As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Collins Nwaokocha (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
Man is the architect of his life. That a man succeeds or fails starts from the mind and then manifest in reality. The mind houses the thought pattern and our thought pattern make or mar us. In summary, the Holy Bible says “as a man thinketh, so is he”. In James Allen’s word, “they themselves are the makers of themselves”.
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 power of thought and it’s linkage to character formation. The author expressed the fact that man is made or unmade by himself; in the armoury of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master – consciously or unconsciously, it reflects in our character. All of my success and failure are a function of my thought pattern. People’s experience around me attests to this fact.
(ii) The powerful effect of thought on our circumstance. The mind of man is likened to a garden, which may either be cultivated intelligently or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must and will bring forth fruit – useful or useless. 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. In practical terms, whenever I get enmeshed in funny circumstances, instead of casting blames, I look inward to check-up areas to work on and on the long run seemingly dull circumstances get improved.
(iii) The resultant effect of thought on our health. Strong, pure, and happy thoughts build up the body in vigour and grace. Out of a clean heart comes a clean life and a clean body. Out of a defiled mind proceeds a defiled life and a corrupt body. Thought is the fount of action, life, and manifestation; make the fountain pure, and all will be pure. Whenever, I have cause to carry a dull disposition, it tells on my health.
(iv) The linkage between thought and purpose. The linkage between thought and purpose leads to intelligent accomplishment. They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pitying, all of which are indications of weakness, which leads to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power evolving universe. I achieve at ease whenever my purpose is clearly conceived, which obviously agrees with the author’s fact that He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure. His every thought is allied with power, and all difficulties are bravely met and wisely overcome. His purposes are seasonably planted, and they bloom and bring forth fruit, which does not fall prematurely to the ground.
(v) The place of thought in achievement. All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts. A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must become strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another. None but himself can alter his condition. The few achievements I’ve had so far are the aftermath of effort, which is the diadem of thought.
(vi) The similarity between vision and ideals. The dreamers are the saviours of the world. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, labouring humanity would perish. He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Ideas that I dream and meditate on, ends up crystallizing into my achievement.
(vii) Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. It’s presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought. I think best and straight whenever am calm and meditative.
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?
This ideas or lessons will help me in refocusing and aligning myself aright, knowing fully well that all that I achieve and all that I fail to achieve is the direct result of my thoughts. The flow and weight of my thought depicts the flow and weight of my achievement. In my daily personal life, I’ll be careful on the quality of thought I entertain on a daily basis; I’ll study my thought pattern and make a mastery of it. Hence, this will naturally create self-control, which is a strength factor and calmness which is power.
In creating a better world, I’ll emphasize or concentrate on a few hands that I’ll be able to monitor easily. This people will serve as my test case and assessment carried out on them so as to determine their suitability of influencing others. Hence, it becomes a kind of mentoring program. This method may seem slow in reality, but steady in progress chart. The world may not be changed overnight, but when I work on myself over time say over a six month period, in another six month, I mentor someone else, in a year we have two improved and enlightened breed of personality. In another year, we both graduate four improved breed of individual who have a well organized thought pattern that is channelled aright.
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) “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he”. This statement applies in every condition and circumstances of life. In literal sense, a man is what he thinks and his character is the sum total of his thoughts.
(ii) “Man is a growth by law, and not a creation by artifice, and cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things”. In essence, whatever a man sows that he shall reap either now or latter. Since, man is the master of his thought, the moulder of his character, hence he makes and shapes the his condition, environment and that culminates into his destiny.
(iii) “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. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind”. In reality, work must be done on the garden and if not done, the repercussion surfaces immediately. Hence, no place for idleness and if idle, be ready the bear the repercussion alone and never blame fate.
(iv) “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.” We make what we want of ourselves and not circumstance, because circumstance is a function of our thought and defined with respect to our passions.
(v) “Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself”. There is no game of chance with life, Man is the lord, master and determinant of his destiny.
(vi) “Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are. Their whims, fancies, and ambitions are thwarted at every step, but their inmost thoughts and desires are fed with their own food, be it foul or clean.”. In whatever way people define address us, we as individual created such definitions first.
(vii) “Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound”. The law of cause and effect is hereby illustrated. In essence, we need to own up to our responsibility because man is the causer of his circumstances.
(viii) “… that the one man fails because of his particular honesty, and that the other prospers because of his particular dishonesty …” It appears ironical but in reality it’s factual.
(ix) “A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life”. He resigns to fate and charts his course afresh.
(x) “The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it”. Since the body obeys the mind, once fear is fed in, it demoralizes the body system. The state of our heart determines the value or worth of our life.
(xi) “Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment”. Aimless thought not channelled aright leads to self-destruction. Purpose should be clearly conceive and how to achieve critically or strategically set out.
(xii) “He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure”. Doubt your doubt and feed your faith.
(xiii) “All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts”. This depicts the big plus of thought in our achievement.
(xiv) “The dreamers are the saviours of the world”. Dream, live and achieve; don’t dream and die. The quality of your dream determines the ease of your achieving.
(xv) “Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom”. Be calm, think straight and achieve; flood your mind with unnecessary and fail.
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 fully understand the message the author is passing across, so I don’t really see any portion unclear.
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 exercises are to be applied in real life situation. They are purely lesson learnt that one needs to use to access oneself and see where one fits.
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.
None really, I think they all taken care in the assessment questions.
