Mere Christianity

p. 190

“Your real, new self (which is Christ’s and also yours, and yours just because it is his) will not come as long as you are looking for it.  It will come when you are looking for him.  Does that sound strange?  The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters.  Even in social life you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making.  Even in literature and art no one who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two pence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.  The principle runs through all life from top to bottom.  Give up yourself, and you will find your real self.  Lose your life and you will save it.“