but we have to use them judiciously. We have to learn when to stop or when say, “That’s enough. Stop while you’re ahead.”
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