At points in life, there are pieces of material and information you come across at the right time. This well times knowledge is the stuff that can cause breakthroughs and revelations if you are ready for it. The book“As a Man Thinketh” is one of those books that has the potential to spark this in anyone.
This book is short, concise, and packed with gold in terms of material for self-betterment as it relates to the mind, you’re thinking and how that inevitably shapes your life.
In my personal life, I came across this book right after everything in my life had gone out of control for me; I had no job, no money, and had to move back in with family while I got myself together.
This book came at the perfect time, revealing to me that in my current state, the only person to blame was myself. My thinking, my mental state and attitude was responsible for all of it. And this is one of the main points that James Allen drives home for readers in As A Man Thinketh; that your life is ultimately a result of your thinking.
Here are some great excerpts from the book to take with you, and interpretations on the quotes:
“A man may rise to high success in the world, and even to lofty altitudes in the spiritual realm, and again descend into weakness and wretchedness by allowing arrogant, selfish and corrupt thoughts to take possession of him.”
Even when you do acquire an object or surpass a goal, this is only one part of the process. When you begin on a new path or new endeavor toward something new, one of the main keys is to ALWAYS STAY ON THE PATH. Which means consistency and perseverance.
A prime example is one who gets a gym membership in order to achieve a goal weight. The person works hard for months on end, training and staying disciplined to their goal. Finally, the person achieves their weight, the goal has been reached and the journey is over.
With this accomplishment at the forefront of the mind, they decide to slack off on their workout and routines; missing gym sessions, and going back to old ways of eating. And over time the weight begins to pile back on.
This example can be applied to other things such as business, finances, goals, and primarily your thinking. Once you begin directing your thoughts in a new way, you will inevitably encounter hardships and some disappointments. Even when you do achieve a deeper state of mental strength and bliss, the key is always to stick with it, keep going, and stay on the path.
Much like if you had a garden, and one day you pick every weed in the garden. Afterwards you decide to leave it, believing after that weeding session the garden will take care of itself. A few days later the garden is already sprouting new weeds that need to be plucked. And if they are not taken care of soon, they will again overrun the garden. Choking off all of the beautiful plants and flowers.
The process of directing and redirecting your mind is the same. Once you get on a path, the key then becomes maintaining it, and continue on moving forward. The plucking of weeds in your mind and in your life is a constant process to keep the flowers blooming.
“The aphorism “As a man thinketh, so in his heart is he” not only embraces the whole of a mans being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance in his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.”
What you have rolling around between your ears does create your life. At first it is difficult to grasp, but once you begin to pay attention to yourself and others, you will see this evidence to be true.
The most fulfilled and happy people seem to have a temperament which allows them to look at life with a strong optimistic view. They understand that they have the capacity to handle difficulties and create what they want in life. They approach life with energy and vigor and they go out and create what they want for themselves. And if there is no way around, they figure out a way, the obstacle doesn’t matter.
As opposed to someone who is negative, life seems to be falling apart for them everywhere; nothing ever seems to work out for them, and they confirm this with their speech. Everything is a problem or a burden that burns to think. They can’t seem to ever get ahead or get out of their own negative fog, and everyone in their mind is out to get them or bring them down. The lens they view life is through that of lack and everything in their life reflects this back to them.
In both examples, these results are that of their thinking which translates into an attitude toward life. This attitude persisted in then plays out into the real world, and they main difference between the two is their thinking patterns. They each create the reality they put their thoughts towards. And thoughts persisted in only create the same patterns.
“Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being, if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul; and that he is the maker of his character, the molder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove, if he will watch, control, and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon himself, upon others, and upon his life and circumstances, linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation, and utilizing his every experience, even to the most trivial, every-day occurrence, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is understanding, wisdom, power.”
The process in changing yourself and your life is just that; and ongoing process. And the road to get where you would like to go will be a challenging one.
Those who tell you otherwise are full of shit, or trying to sell your something. Because the truth is, anything worth doing or of high value will require work. And if changing into a dynamic strong human being were so easy, everyone would be one, and you wouldn’t deal with people yelling about the teller at the bank or the grocery store clerk.
Going through this process myself in my own ways. I understand that one of the most difficult parts for a lot of people is making the definitive decision that “I can’t keep going, I need to change, and I’m going to”. This is the first crucial step to changing your minds direction.
Changing patterns that have likely been with you for years can take time to weed out. Simply because you’ve grown so used to them by repetition that the thinking has become second nature to you. And it is much easier to go back to that familiar way of thinking, then to push through and break into a new, higher level.
But the first step in beginning this process and path is making that important decision that this is a direction you want to go in. The direction of strengthening your thoughts and character to become the human being you have the potential to become. Then from that point on, dedicating yourself to the path, and continuing onward for the rest of your days. That is the key. The process never stops.
I cannot say enough good things about this book. And it is written in such a concise, clear way, that nearly every line out of this book is quotable and contains wisdom and advice to adhere to in terms of thinking and your inner world.
I enjoyed this book so much that I want to share it with you, below is a link to purchase it. Enjoy!
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