As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Edwin Moses Opiyo (Kenya)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author James Allen belabors to bring forth the power and the strength of our thought system that is demonstrated by the level of our mind. He emphasizes that our thought system can either make grow or make us stunted. He continuous to state that our character entirely depends on our thought system. That if an individual has negative thought systems/he will end up having bad character and the reverse is also true. Allen stresses that man holds his life, potentiality and future in his hands and that men are able to become anything that they want to become in life.
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. The first ideas that the author expressed that were significant to me was that our thought system shapes our character- It very true on this because over a period of my life, I noticed that over time the things that I think much about most of the time, I put them in practice though actions and after sometime these actions become habits and hence leading the formation of my character for instance after thinking about reading romantic novels, I leant to read them and later it became my habit and character of frequenting the library to read the novels.
ii. Idea number two as explicated by the author is that it the thought that impacts circumstance and not vice versa- Most the time when I am not successfully in my activities, I blame the circumstance that surround me and even a times go as far as lying the blame on fate. The author through this idea enlightens me that I am the master of my own destiny. He reflects that our destiny is entirely tied to our thought system and all this is in our mind so we should use circumstance to catapult our thoughts to great success as opposed to failure.
iii. Another great idea that our thought system also impacts on our body and health. The author argues that our thoughts /thinking impacts heavily on our health and also on the functioning of our bodies. He states that negative and nonconstructive thoughts bring bad health and poor body disposition. This is very important for me because with experience I realized that whenever I habour bad thoughts or negative over events, activities or people it affects my health and many a times when I am depressed I will experience headaches ,fatigue and a feeling of vomiting.
iv. James Allen also stresses the relationship that exists between thought and purpose. He believes that once a person has conceived his purpose, he should make this his target to make sure that he accomplishes that particular purpose. He elaborates that the purpose should become supreme duty of the person in the person’s thoughts. Personal I believe this is a great idea because most of the time that which has hindered me from achieving the purposes that I set out in life is the disparity between my thoughts and the purpose that I have. A time I have set out a purpose that immediately I set them down my thoughts drifts to something else and hence which leads to lack of being able to achieve the purpose.
v. The also reinforces the common truth that thought practically determines achievement. He states that all that we achieve and fail to achieve are all that are within our thought systems. The author is an existentialist and believes that all that comes out of man, his success and his failures are his own making and they do not come out from the environment or from other people but from within oneself. It is very true with this idea because most of the time over experience in studies and in work I have realized that ,that which I have believed and worked hard for comes out successfully and that which I do halfheartedly with no much energy and positive thought I fail to achieve the required objective.
vi. James Allen also states that Visions are the vessels through which man reaches the ideal. He explains that visionary people are the ones who have dreams for the future and who focus very far for greater things. He chronicles Visionaries in the historical times who were able to achieve their dreams, most of the time the dreams are very Ideal and a times they seem very unachievable but visionary people who have positive energy and thought system are able to achieve this. In my personal experience I have seen the truth and significance of this Idea. One time I was in Primary School and hard a vision of going to Secondary School and later had a vision of University education. Despite all the huddles and hardships that I went through I was able to achieve the ideal, having a university education and right now I have a vision of one day being the president of Kenya.
vii. The author also explains that ones man understands the relationship between different factors of life, he understands other and all the things as a result of Cause-effect relationship, he enjoys calmness and peace which he calls serenity. He outlines that ones the man has understood all these and knows himself as a product of though system, he understands and relates to other people in Peace and hence these people also reciprocate. For me this is a very important idea because at times I have found good to blame other people for my problems rather than myself, not knowing that I am a product of my own thoughts. As I keep on blaming other people and getting angry over them I bring about Peacelessness and resentment and with this I lack serenity and calmness as I cause the same to the other people.
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 have noted that thought has a very big bearing on my character and hence from today I will ensure and work hard to allow positive thoughts that are aimed for development be my concern. I will also have a conscious exercise of better thought system that will better my character and will change my actions for the common good and with this I will make the world a better place.
I have always worked with the believe that many a times it is fate and circumstance that shapes peoples’ destiny’s but after reading the book, I noted that circumstance is only available for exercising the thought system and thus it’s the thought that shapes our circumstance and not the circumstance shaping our thought system. I will belabor everyday to ensure that my thought system avails the best possible circumstance for success and development for myself and for the people around me.
The mind being very powerful, it influences the predispositions of our bodies and our health. I will use this Idea to oftenly make sure that my thoughts are healthy and happy thoughts so that I can have good healthy and well functioning body. I will ensure that I exercise and practice after a stressful day to ease tension from my body and also not to displace my unhappy feelings to the people around me. I will also strive for better thoughts and work on them to realize my purpose in life. Since I work with young people all over the country, I will also inspire them to have consistence thoughts with their purpose in life and help them wok on the purposes that they have in life.
