As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
The aphorism As A Man Thinketh
in his heart so is he, not only embraces the whole of a man’s being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally _what he thinks,_ his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts
The sum of a man’s thoughts are his character. His character influences the conditions and circumstances of his life. Every action springs forth first from thought – even actions considered to be spontaneous and unpremeditated.
Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruit.
A man must watch, control and alter his thoughts – tracing their effect on himself, others, and his life and circumstances. In doing so he will prove to himself that he is maker of his own character, life and destiny.
Effect of Thought on Circumstances
A man’s mind may be likened to a garden – cultivated or uncultivated. The cultivated produces flowers & fruit, while the uncultivated produces weeds. A man must continually weed-out all wrong, useless, and impure thoughts and deliberately cultivate right, useful, and pure thoughts.
Thought and character are one, and character has a profound influence on the circumstances of one’s life. If a man learns the spiritual lesson of his current circumstances they will give way to other circumstances.
As long as a man believes he is a creature of external conditions he will be buffeted by those conditions. When he practices self-control and self-purification of thought, and remedies his defects of character, he finds that his circumstances will change.
The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors — its loves and fears. The soul reaches the height of its cherished aspirations and the depth of its unchastened desires. Every thought-seed allowed to take root in a man’s mind will eventually produce the fruit of character and opportunity and circumstance.
Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bad fruit.
Effects of Thoughts on Health & Body
The body is the servant of the mind. With unlawful thoughts the body sinks into disease and decay. with glad and beautiful thoughts it becomes clothed with youthfulness & beauty. Thoughts of fear can kill the body. Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body, opening it to disease, while impure thoughts will shatter the nervous system. Strong pure and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace.
The habits of thoughts will produce their effects — good or bad — upon the body. Thought is the fount of action, life, and manifestation. Make the fountain’ pure and all will be pure.
If you would perfect your body, guard your mind. If you would renew your body, beautify your mind. Thoughts of malice, envy, and disappointment, rob the body of its health and grace. A bright, happy, and serene countenance follows from thoughts of joy, goodwill and serenity. To continually live in thoughts of ill-will, cynicism, suspicion and envy, is to be confined in a self-made prison.
To think well of all, to be cheerful with all, to find the good in all — such unselfish thoughts are the very portals of heaven.
Thought & Purpose
Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. Aimlessness is a vice. They who have no central purpose in their life fall prey to worries, fears, troubles and self-pity, which lead to failure and loss.
A man should conceived of a legitimate purpose in his heart and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts.
He should make this purpose his supreme duty and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander into fanciful imaginings. This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought. He may repeatedly fail to accomplish this purpose, but will overcome weaknesses and grow in character — a measure of true success and the staring point for future power and triumph.
Those who are not prepared for the apprehension brought on by having a great purpose, should instead fix their thoughts on the faultless performance of their duty, no matter how insignificant it may appear. This discipline will focus their thoughts and develop their resolution. Strength can be developed by effort and practice, even in the weakest soul. The physically weak can be made strong by patient training and the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking.
To think with purpose puts one in the ranks of those who know that failure is one of the pathways to success. A man should mentally mark out a straight path to achieving his purpose and rigorously exclude doubts and fears. The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do. Doubt and fear are the great enemies of knowledge and must be slain.
He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure. Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes a creative force.
Serenity
Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. A calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. The strong, calm, man is always loved and revered. Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and storms of the soul obey him. To tempest-tossed souls: Self control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, “Peace. Be still.”
Complement As A Man Thinketh with Seeking wisdom.