As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Tega Oghenegweke (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author is trying to introduce the reader to the sovereign power of thought and the effect it has on every aspect of human life. He can be understood as saying that thought is the life of life.
2. What are 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. “Every act of a human spring from the hidden seed of thought.”
This idea was important to me because it brings to mind the need to be cautious of the kind of “seed of thought” I plant in my mind if I must effect a positive change in my character.
ii. Trace the action of laws
The idea that you need to trace the action of the laws of thought in your mind and life to have a ground for reasoning its effect on your circumstances. This revelation made me see the necessity of carrying out the task and pushed me to reflect on my thoughts. I came to the resolution to always harmonize my desires and goals with my thought and actions and not to think of an easy plan B or settle for less. I also made a commitment to persist in loving and unselfish thoughts and encourage good thoughts.
iii. The idea that the body obeys the operations of the mind is mind-blowing.
This became important to me because I see it as the ultimate preventive and cure medicine to every sickness the human body suffers. Personally, I am trying this new-found knowledge on myself to see the effect of altering my thoughts on my body.
iv. “Doubts and fear are disintegrating elements, which break up the straight line of effort, rendering it crooked, ineffectual, useless.”
This idea struck a chord with me and made me realize the need to remove these two success hindering elements from my mind and thought as I carry out the actions required to achieve my purpose. It also made me decide to always persist in thoughts of courage and faith.
v. A man success in life is in the measure that he sacrifices his emotional driven thoughts, thoughts driven by feeling.
This disclosure made me resolve to lift my thoughts above confused animal thoughts and fix my mind on the development of my plans and strengthening of my resolution and self-reliance. It also taught me to be watchful to maintain the victories obtained from right-thinking.
vi. The idea that to dream is the starting point of achieving is a comforting one to a dreamer like myself.
This became important to me because I learnt that he who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. I vowed after reading this, to cherish the beautiful dreams and ideals I have and strive hard to achieve them by taking action.
vii. “He whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the wind and the storms of the soul obey him.”
This I see as the ultimate reward for all the decisions I have decided to take because they are aimed at improving my self-control, purifying my thought, and increasing my knowledge of the laws and operations of thought. Anyone who has accomplished great height in this regard will enjoy the calmness of mind.
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 me in my daily personal life because I plan to, from now on, watch, control, and alter my thoughts, tracing the effect upon myself, on the life of others and upon my life and circumstances. I also plan to link cause and effect by patient practice and investigation and utilizing my every experience as a means of obtaining that knowledge of myself which is power. I believe the world will become a better and happier place if many people have this knowledge and put it into practice. In lieu of this, I plan to share this new knowledge with everyone I come in contact with and hopefully, its propagation will help 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 why they were important to you.
“Humans are the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.”
This made me realize that we are responsible for the outcome of our lives.
“As a progressive being and evolving being, man is where he is that he may learn that he may grow.”
This statement taught me that every circumstance I go through has a lesson to teach me and after I have learnt it, I move to learn another. Learning never stops.
“Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bad fruit.”
This reminded me to be cautious of the thoughts I sow into my mind.
“The outer world of circumstance shape itself to the inner world of thought.”
This revealed to me the need to always make sure I harmonize my desires and goals with my thought and actions if I must see a change in my circumstances.
“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”
This quote got my attention because it made me realize that whatever circumstances a man finds himself is as a result of the thoughts, he has for a long time encouraged in his mind.
“Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.”
What I understood from this statement is that it is not enough to want something, you have to make those desires the centralizing point of your thought and actions.
“Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction.”
Before now, suffering is generally perceived as a completely bad thing, a dreaded state of decay. This statement, in a sense, made me realize that to suffer is not completely a bad thing because it also serves the good purpose of purification; indicating to a person the disharmony with himself and with the law of his being. It also made me understand that suffering ceases for him who is pure.
“The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it.”
This statement supports my earlier view that a man’s thought is a viable preventive and cure medicine to the ills of the body. If a man can kill anxiety, he can make himself immune to diseases.
“Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is overcome).”
This excerpt from a paragraph under the subheading of Thoughts and Purpose made me see failure as something different from what I use to know. It made me see failure as a test of strength, and one must keep on taking the test until failure is overcome. For he who has become strong shall not fail anymore.
“The will to do springs up from the knowledge that we can do.”
Faith in oneself is the start point of personal development required to achieve one’s dreams.
“Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes a creative force.”
I agree with this statement because, in this instance, your thought forces will be concentrated on a particular purpose and with the absence of fear you will be able to make innovative use of the creative faculty.
“The dreamers are the savior of the world.”
I cannot but agree with the author more because of modern civilization, as we have it today, was ushered in by the people whom we can call dreamers. They conceived a beautiful vision in their hearts, cherished it, and saw to its realization.
“In all human affairs, there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result.”
What I gained from this statement in relation to the paragraphs that precede it is, not to see success and call it luck, fortune, or chance. Because a lot of hidden trials, struggles, sacrifices, faith has gone into achieving it.
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, there is none.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No, it does not contain 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 none.
