As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Malaki Kereeditse (Botswana)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
This book conveys the idea that as an individual you are what you think. What you are today is a result of the thoughts that you have been keeping.
Thoughts turn into things. To further elaborate the James Allen has demonstrated the effects of various thoughts. Beautiful thoughts bring about habits of grace and kindness which creates friendly and cheerful circumstances. Therefore thought create circumstances.
We always blame circumstances that we say ‘we find ourselves in’ where as in fact we create circumstances.
We usually believe we are helpless when it comes to circumstances but the author teaches us that we are actually in charge.
Man is the creator of his world.
This is very powerful. I believe it needs commitment to finding a way to practice these principles consistently so that one realises the power they have got.
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) Thoughts are things
What we achieve as people and what we fail to achieve is a result of our thoughts.
What we think comes to pass.
Therefore I have to pay attention to my thoughts and direct them to think of what I want and not think of what I do not want. This is because what matters is the thought and not whether I want what I am thinking about or not.
ii) We create our own circumstances
Through our thoughts we create our circumstances.
Our positive thoughts lead to positive circumstances and negative thoughts leads to negative circumstances.
Our thoughts create a habit which leads to circumstances.
Thoughts of fear, doubt and indecision lead to weakness, unmanly and uncertainty habits which subsequently create needy/poor and copying without original thought and failure.
Thoughts of courage, self discipline and decision leads to manly habits which lead to success, plenty and freedom.
This idea teaches me to accept that I am a creator. Therefore If I am not happy with my circumstances I can create the one I like by my thoughts.
I have a lot to do here practically so that I realise my desires.
iii) The body is the servant of the mind.
Thoughts also control the body health. Thoughts of fear can bring death, fear of disease causes disease, and anxiety lead to entrance of disease.
On the other hand beautiful thoughts lead to beautiful youthful body,
Strong, pure happy thoughts lead to physical strength and grace.
This idea will help me control my body and give it good health by practicing right thinking.
This is a very interesting principle especially now in an era of health consciousness. At this time when the year starts there are New Year resolutions and objectives to stay healthy or improve one’s health.
We start exercise regimes with the objective of improving or maintaining our good health.
iv) Having a purpose in life gives man strength
A man should set a legitimate purpose in his heart and set out to accomplish it.
The teaching hers is that lack of purpose will lead to failure. In our endeavours to reach our goals there will be challenges and difficulties. Without a purpose there will no motivation and strength to overcome these challenges.
On the other hand thought coupled with purpose leads to intelligent accomplishment.
Thought has to be linked to purpose
The idea in this book is that man should have a central purpose in his life which he has to work towards accomplishing it. This purpose could be spiritual or worldly object. Man should make this purpose supreme duty and devote himself to its attainment.
This is a lesson to me to identify my purpose and make focused effort to attain it.
v) You can not travel within and stand still without.
This idea demonstrates to me that even if my circumstances are not pleasant I can positively change my inner being and inevitably change my circumstances around me for the better.
Changing my thinking patterns will change my habits and subsequently my circumstances. The author wants to emphasise that changing from one thinking pattern to the other will without fail change your circumstances.
vi) Patient effort in self control brings calmness of mind. This result in steadfastness and serenity.
This idea is important to me as it guides me to be patient in my practice of self control. I believe that practicing self control consistently will bring me to a state where I will be able to create the world as I desire it.
Generally people want to see evidence of what they expect to happen in a short space of time. If results do not come fast they quit.
However the author’s advice is to patiently practice self control. We are also advised to be consistent in our practice.
vii) A man can only rise and achieve by lifting his thoughts.
We need to elevate our thinking in order to achieve great things we wish to achieve.
If we just wish to change without changing our thoughts the results that we want will not come.
We always set goals have plans and even groom ourselves to have good appearance with the intention of positioning ourselves to creating good things for ourselves and the ones we love.
However to achieve we have to lift our thoughts as they are the ones which will create the desired habits and subsequently circumstances that will bring about achievement.
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?
• Thoughts turn into things.
• We create our own circumstances
• The body is the servant of the mind
• Having a purpose in life gives man strength
• You can not travel within and stand still without
• Patient effort in self control brings calmness of mind
• A man can only rise and achieve by lifting his thoughts.
These ideas are very powerful. I need to sit down and formulate a way of putting these ideas into practice. Already just reading the book gives me energy and drive.
