As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Adewole Tunji Joseph (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
This book reveals the power of human mind. It establishes the fact that effectiveness of our mind determines the effectiveness of our lives. Also, no one grows and go beyond the state of his mind. Furthermore, everyone foundation for excellent performance, strong and positive character is the mind. In conclusion, everyone has the ability to determine what is thought should be like. What we feed our mind with, determines what dwells in it that is, the type of thought that goes on within us determine the status of our mind.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Thought are seed on the soil of the mind
I can forget this great lesson that thought are seeds that germinate of the soil of my mind. Thought can be positive or negative; therefore I must carefully examine my thought continually. Furthermore, thought are generated from what happen around me and the thing I willingly give my time, attention and energy to, therefore I must be consciously avoid what will generate the type of thought I don’t desire to have.
Lastly, thought determines the state of my mind; I must therefore pay attention to it.
ii. Everything in life starts from the mind
As the soil makes room for seed to germinate and gives it all the needed support for manifestation of it potential, so is my mind. I have learned from this small piece of material that the mind is the center control of what I can be or what I will not be, what I want to see around me or what I don’t want to see around me, how I will see situation, challenges, others and the world at large. We all have different perception because we have configured our mind differently.
iii. I have the capacity to build a right mind
Though thoughts are invisible but mind transform and unfold it with time. As all form of seed exists for planting, each farmer determines what he/she we plant in his/her farm land. Another important lesson from this material is that, I have the choice to make for myself on what the state of my mind should be. I can always change situation that affect my thought at will when it is not the best or desired seed for my soil (mind). This is possible by changing materials I feed on, changing environment, meeting different and new friends or even staying off people as the situation calls.
iv. Practicing self-control
This is another great lesson for me from this material. Dictionary defines it as the ability to control ones emotion especially in difficult situation. I have also seen that self-control is only possible when we get our mind right in the middle of all situation not allowing the situation to control us but been at rest when we don’t know what next to do. At time, self-control is in form of discipline our self in other to accomplish our goal. Without self-control, building and keep relationship will be difficulty because not one what to stay around people that has not rule over themselves.
v. Change
This subject is the most difficult subject for every human. We find it difficult to change the norm but with this material, I am reminded that I can’t do things the same way and get different result. The quality of the thought that rule my mind is the quality of the result that my life will generate. Change is an indispensible attribute we must possess if we want to get better result and do what we have not been able to do before.
vi. My though affects my health and body
I learned that the body responds to what goes on in the mind. I often find out that I get strength to work even if am weak because I have configured my mind to do my work at once and then rest. Positive thought give birth healthy living. Also, I have seen that discourage of the mind affect the state of the body because it weakens the body from moving forward to get things done. A merry heart is a medicine; joy on the other hand produces health and freshness. I have learnt to always be happy irrespective of the situation in other to keep my body active and healthy.
vii. What I focus my mind on is what I can accomplish
The only way to accomplish goals is to prioritize it in the mind. Concentration of thought on a goal gives drive, eagerness and seal to pursue such goals. Since strength and weakness are both rooted in the state of the mind, strength to drive a goal into actualization is only available in the mind. Also, passion/affection grows with time as one continually focus is mind of his goals.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
Since I know that thought are seeds that grows on the soil of mind, then I will be careful of thought that I entertain and ruminate on. Unforgiveness generate a lot of evil thought, so I must constantly practice forgiveness. I must practice self-control and discipline in other to achieve my goals. Since I know the secret of addiction, I can help addicted people in habitation through reversal of process. I my keep my happiness irrespective of circumstances and try my best in making other happy.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts.”
The mind must be protected with all diligence by careful examination of the thought and a need to redirected/ refocus the thought on the right thing at every point of deviation. I am the determine factor of the state of my mind.
“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for
Good.”
Calm is an internal state of rest of the mind which will enable me to keep my head and mind straight irrespectively of the situation. This sentence gives me another secret of greatness that many people don’t really see.
“How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control.”
Anger is a sign lack of self-control over once emotion. I have seen great damage that anger could cause and has this sentence says, I must exercise self-control in all situations as much as possible when i ought to get angry.
“Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err. This is just as true of those who feel “out of harmony” with their surroundings as of those who are contented with them.”
