As A Man Thinketh.
Assessment by Ozulu Chisom Edna (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea is Thought: A man’s driving force. The author showed that the thoughts that we think as humans determine the actions we portray.
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. There is no such thing as accidental discharge when it comes to any form of character exhibited by any man.
A man’s character is as a result of his thought pattern. When a man displays any character, there must have been premeditation in thoughts that are similar to such character. This goes a long way to tell us that every action that a man exhibits is tied to his thought.
B. A man has control over his thoughts, thus, he is the master of his thoughts.
Thought is a free gift handed over to every man. In fact, the mind cannot be bereft of thoughts. Some thoughts always go through the mind and beckon to be meditated upon. However, we have control over which thoughts to think of and the ones to discard. Just like every master has control over his slave, and can tell him what to do per time, so also we have control over our thoughts and can tell the mind the kind of thought we want them to accommodate at any time. I used to criticize virtually everything or everybody around me, but after reading the book, ‘Battlefield of the mind by Joyce Meyer’, I found out that I allowed negative thoughts about people to flood my mind, and therefore, I would always see all the things wrong with and in them. This made me start imbibing positive thoughts about people thereby appreciating them the way they are.
C. Thoughts cannot be kept secret.
It is true that the mind of a man is not a public field where the activities that go on in it can be viewed by any watcher, and this makes it difficult for someone to guess what is in it, yet when people act or speak, we see their thoughts through their acts and speeches. I have always kicked against early marriage even as a young girl. I have hardly sat down in those growing up years with anybody to discuss why I did not fancy early marriage, but right in my heart as a teenager, I viewed this as an obstacle to the teenage girl and resented men who opted to marry teenage girls. Therefore, when as a teenager, I had serious suitors who were promising me the finest world, I resented them. They complained that I was rude and insolent. My parents chided me, but I didn’t change my stance. My thoughts were dictating my actions. Indeed, we act out our thoughts.
D. Thoughts of fear are less rapid killers.
I fully agree with this idea. A woman in labor who fears that her delivery would be uneventful will likely come down with complications. This is because her fears produce anxiety which makes the body secrete hormones that inhibit the secretion of the hormones that aid the contraction of her uterus and when the uterus is not contracting readily, she might then be having what she feared surfacing right before her. In the same vein, fear of failure in anything actually produces failure as the victim cannot coordinate in the presence of thoughts of fear.
E. No man can go above his thoughts.
My folks believed that I would not be able to do well in school. They were not expecting much from me because I had failed over and over again and so I didn’t look like a bright student. However, I had always believed that if I am not the best, I can always fall amongst the best. Through school, God saw me through and at last I came out in flying colors. People might think weak and low of you, but we can rise above our weaknesses by really lifting our thoughts.
F. Victories attained by right thoughts are sustained by continuing in right thoughts.
This is true because I have seen myself conquer so many weaknesses in life but because I failed to sustain them by continuing in right thoughts I found myself facing relapses.
G. A calm mind can conquer any storm.
This is one virtue I have been trying to cultivate – a calm mind! I used to think that if you explode and blow up your stack so loud that everyone would know that you are around, then you are dealing with annoying situations the best way, but it is a lie! Any man that can control his anger or temper even when they are boiling over saves himself or herself a lot of words he would have wished were left unsaid, and actions he would have wished were never acted. He or she handles situations with such tranquility that leaves no trashes behind. It all boils down to how one is able to effectively control himself in situations that would want to make you scream. In the midst of a storm, such a man is not torn apart. This is a great virtue indeed!
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, if I apply them in my daily personal life will help build a better me in all facets of my life. This is because thought is one thing I cannot avoid and it is what drives or dictates my actions, therefore, the full realization of these facts will help me assess my thoughts daily and make sure they align with the world that I am trying to create.
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.
Yes there were, and they are:
“Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being, if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul.”
Who I am today is as a result of my thoughts, and who I would be tomorrow is also a function of the thoughts I allow to take its root in me today. Since this is the case, there is a need to make a thorough X-ray of my mind to know which thoughts causing harm and which are causing good. This will help me know myself better and take charge of my life.
“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will bring forth.”
Even wild animals when tamed are enjoyable and serve such wonderful purposes as tourism. If they are left untamed, all they spell out is danger and harm. My mind too will be destructive to me if I don’t intelligently nurture the thoughts that go through them.
“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”
The things that come our way especially challenges do not actually say who we are, but the responses we give to them do. They are channels through which our true character are revealed or made bare. This is the more reason why I should mind my thoughts because circumstances reveal how strong or weak they are.
“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.”
This is important to me because I need to be mindful of this fact so that I will not entertain bad thoughts.
“There is no physician like cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body.”
Entertaining cheerful thoughts will help boost my health and well being.
“He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure.”
Fear and doubt can cause one not to engage him or herself into new prospects or projects. Conquering them is a huge step into achieving new heights if I must do something extraordinary.
“Spiritual achievements are the consummation of holy aspirations.”
Because I have spiritual aspirations, I have to constantly dwell on holy thoughts and this I can achieve by daily going through the word of God.
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?
Yes. Please I want to understand the second stanza of the poem in Chapter II that says: It masters time, it conquers space; It cows that boastful trickster, Chance, And bids the tyrant Circumstance; Uncrown, and fill a servant’s place.
