As a Man Thinketh The Original 1902 Edition (The Wisdom Of James Allen)

Know this truth: a person is literally what they think, their character being the complete sum of all their thoughts. Just as a plant springs from its seed and cannot exist without it, every action, whether spontaneous or deliberate, arises from the hidden seeds of thought. Your mind is a garden, and you are its gardener. You may cultivate it intelligently, planting seeds of useful thoughts, or you may allow it to run wild, becoming overgrown with weeds of negative and useless thinking. Either way, it will bring forth. If you sow good seeds, you will reap a bountiful harvest of joy and peace; if you neglect it, sorrow and suffering will be your bitter fruit.

Understand that your circumstances are intimately connected to your inner state. You are not a creature of chance, but a being of power, intelligence, and love, holding the key to every situation within yourself. The environment you find yourself in is but a looking-glass, reflecting your predominant thoughts. Men do not attract what they want, but what they are. Every experience, every condition, is a direct result of your own thoughts, brought about by yourself, and alterable only by yourself.

Consider the profound effect of thought upon your health and body. A mind filled with thoughts of ill-will, cynicism, suspicion, and envy will confine you in a self-made prison, manifesting as physical ailments and dis-ease. But cheerful thoughts act as a powerful physician, dissipating the ills of the body, and goodwill serves as a comforter, dispersing the shadows of grief and sorrow. A calm, pure, and wise mind leads inevitably to a healthy and vigorous body, for the body is the servant of the mind, ever ready to carry out its bidding.

Until thought is linked with purpose, there can be no intelligent accomplishment. Aimlessness and weakness are the lot of those who drift upon the ocean of life, becoming victims to petty worries, fears, and troubles. To rise above this, you must conceive of a legitimate purpose in your heart and make it the centralizing point of your thoughts. Doubts and fears never accomplished anything; they always lead to failure. But purpose, energy, and unwavering resolve, born of strong thoughts, will allow you to meet difficulties bravely and overcome them wisely.

Achievement is the crowning glory of effort, the blossoming of thought. All that you achieve, and all that you fail to achieve, is the direct result of your own thoughts. Gifts, powers, and all material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of sustained effort, thoughts completed, visions realized. A man can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up his thoughts. He can only remain weak, abject, and miserable by refusing to lift up his thoughts. The will to do springs from the knowledge that you can do.

The ultimate reward of cultivating right thought is serenity. The more tranquil you become, the greater your success, your influence, and your power for good. Calmness of mind is a beautiful jewel of wisdom, a sign that you are no longer a slave to your emotions, but a master of your own thoughts. To govern your thoughts is to govern your actions, and thereby to govern the circumstances of your life. This profound peace arises from understanding yourself as a thought-evolved being, recognizing the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, and ceasing to fuss, fume, worry, and grieve.