Everything in life is a principle; if the rule is broken result cannot be obtained, so also is the law of the mind. Our lives produce the result of our mind input.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Adewole Tunji Joseph (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main concept is for everyone to discover their area of uniqueness (in born ability and talent), develop themselves irrespective of opposition and the price of self-discipline in order to break common norms and leader /build other people (older/younger generation) into another world that exist in them that they never see due to belief, fear, external discouragement.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Self-discovery
What a child a kid is lack of self-discovery, all decisions are taking for such a child because he/she only knows what his/her parent say. It is even difficult to convince are child on what his/her teacher in school has taught him or her. Following this material affirms the fact that there is something inside everyone that must be discovered to make a mark in his/her world as well as contributing or affecting other people’s lives. This is a key ideal to me because my journey to my best is impossible without discovering what I am good at. There will away be a drive to do more until the best height is touched if it’s an inborn ability.
ii. Self-discipline and sacrifice
There is always a prize for anything valuable. Sacrifice and self- discipline is the secret of every excellent result as clearly spoken off by this book. A lot of painful training the gull had to do to increase is speed in flying and learning new styles. Every great person you see will always tell of their sacrifices in other to become what we know them to be. I will have to endure because the body doesn’t like to be constrained.
I ones spent 38 hours without sleeping because of the need to pass an examination that I had zero in the test, it was not easy but the sacrifice pay off because I pass the subject very well at then of the day. I also have seen friend rising to become great I life through sacrifices in hard time which fetched them better and more than expected outcome.
iii. Positive Self-Image
No one is better than the way he/she sees himself/herself. We soon succumb to criticism because of self-image. We admit what others say about us because we don’t see ourselves better than what they said about us. Those who scale through times of negative criticism are those that have learn to retain positive self-image no matter what others say about.
iv. Quitters never win
Fear of failure is one of the greatest challenges of most human. We refuse to step into unusually because we don’t know if it will work. When many of us even step out and we face challenges we get discourage and often desire to quit, just like Jonathan’s experience in this book. Someone once said every great person you see today with huge level of success has one time or the other that they face situation that encouraged them to quit but there fight spirit and goal getting focus keep them moving until the light break forth at the end of such situation tunnel. I have seen personally that what I don’t succumb to don’t win, winning and losing is a decision from the mind. Also, I once heard a great person in his career said, I have tried many thing that did not work more than the once that worked. He concluded by saying “you are known for what you do that worked”
Back to my tertiary institution days, continuation of the story mentioned earlier where I had zero in a mathematics test which means I only have 70% left to decide my fate over the subject in which majority of the class did not understand. Before the examination period, I went to meet some colleagues that understand the course better than I do. When it was a day to that particular paper, I studied more than ever before. The day before/the day of the paper was the first time I couldn’t sleep for about 38hours at a stretch. My fighting spirit actually pay off as I had above 50% in the examination to obtain the need credit for success.
In conclusion on the subject, the only way forward is to keep trying irrespectively of the obstacle and actually there are no obstacles that can’t be overcome, it all in the power of decision to try again and to take the right steps. I belief a world of no limit, no boundary if the right step are taking.
v. Consistency
Being consistent according to the dictionary simply mean unchanging over time. Another key subject I see from this book is consistency. We only get better when we do things over a period of time. Uncommon secret about anything is unlocked by the power of consistency. In fact consistent men are excellent and great person in making. Habits are products of consistent way of thinking that give birth to a pattern of living. Also, there is nothing called an addiction than what we do consistently over a period of time. We will become what we do regularly over a period of time that is how powerful consistency is in the course of life. Jonathan’s consistency in learning new ways of flying re-adjust is mind and body for greatness and leadership among the gulls. So far in life, I have discovered that I only become what I give most of my time and energy to continually.
vi. Forgiveness
I have discovered that the only way to impact everyone is to forgive. I had no trouble it’s the power of forgiveness that enable Jonathan to concentrate on achieving is goals though banished and yet still remember had to go back and help everyone that desire to see the best of themselves. Unforgiveness, stop positive thinking and rub us of progress thought that we need to dwell on.
vii. Training others or Leadership
Raising other and affecting people positively is an ultimate desire for everyone that what want to live beyond the number of age of anyone on earth. Am greatly challenged by this book to develop other, believe in success of younger generation and giving of every necessary encouragement for the passionate once. Someone once wrote a song that has this lyrics “Only remember by what we have done, thus we will pass away from the earth and his toiling, only remember by what we have done”
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
I will do what my hand find doing with all my might. I must be consistent all those areas of my life where I have been lazy sometime. I need to increase my capacity through learning. I should help us to be ourselves and become better in life.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“Jonathan Scagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short, and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed.”
Fear kills faster than anything, likewise anger gives room of infirmities like blood pressure. Science has also proof it.
“His vows of a moment before were forgotten, swept away in that great swift wind. Yet he felt guiltless, breaking the promises he had made himself. Such promises are only for the gulls that accept the ordinary. One who has touched excellence in his learning has no need of that kind of promise.”
I learned that permanent decisions are not made based on temporary situation. If he had kept his promise he would have stopped is grow and reduce is future to nothing.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10