Hello everyone,
Welcome to a new book review from my blog. I'll share what I took away from the book with a quote that stood out to me. The quote is from the book As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, which says:
“A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.”
The quote centers on one's thoughts and what they process in their mind, which speaks to the kind of person they are. It feels personal on a deeper level when I read it. It reflects on who you are when the blinds are closed, and no one is watching. It is no longer about the personality you put up when the cameras are rolling.
A cool example that buttresses the author's statement is the highlighted quote: Richie and Paul both got rejected from the job application. Richie takes the rejection as nothing works for him, while Paul moves on to the next opportunity. There are two individuals who faced the same rejection. One sees it as nothing works for him, while the other person sees it as a process on their journey to something better. A single incident can provide two different interpretations for two different individuals. The author goes on to explain that our thoughts make up the character we portray. If you see things as problems for you to provide solutions, you get to scale through things. If you see problems as hindrances that keep you in the same position while nothing works for you, you will only see hindrances and never solutions. Most times, you realize that much complaining comes from dwelling on the problems more than finding a solution to the problem.
Although there are external factors and people also have the tendency to influence our decisions and thought processes, having positive thoughts alone is not capable of providing solutions, but the way we tend to see things is very crucial in determining if we are capable of resolving the situation or whatever it may be we find ourselves in. Life is hard to predict due to its uncertainties, but the existence of our thought process is a stepping stone determining how much we can handle and who we can become. It is like meeting a person who claims that they cannot learn a skill or attain a certain level of understanding. Trust me, when I say the level of limitation that such a person will encounter will be enormous compared to the person who is set to achieve anything. The limitation is set in the mind, and defeat starts in the mind. You know that point when they say that a person is difficult to break; it boils down to their state of mind and mental toughness.
What your mind accepts will reflect in your actions and how you handle things. It is not all about being positive or believing in the concept that nothing bad will happen, because trust me when I say that will be very exhausting. You have to understand it is about what you accept, or what you choose to dwell on. If you see yourself as a failure, then you can be nothing more than a failure. What you choose to accept about yourself is very important. Not all information or messages out there are facts, for there is more to what meets the eye. So pay attention to what you allow your mind to accept or what you choose to accept as your truth for your thought process.