Many times I have failed to make great achievements because of negative thoughts and doubting my abilities, I want to work on my thought system and tell myself that I can do anything that I want, and that I can also become anything that I want to become in life so long as I put my effort on it. I will also hold inspirational talks to high school students in the neighborhood on the need of believing in one self.
Given that visionary people in history, currently and even in future make great achievements in life and they are able to achieve the ideals that many people thought they are unachievable, I am setting my clear visions currently in all that I am doing and also for the future for myself and the world at large. I want to aspire for greater Ideals and inspire young people around me to do the same.
My dream is for a peaceful world and communities and hence I will work hard for serenity to prevail by trying to relate to people well, understanding people that I interact with and live with so that there well be totally serenity.
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.
…..Man is made and unmade by himself…. I was amazed at the existential thoughts of the author because most of the time we like attributing our failures and weaknesses to other people other than ourselves but in this quote the author says man is the builder of his own edifice.
…Man’s mind might be likened to a garden… this is very true because that which you put in the mind s that which fruit is given out so if your sow bitter seeds, you harvest bitter fruits and vice versa.
…Men do not attract that which they want but that which they are….. Many a times this cliche has been used but it holds a lot of water in the sense that people attract to themselves that who are their character hence the famous saying of ‘birds of the same feather flock together’
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?
I wish to disagree with the author when he overemphasizes the role of the mind/thought system in success and making what the man is and what he is suppost to be. I believe and even psychologists contend that man is nature and Nurture and does not only rely only on our thought system. I disagree with James Allen because the truth of the matter is that man is a product of very many factors that should be considered while analyzing the character and the personality of an individual.
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 the book has no exercises.
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? 9
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 Edwin Moses Opiyo
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author elaborates on the significance of the Individual freedom and how individual freedom can affect our personality. He also states that personal freedom is very significant for personal growth if well utilized.
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. The first and the major idea that the writer belabors to expound is on the significance of personal freedom. The main character Jonathan was one of the Seagulls going about the daily and routinely lifes of the common Seagulls. One day he emancipates himself from this common life which demanded him to get used to search for something to eat and not to fly. Once he makes the first flight and recognizes the significance of personal freedom, he never turns back and keeps on practicing and becoming more perfect in his new nature, flying. He even goes ahead to share the beauty of getting out of ‘the crowd’ with the other Seagulls. For me this is a very important Idea because most of the times I want to lead the normal life and not to break the rules due to the fear of the backlash that will come from my friends, community or even my church. I will not dare stand out of the crowd because I am tied by the chains of ‘we’. So the author has taught me that the greatest and strongest person is the one who remains standing alone!
ii. Another idea is the practice makes perfect. At the beginning Jonathan is just a common Seagull preoccupied with search for food and nothing more. Once he discovers something new and its importance, he doesn’t look back and keeps on practicing. With hardships he practices and at the end we discover that he has mastered the skill of flying and he is even able and confident enough to teach other Seagull on how to fly. This is important lesson for me because many a times I want to have a skill, idea or knowledge but I have no time for practice or I start practicing and give up on the way. The author through the character of Jonathan teaches me to have self discipline in practicing what I have learned to be able to master it and he also alludes to the fact that the best practicing for me is to pass on the new skill, knowledge to others.
iii. Success is out of ‘the comfort zone’ in this idea we witness Jonathan struggling beyond that which is common to the Seagulls. The common Seagull preoccupies herself/himself with searching for something to eat and being in the crowd but Jonathan goes out of the crowd and learns to fly and even vengers where other Seagulls don’t. Many a times I like being in ‘the comfort zone’ I would not want to go out of what my friends do, my family or community. This is because I want to conform and be like them but I have learned that for me to succeed, I need to learn to rise above average and to be outstanding in all that I do for example in my studies, workplace or at my church.
iv. The author also states that Purposeful life is fulfilling. Jonathan goes beyond the common purpose of the Seagulls and finds his on purpose, to be free and to do that is fulfilling to his life. He flies and there he gets his satisfaction. Many a times I have lived the purpose of my community, of my family and other people apart from my own purpose. Today I have learned to live and have a purpose in life and that this shapes the strength and determination that I put in all that I do in life. Purposeful life helps me to fulfill all the objectives that I have in life and to live for the greater good. Having no purpose makes me struggle to please and satisfy other people’s expectations and at the end of the day I do not feel fulfilled.