There are no ideas that I disagreed with.
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. There are no exercises for the reader to complete.
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. There is nothing that I would like to comment on.
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? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Ozulu Chisom Edna (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea in the book is Self-discovery: Jonathan Livingstone Seagull went on a journey of self-discovery. He had a passion to become not just an ordinary flyer but a high flyer. This he accomplished by looking inside him and maximizing the strengths God deposited inside of him.
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. Being different
This idea is important to me because most times being different or thinking differently can make me feel odd and out of place. The need to feel accepted, appreciated and popular among your folks can make one not to think differently from others. This is because your thoughts and actions will be criticized and viewed as weird. You might even become an outcast like Jonathan Gull. Therefore, I learned from Jonathan Livingston Seagull that whenever I don’t fit into the crowd for reasons pertaining to my purpose in life, that is a good time to stand firmer on my dreams not minding that people would tag me a crazy lady.
B. The idea of not giving up because of failure
Failure can make one to back away from the prospects he/she has in life. This idea can be accomplished by first of all having a consuming passion for your dreams. Jonathan Seagull was weighed down by failure and almost gave up his dreams, yet the better part of him knew that he was destined for something much more than just eating, like the other gulls. This reminded me of when I sought for admission in the university; I wrote the entrance examination five times before I got my desired course of study. At a juncture, I thought I wasn’t cut out for going to the university, but I refused to give up. I had poor grades but I kept trying until I finally succeeded.
C. Be Yourself
I was touched when Jonathan Seagull thought he needed a falcon’s short wings and charts for brains if he must be a high flyer. These characteristics are found in other birds. However, he had all it would take to actualize his dreams. There was no need of looking at another bird, envying another bird or even trying to covet the gifting of another bird in order to become what he wanted to be. When I was growing up my parents always told me to imitate the people they thought were doing fine and behave exactly like them. This made me appreciate others better than I did appreciate myself. I saw myself admiring others and wishing that if I possessed the qualities in them, I would be better off. However, I lacked satisfaction even when I have tried doing what others are doing or trying to behave like others until I learnt that the best person I can ever be on earth is me and no other. I only need to look inwards and nurture my unique gifts.
D. Keep working on love
If someone’s success would positively affect the world around him especially his root, then love must be the principal thing. When you allow love to rule you, you can easily forgive people who it seems do not merit your forgiveness, and thereafter reach out to them. You can easily let people who had wanted you not to press on with your dreams partake in the dividends from the success of your dreams. You can readily go back to where you are coming from though rejected, thought irresponsible and naughty, and give them reasons to appreciate the new life you have found. The key is forgiveness which is worked out when love is present.
E. Your life attracts people with similar thoughts and visions
When one starts following his or her dreams and visions passionately, he or she tends to attract people who are also passionate about the same dreams, whereas people who don’t subscribe to these dreams will see you as an outcast. When one meets people with like passion, he or she is encouraged and inspired to press harder until the eventual actualization of the dreams.
F. Life is in stages and each stage is full of challenges
There are lesson coming with every challenge we face in life, and when we successfully learn these lessons, we become better equipped to tackle the challenges in the next stage. However, if we fail to learn these lessons, we find ourselves dealing with the next stage with more difficulty than would have been. I remember when I failed a course in my second year in the university; I almost blamed everyone and everything around me as causing my failure until I met someone who taught me time management and the need to start reading quite early right before the exam bells start ringing. I learnt it and never failed another course until I graduated.
G. Oppositions make our dreams and visions authentic and valid
When our dreams and visions receive oppositions, they are no time to back out, but rather are time to know that we are on the right track especially when we know that they are no selfish dreams. People will definitely not see much sense in the dreams because our passion is different from theirs, and therefore, will do all they can to stop the actualization of such dreams
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 will help reshape me and make me daily get conscious of a lot of things I had long neglected. For instance, there are thoughts that I should not permit inside of me in my everyday life because I have learnt that one’s body is nothing more than thought itself. In creating a better world, if I can put these ideas into practice and keep practicing them, I believe I would create a better world.
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.
Yes, there were and they are:
For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.”
Discovery of my passion in life will make other things secondary. This will help me put aside distractions.
For each of them, the most important thing in living was to reach out and touch perfection in that which they most loved to do, and that was to fly.”
This tells me that if I can discover my purpose in life, it takes the better part of me and I can always crave for perfection in it and thus, I will have a concrete reason for living.
“We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill.”
From the life of Jonathan Seagull, I strongly believe that I can become all I want to become I set out for it.
“We choose our next world through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing, and the next world is the same as this one, all the limitations and lead weights to overcome.”
Every challenge we encounter on this world is there to prepare us for a better world, and therefore, there are always lessons to learn from them. The lessons we learn from a particular challenge further equip us to rightly tackle the next one until we reach perfection. However, if we fail to learn these lessons we will not be able to push on to the next world.
“Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body too.”
There are limiting thoughts that hold one back from achieving his or her dreams or even reaching out for them. I believe I would create a better world if I will identify those thoughts and break away from them.
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?
Please, I would like you to throw more light on the clause: “instead of being enfeebled by, the Elder had been empowered by 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 are no exercises in the book to complete.
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, there is nothing that I would like to comment on.
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? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8