“A man is literally what he thinks.” James Allen
James Allen, a British philosophical author of ‘As a Man Thinketh’, wrote, “A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. As the plant springs from, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them.”
The things you choose to focus on, your thoughts, determines how you perceive the world – and influences many of the experiences you have as a result. If you focus only on the negative things in your world, the world can seem like a terrible place and your mood and outlook may suffer.
“Every one of us is the sum total of our own thoughts. We are where we are because that is exactly where we really want or feel we deserve to be, whether we’ll admit it or not.” Earl Nightingale
But when you focus on the positive things in your world, you see that the world is actually full of faith, hope, love, and joy. There is kindness and beauty that inspires people to do incredible things. Each man holds the key to their own perception and focus, good or bad. He also hold the key to everything that enters into his life. By working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts and focus, he may remake his life, his behaviors and transform his circumstances.
“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” James Allen
Thoughts of doubt and fear never accomplished anything, and never can. They always lead to failure. Purpose, energy, power to do, and all strong thoughts cease when doubt and fear creep in.
“He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure.” James Allen
The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do. Doubt and fear are the great enemies of faith and knowledge. The people who embrace readily doubt and fear, who refuses to slay them, hinder himself at every step.
Changing the Subconscious Mind
Daily affirmations are techniques you use to begin he process of improving your life. Affirmations are simply statements that describe a goal or thought in its already completed state. Positive affirmation helps eliminate negative and limiting beliefs.
Affirmations can transform an individual’s comfort zone from a limited one keeping them trapped in mediocrity to a more expanded one where anything is possible. It helps to replace your “I can’ts” with “I cans,” and your fears and doubts with confidence and aspirations.
Affirmations are reminders to your unconscious mind to stay focused on your goals and to come up with solutions to challenges and obstacles that might get in the way.
“These things we bring on ourselves through our habitual way of thinking,”
Daily affirmations are simple, positive statements declaring specific goals in their completed states. Affirmations also hold a key to creating the life of your dreams. Successful people have long known that using willpower alone to energize their success isn’t enough.
Let go of negative beliefs
It is important to let go of and not focus on negative thoughts and images. Instead, individuals should bombard their subconscious mind with new thoughts and images that are positive and stated in the present tense.
In closing, William James said: “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. We need only in cold blood act as if the thing in question were real, and it will become infallibly real by growing into such a connection with our life that it will become real. It will become so knit with habit and emotion that our interests in it will be those which characterize belief.”
James also said,
”If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it. If you wish to be rich, you will be rich. If you wish to be learned, you will be learned. If you wish to be good, you will be good – only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, and not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.”
References:
- Allen, James, As a Man Thinketh: Original 1902 Edition
- http://www.jamesallenlibrary.com/authors/james-allen/as-a-man-thinketh
- https://www.jackcanfield.com/blog/practice-daily-affirmations/
- https://www.jackcanfield.com/blog/become-a-millionaire-never-too-late/
The Power of Habit, written by New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg, explains why habits exist and how they can be changed. According to Duhigg, if people can understand how behaviors became habits, they can restructure those patterns in more constructive ways.