v. Leadership is in service not honor-as a leader Jonathan serves the other Seagulls without expecting to be honored by them. He does not load over them but respects, serves and facilitates their own growth and even at the end of the story we witness his exit and identifying someone to take over from him. Whenever I am in charge, I have always expected people to respect me, to thank me and a time even to fear me. With this I enslave them and a time I want to be immortalized and them to think that nothing can continue without my presence. I will give out orders and don’t participate and the activities that I want them to do but the author gives us a new and modern mode of leadership of service and not enslavement, of facilitation and no dictatorship
vi. Another great idea is that of mentorship and delegation in leadership-Jonathan does not claim to be I know it all- Seagull. He believes in his students and mentors them and he goes a head to empower them by delegation. He does not give orders and remain behind but he lives exemplary life. He exits and hands over leadership to another Seagull that he had trained and trusts and even when he is begged to remain and lead, he assures Fletcher that he is capable of good leadership and the other Seagull have higher expectations to be led and after that he flies away. My experience with leadership has been that I behave as if I know it all, I don’t mentor other people to take over from me and I don’t even trust that they can do well or much better than me. With this attitude I don’t even trust others to empower them and delegate some of my duties to them. This becomes dangerous because when I am not in my position, then nothing can progress on or I become synonymous to my position.
vii. Last but not least is that idea that the author alludes to that Success is inbuilt in the spirit of sacrifice. For Jonathan to succeeded he had to sacrifice so much. For instance he was expelled from the kingdom of the Seagulls; he suffered long moments of loneliness, pain and long times of practicing. He suffered indignity and hatred from the other Seagulls. All these never killed his spirit of wanting to succeed where the other Seagull had not. I realize that most of the things that I do not put a lot of sacrifice and perseverance don’t come to succeed and those that I put long hours, patience and determination I succeed. Most of the time I would want to take shortcuts in everything which for me they are very short-lived. I have learned that for sustained success and happiness, I need to sacrifice so much and to be patient in all that I do.
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?
These ideas are significant for my personal growth and to help me also to create a better world. Personal freedom for me is significant for through this I learn that I need not to be limited with the rules and conforms of my peers and community and through this I can even challenge all of them that one need not to be like the others but you need to be outstanding in life to succeed. I have learned also that for me to experience perfection in all that I do, I need to sacrifice enough time for practicing which the characters in the book compares to heaven. This will help me to inspire young people to know that nothing comes out of nothing and if one wants to perfect an idea, knowledge or skill then they need to practice.
Many people including myself like being in their comfort zone and not trying new things. I am so used to the norm, average and traditions in my work, where I live and in my community that I fear change and trying on new things. This has opened my mind that change and trying new things does not harm but instead it develops. This has inspired me to embrace and warm up to new but constructive ideas that can help me and other people to make the world a better place.
As a young person I have witnessed that I like taking shortcuts in many things that I do, after reading this book I have learned that shortcuts do not give success but sustained success and fulfillment comes out of hard work, perseverance and sacrifice. I make a commitment to uphold these virtues and make them part and parcel of my life. With these virtues I intend to make them practical in myself and other people that come my way.
I also believe in the values of leadership as service and not an honor or loading over other people and also the vale of delegation of duties and trusting that other people can be as good as me or better than me in leadership. With this I intend to belabor and ensure that wherever I am I serve people with dedication, work with them and demonstrate exemplary leadership that can be emulated. I will also mentor many young people that I work with or that I come in contact with and this will help me lead a better and exemplary life and make the world a better place.
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.
‘I want to fly more than anything else in the world…” this statement was made by Kirk Maynard one of the Seagulls that moves from the crowd after witnessing what Jonathan was doing. This is important because it is a statement of hunger for knowledge or skill and thats what motivates many people to learn new things.
“Get down! Seagulls never fly in the dark! If you were meant to fly in the dark, you’d have the….. This quote is important to me because it signifies the defiance that Jonathan demonstrated to succeed in the endeavor of flying high and fast. It teaches me that for me to succeeded I have to defy and overcome the odds that stand on way to success.
“Seagulls, as you know, never falter, never stall. To stall in the air is for them disgrace and it is dishonor.” This for me is another quote of confidence and courage and it is an empowering statement that gave Jonathan and the other Seagulls to succeed in their Endeavour to fly.
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?
Ideally I agree with all the things expounded by the author in the sense that personal freedom is very important for personal development and a time it is very expensive. Also that personal freedom is only for the brave and committed people who really want to acquire it.
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?
There were no exercises to be completed in the book.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the p revious questions? If so, please comment
You’ve got to understand that a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull, and your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself.”
I like this comment and the Imagery used in it, comparing the Seagull and its whole body to the idea of thought which was predominant in the previous book ( As man Thinketh) this made me to compare the two books in the sense that personal thought/thought system are related to personal freedom and they co-exist. Because with personal freedom it has to be derived from thought system for instance you can only be free if you believe that you are or can be and also have a thought of perfection when you experience personal freedom.
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? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10