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? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Tega Oghenegweke (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author was trying to teach a lesson from telling the story of a seagull called “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” who wanted more for himself and his flock. In the process of striving to get it he was confronted with some challenges that tried to discourage him, but he overcame them by being resilient, hardworking and fearless.
2. What are 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. To want more than the norm or ordinary is the start point to achieving your vision.
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” wanted to learn more about flying than moving from shore to food and back again. This idea became important to me because it vindicates my position that sometimes, society restrains a person from wanting to be more than what has long been defined and generally accepted by the people.
ii. On the journey to accomplish your vision, you will be discouraged and isolated by people including the ones you love and esteem.
This idea reminded me again that one should not wait for approval from the people they revere before taking the actions required to achieve their goals. It also taught me to always prepare myself for the worst and hope for the best.
iii. “It wasn’t long before Johnathan Gull was off by himself again, far out at sea, hungry, happy, learning.”
From this statement and other challenges that Jonathan Gull was confronted with and had to overcome, I got to understand that it takes sacrifice, hard work, and practice to achieve your purpose in life.
iv. This paraphrased statement from the passage “one who has touched excellence in his learning has no need of contemplating about quitting.”
This was an eye-opener for me. It exposed my mind to the truth that a man can dissipate the emotions of fear and self-doubt by exalting the thoughts of triumphs he has achieved on his journey to accomplish his supreme goal.
v. “We’re from your flock, Jonathan. We are your brothers. We’ve come to take you higher, to take you home.”
This statement and the subsequent paragraphs made me realize that no matter the vision you have conceived in your heart to accomplish, there is someone or some people who have done it, attempted to do it or has gathered the knowledge and experience that can guide you on the journey to achieve that vision. You just have to look for them or prepare yourself well enough that your paths can someday meet.
vi. Fearlessness
Fearlessness and a zeal to learn can single a man out of a crowd of people as revealed by the author in these words that Johnathan’s supervisor “Sullivan” spoke to him after he executed the flight of thought “You have less fear of learning than any gull I’ve seen in ten thousand years.” As understood from the story, those two character traits did not just single him out from the flock of seagulls, it also secured for him space as a student to the elder gull himself.
vii. The burning desire Jonathan Livingston Seagull had for wanting to give back to his flock was admirable after all the wrong they did to him.
This act of kindness and love taught me to always look for the good in people. After all, it will not profit a man if he amasses wealth or acquires uncommon knowledge but fails to use it to better the lives of others or fails to pass it on.
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?
The lessons taught in this book is priceless as they teach of passion, resilience, hard work, sacrifice, fearlessness, kindness, and love. These are characteristics one must possess if one must accomplish his vision in life. In line with this, I plan to put into practice the knowledge I have gained from this book and study extensively to improve on it. Additionally, I intend to exhibit these traits in my day-to-day activities with the hope that I will positively influence someone. Also, I will teach it to anyone willing to learn, and they, in turn, will do the same. Together we will make the world a better place.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“There would be no ties now to the force that had driven him to learn, there would be no more challenge and no more failure.”
This statement revealed to me the three things a man runs away from when he decides to quit. They are the stress of learning, the complexity of challenges and the fear of failure. It also reveals the three things a man must conquer if he will accomplish his vision in life.
“It is possible to convert the force of fear into a creative force. I got this understanding from what happened to Jonathan that can be explained with this statement “Short wings. A falcon’s short wings! That’s the answer! What a fool I’ve been!”
Most times people let fear defeat them not knowing that they can transmute that force into a more positive force that will trigger the creative faculty to produce solutions.
“But the speed was power, and the speed was joy, and the speed was pure beauty.”
This statement became important to me because it describes in a few words what a man experience when he has accomplished his set goals.
“In heaven, he thought, there should be no limits.”
Jonathan Livingston Gull’s doggedness towards growth in knowledge as revealed by the aforementioned statement inspired this quote and principle that I have decided to live by
“The measure to which a man is thirsty for growth is the measure in which he shall grow.”
“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 same limitations and lead weights to overcome.”
This quote reminded me that life is in phases and the decisions we take in one phase will determine our condition in the next phase. It cautioned me to not take this gift I have been given, the passion to learn, for granted because it is the determiner of what I get in every phase.
“Instead of being enfeebled by age, the Elder had been empowered by it.”
This quote supports my opinion that age is “more than a number.” With age comes knowledge, with knowledge comes power, and a man who has acquired all of these things cannot be debased to mere numbers.
“You didn’t need faith to fly, you needed to understand flying.”
That quote and this other one “It always works, when you know what you’re doing,” caught my attention because it is teaching that it takes more than faith to realize your vision, that one must also have the needed understanding.
“Your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip is nothing more than your thought itself, in a form you can see. Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too.”
This quote got my attention because it revealed the power of one’s thought. It teaches that the human being is a product of his thoughts, from his physical appearance to his life circumstances are all products of his thought. And if he must live a fulfilled life, he must encourage lofty and cheerful thoughts.
“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly.”
A look at situations with one’s physical eye (as the problem presents itself) is a look that will evoke fear, but a look with the eye of understanding is one that will provide solutions to tackle the situation.
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, there is none.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No, it does not contain exercises for the reader to complete.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No, there is none.
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? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8