I believe as I become better as an individual the world is one person better and therefore a better world is created.
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.
All that a man achieves and all that a man fails to achieve is a result of his own thoughts.
We always blame our failure to achieve on things and people other than ourselves.
Circumstance does not make a man, it reveals him to himself.
This could not have been said better. The author emphasises that circumstances come way after the thought and subsequently habits have been formed.
..Man… is the maker of himself the shaper and author of environment?
The will to do springs from knowledge that we can do. This is interesting because if I can do and I do not know I can or I have doubts about my abilities I will be reluctant to do.
A strong calm man is always loved and revered. The author informs that patient effort in self control will bring about calmness of the mind. And a man with calm mind is loved and respected. To attain these therefore require patience and effort.
The more tranquil a man becomes the greater is his success: This therefore should be motivation to practice self control so that one may attain calmness and serenity which we informed is more valuable than gold.
Calmness is power: these calls for one to exercise composure in order to attain this power.
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?
This book was very difficult to read. The English language used required that I refer to the dictionary very often. However the ideas in this book are very interesting and are worth practicing.
It is difficult to monitor one’s thoughts throughout the day as thoughts keep on wondering.
The other thing is that due to habit the thoughts that we have been keeping will keep recurring.
I have a task here of practicing or maintaining the thoughts I desire.
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?
The book did not have exercises. I will have to find practical ways of putting these ideas into practice.
It will be good to have share as to how other students have converted to ideas into 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.
A man may rise to high success in the world ……and again descend into weakness ….. by allowing arrogant selfish … thoughts to take possession of him.
We always see people achieving success and sometimes failing and not know what has happened to destroy their success. We see this all the time in business, relationships, leadership and politics. People have built great businesses generating large sums of money only to get into various situations be it debt, compliance with statues labour disputes, customer loyalty. The author suggests that such circumstances are created by man himself.
The author advices that we have to be watchful of our right thoughts in order to maintain the success we have attained.
The other idea that I would like to comment on is that of sacrificing our confused animal thoughts and fixing our mind on the development of our plans and the strengthening of our resolution and self reliance. Our achievements are proportional to the sacrifice that we make.
The greater the sacrifice the greater the achievement. I believe it also follows that putting aside time to study and practice these ideas and others like them and sacrificing the things we do which do not necessarily add value to our lives will bring us achievement.
The author further states on page 42 that those observing from a distance believe that successful people are ‘lucky’ or ‘highly favoured when in fact these people have gone through a lot. They have gone through trials and failures, they have faced struggles in order to gain their experience.
We have to know that to be successful we have to exercise faith so that we may realise our vision. There will be difficult challenges to face. Success will not come easy in spite of right thinking. Success will come eventually.
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? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Malaki Kereeditse (Botswana)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author wants to convey to us that as individuals we have limitless potential. We can be anything we want to be. We need to be aware of the potential and use it to get to where we want to be. We are only limited by our thoughts. When we break the limits of our thinking we achieve breakthrough.
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.
a) Elevate your thinking and Identify what matters most and go for it.
Gulls saw food as most important while Jonathan saw flying as more important. With good flying skills Jonathan did not have to worry about scrambling for food as he could fly anywhere to get good food.
In my work I have spent most years working hard as opposed to acquiring professional qualifications in my work. Looking back had I spent more time in professional development I will be able to earn more without struggling. I will also be having more influence and greater choice.
Going forward I will document what I see as being a greater purpose so that I get the clarity and go for it. With my increased knowledge and awareness I will also be able to support and coach others who want to develop their skills.
b) Develop your skills
This idea came very clear through the Jonathan’s consistent and persistent practice.
One has to be willing to learn and continue to develop. Development of skill takes consistency in practicing. There is always temptation to sit with others who are not keen on developing their skill. However persistence is key in achieving desired results. Jonathan had no time to sit down for a talk with other gulls as they did not have the same drive to learn hence he became successful. When I started working on my public speaking skills consistent practice gave me the desired results. It was also very enjoyable. It required that I set time aside for practice. Going through this book I realise that with me consistent practice I can acquire more. Being on my own and learning something new everyday is powerful.
