The Power of Right Thinking
Self-depreciation never won a single battle of life. It has, on
the contrary, killed ambition, weakened the will, and
incapacitated thousands from noble work. Many people have spent
their whole life with a negative character and outlook. The
daily, and perhaps hourly, streams of false suggestions pouring
into their minds overwhelm them.
Many tormented by fear and timidity do not realize how a flood
of negative thoughts daily affect them. They hedge themselves in
with suggestions of limitation, incapacity, and unworthiness.
They constantly think not of how they will succeed, but of how
they will surely fail.
In developing the habit of positive thinking--of seeing
only the best in yourself and others--of regarding yourself as
capable of great things--it is well to bear in mind that our
thoughts really make us what we are. What you did yesterday
makes you what you are today, and what you do today determines
what you will be tomorrow. Suppose you put these practical
questions to yourself:
-Does negative thinking pay?
-Is it desirable for me to encourage thoughts in my mind that
break down, hinder, and incapacitate me for good work?
-Do I want negative thoughts that inevitably bring discontent,
unhappiness, and ultimate failure in their train?
Your answer will be, of course, that you do not want them. But
such thoughts work insidiously, and will find an entrance into
your mind if you are not extremely vigilant. The surest way to
keep them out, however, is to fill the mind completely with
vital positive thoughts, to think constantly of yourself as a
person of unlimited possibilities, growing daily in mental and
spiritual power, equipped for great things, and moving forward
toward a triumphant destiny.
The habit of right thinking, when firmly established, becomes a
source of attraction. Good thoughts soon become great thoughts,
and the mature mind attempts even the impossible. The power of a
single thought at the beginning of a day can hardly be
estimated. It can change despondency into hope, and fear into
courage. It can arm the nerve for great and noble deeds. It can
strengthen a weak and timid. It is possible for it to set in
motion an influence that will reach the ends of the world.
An excellent way to furnish the mind with material for right
thinking is to commit to memory some of the sayings of great
people and to ponder them at leisure. This assists in
establishing a standard of truth, and at the same time furnishes
the mind with many nourishing and useful thoughts. Here are some
examples:
"The confidence which we have in ourselves gives birth to much
of that which we have in others.''--La Rochefoucauld.
"Courage in danger is half the battle."--Plautus.
"We should not let others do our thinking for us. Our
individuality is too precious to be so sacrificed."--unknown
A person who thinks right has reason to feel proud and walks
abroad with "the sparkle in their eye." There is no weakness, no
timidity, no hesitation, since to them - right is might. They
have learned to make their thoughts selective, by aid of which
they take the good and reject the bad. They know, too, how to
fit each thought into its proper place, make correct inferences,
and form well-considered judgments.
This clear and positive thinking is constructive in its
character; it builds new power and discloses ever-widening
fields of usefulness. Wrong or negative thinking is destructive;
it produces nothing but paralysis, fear, hopelessness, and
heartrending failure.
Right thinking means cheerful thinking. It means that you are an
intellectual optimist, who sees nothing but good in yourself and
in those around you. Your thoughts go out to clarify and
brighten the lives of others.
How shall you exclude fear thought from his life? Certainly not
by affirming such sentences as "I have no fear," "I am not
weak," "I do not lack ability," "I am not a failure."
Remembering that only positive thoughts are constructive, you
will avoid even the use of negative symbols as "weak," "fear,"
"lack," "failure." You will say, rather, "I am self-confident,"
"I am strong," "I am able," "I am a success." These affirmations
will be made both silently and audibly, always with deep
conviction and earnestness.
Remember, however, that these affirmations must be confirmed by
actual performance. When you say "I am courageous," you must
demonstrate it in your daily life. You may say "I am hopeful,
powerful, buoyant, cheerful," but if you then proceed to sit
down in a corner by yourself and bemoan your fate, you are
simply deluding yourself. It is not sufficient that you believe
what you affirm; you must be it, live it, and act it.
Everyone who aspires to right and lofty thinking should shut the
door of their mind against negative thoughts as they would
against the bitterest foes. Negative thoughts work their way
cunningly, by plausible excuse and subterfuge, until they hold
you in their death-like grasp. They subdue, discourage, weaken,
intimidate, and at last brand their victim as a failure and
outcast. To harbor negative thoughts in your mind is to
entertain an enemy.
Right thinking constructs, strengthens, and ennobles. It knows
no limitations, and reaches out daily for new conquests. It is a
power unto itself, growing through its own use. Our habits of
thought must be governed by fixed principles. One clear-cut,
positive suggestion made in good time may frighten off a
thousand petty negative thoughts. The thing we repeat frequently
enough in our mind comes to acquire undisputed authority. We
should not seek to perform some one great act of courage, but
courageously perform all acts, however small, of our every-day
life.
Pascal says: "Let us persist in our aim to think right, and to
do right, knowing that "true courage consists in long
persevering patience. Let us more earnestly direct our thought
toward the lofty and sublime. Above all let us seek the best
sources of inspiration, that the great thoughts of other men may
become our thoughts, and that we may rise into the fullness of
our rich inheritance."