c) You might have to be on your own to succeed
Jonathan was the only gull who had interest in developing his skill and did that without looking for company or affirmation from peers. This tells me that to attain excellence and achieve to be what you want and can be there might be times of being on your own to develop the skill. Often times we want to belong and shy away from doing things that are different from others. This is a draw back as not everyone is aware of the limitless potential that we have. If one has no fear of learning and is persistent they can acquire the skills and even surpass those who have been practicing longer than them. Jonathan found gulls in the other world that have been practicing and because of his eagerness to learn acquired skills they did not have. I think this is true for any field of application be it professional development or business of any kind. One can start now and be better than those who have been in the industry for long through persistent and consistent effort.
d) There will be resistance and opposition and even discrimination but persevere
Jonathan’s quest fro what he wanted to achieve was not approved by both parents and the community to the extent that he was shamed and banished. However he continued pursuing his dream until he achieved it. The ideas I get here is that even with disapproval from those close and distant from us I have to focus on the picture of what I see being important and consistently go for it. In the end when others see the results their opinions might change. However what is important is that I will be the best that I can be.
There are laws, norms and practices in our communities that can limit the extent to which we can achieve our goals. We need to identify these and set them aside to that we may be successful even though we risk resistance and possible punishment. Those who do not have the awareness that I have should not stop me from being what I can be. I should not allow or cause that to happen.
e) Seek coaching to succeed
Coaching helps us to reach heights we will never reach on our own. It also shows us possibilities we never knew existed. Jonathan learned speed of thought from coaching and worked on it and became successful. This was after continuous guidance and support. Having a coach in the workplace can help one achieve success in their career.
To excel to greater heights Jonathan had a coach. During my term as Local President of JCI I had mentors who had been Presidents before me and they guided me. The set up helped me develop as a leader. Looking at sport all great athletes has coaches irrespective of the sport they are in. This is testimony that we need coaches to succeed.
f) We have limitless potential
Jonathan was stunned by what he was able to achieve. We could also surprise ourselves if we embrace this and understand that we can be anything that we want to be. This is an idea that needs to be explored so that one can get benefit from this book. It is a bit complex particularly starting with the idea that one has already arrived. Hunger to learn, persistence and daily practice can bring us to realise this potential. We are limited only by our thinking. If we break the chains of thought we will have a breakthrough and surprise ourselves.
g) In our quest to be who we can be we will be misunderstood and there will be a price to pay.
We should not be ashamed of being misunderstood. We can be the best we can be and we have unlimited potential. However those who do not have the knowledge that we have should not limit us or put differently we should not limit ourselves because of their lack of understanding.
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?
Yes they can help me in a practical way.
* I have to identify the important thing in my life and work on it daily and consistently with understanding of limitless potential. In this way I will lift myself from where I am with understanding of a higher purpose.
* Identify a coach or mentor who I will work with. The coach will push me to my limits and also show me what I do not know ad help acquire skills
* Be aware of the possibility of being misunderstood and continue anyway. This is very important especially that there will be resistance and lack of support
* Be on my own to refine my skills.
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.
He spared no time that day for talk with other gulls: This showed consistency and focus. Wanting to be part of the flock can be distracting. This attitude helped Jonathan to succeed.
Sometimes we are diverted by office politics and talk and activities that do not add value and end up loosing focus of our goal. This shows that I have to focus.
We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill.
We are limitless and can achieve excellence. This tells me that wherever I am in life I can lift myself. A person who is ignorant can become excellent, intelligent and skilful. We just have to know we are only limited by our thoughts otherwise we are limitless.
… You must begin by knowing that you have already arrived….. stop seeing himself as trapped inside a limited body …… a perfect idea of freedom and flight, limited by nothing at all
This is something that I have to practice. To see myself having attained what I aspire to achieve in life. It sounds very powerful to see myself having arrived even though I am still here.
Everything that limits us we have to put aside.
I have to identify things that limit me and remove them from my life. Failure to remove what limit us will limit our potential
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?
How do I balance starting with the idea that I have already arrived with developing my skill consistently and persistently so that I arrive at achieving what I set out to achieve?
This concept is interesting and I want to do it but the trick is balancing this two.
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. However the lessons in this book can and should be used as exercises; to elevate one’s thinking and develop the skill required to achieve greater purpose in life, to be persistent in spite of challenges one face.
I will have to sit down and analyse what I do, my perception and seek to arrive at identifying what matters most.
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.
Love for others in spite of the ill that they might have done to us can give us freedom and power to achieve our higher purpose in life.
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