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? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Collins Nwaokocha (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
No limits to what a man can be and achieve, as far as he sets his face like a flint and walk up to make his dream a reality. Laws are made by man and for man; wisdom demands that it shouldn’t be allowed to stand in between man and the full realization of his set goals. You can be what you want to be as far as you don’t limit yourself. Hindrances will naturally set in, but a focused man will live above limitations and at the point of his achievement, the ones slighting him before then will come celebrating praising 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.
(i) The power of meditation and assessment. There are times in a man’s live that he needs to retreat and be left alone so as to access his inputs as it relates to his output, else he continues to roll about the same point over time and nothing significant to show for it. This idea entails reviewing events of life meditatively as they occur to check up where amendments are needed so as to guarantee a secured future. In my college days, a time came I needed to objectively review my academic standing, I took time out to be alone off the bustle and hustle of life so as to allow my brain and mind converse and determine the way forward. Sincerely yours, I gathered myself and easily regained my bearing and today am happy for the positive turn out of events.
(ii) The power of thought in line with our achievement. The author expressed the fact that limitations are results of our choices and mindset; in our thought lies the energy to face life fully and define our course and also lies the weakness to sit down dejectedly and resign to fate. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends above limits and creates a niche for himself; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, he descends to unconscious self-destruction and gradually wastes away leaving no hope for generation after him. Like I cited earlier, I needed to work on myself and get my bearings fast. People around me could only see a reflection of success, but I knew I could do better, so I needed to do things in a new way so as to achieve a new and better result which is worth emulating and makes me feel fulfilled.
(iii) The powerful effect of decision on our circumstance. Decision and destiny are products of thought. Everyone makes decision – either right or wrong – but our decisions make us. If we go by standing rules, the question is what makes those rules standing? Can’t the rules be questioned? The times in which we are, are fast-moving time like the speed of light, hence man is encouraged to be a fast thinker, else he’s left behind in the scheme of things and thus becomes redundant or useless. Since man is where he is by the law of being, his decision should be tailored to his achievement and still aligned to useful standing rules. In summary, we work out our freedom ourselves and nobody does that for us. In real life, when I get stuck, I look inward first to know if my present circumstance is as a result of wrong choices and this idea has helped greatly. In summary, how far we go is determined largely by how far you are willing to go.
(iv) The place of experimentation in overcoming our limitation. In line with the afore mentioned, the place of experimenting should not be over-ruled. What I have observed in life now and in history is that individual’s experiences is coined out as laws for others to adopt as a result of their powerful position. For example, a Queen is been given free hand in the scheme of things within the province and all of a sudden she misbehaves, the after-thought is that women should be made powerless in their homes because of the queen’s offence. Some culture could take it far as to enact a law or ruling that no women should henceforth hold public offices. Thereafter, female children born in such community will be cultured to view public offices as a taboo and only meant for the men folk. In my submission here, experimentation should be adopted to overrule such edicts. Again it starts from a mind and before you say jack, you form a team of enlightened like-minds set out to liberate themselves. Over time, if the struggle then yields positive result, there and then a new rule starts out.
(v) The encouraging effect of forgiveness. There are times people who had lived before us or been in a place before us, ended up making their opinions a final and bidding say on others after them. One need not fold one’s arm and resign to fate dejectedly or adjust into a system that one knows will take one nowhere. The point is life must continue and that fast with great hopes. So the need for forgiveness sets in, because prevailing circumstances then could have led to such decisions maybe that made things work out for them then. Such situation should be faced with full determination to get all wrongs corrected and a brighter future forged. Then in my undergraduate days at the university, I was the pioneer Speaker for the legislative arm of the department’s student association. One truth is that the potency of a constitution is in it’s use and exactly our experience then wasn’t palatable. So we had to forgive the shortcomings of past constitution making team and an amendment team was constituted within the legislative house and today the labour of the hero’s past isn’t a waste.
(vi) The place of discovery in achievement. Without discovery, there is no purpose and without purpose, no achievement. The best of discovery is self-discovery. For fast track achievement, one needs to discover one’s limitation so as to move ahead. It was until Jonathan Livingston Seagull discovered that all he needed was a short wing that he started making progress in his flying skill. All he needed was to fold most of his wings and fly on just the tips alone! Simply short wings were all he needed. It takes self-discovery to detect the simplest antidote of progress; else one will overlook them assuming such to be minor details without significance. Little drops of water they say make a mighty ocean.
(vii) The power of speech. Catherine Ponders once said the “one oral utterance which boldly states how you want your life to be, is worth more than a dozen book read or lectures attended. Spoken words describing the good you want, help you to claim it and release it into your own life quickly”.
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?
This ideas or lessons will help me in refocusing and aligning myself aright, knowing fully well that all that I achieve and all that I fail to achieve is the direct result of my thoughts. Decision and destiny are products of thought and how far we go is determined largely by how far you are willing to go.
In creating a better world, the idea of mentoring is useful. This is more emphasized in the first submission.
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) “We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free!” it expresses the power of self-talk. We create or destroy by the use of our tongue.
(ii) “One school is finished, and the time has come for another to begin.” Life is a school and we move from one stage to another till we die. The exit off a stage is immediately the beginning of a new stage. We learn everyday either from personal experience or external influence. No wonder an adage said that “experience is the best teacher”.
(iii) “Keep working on love”. The place of love cannot be over-emphasized. Someone who don’t love cannot be loved. Even when he’s loved, he wouldn’t see the usefulness, because he doesn’t love. Either loved or hated, one needs to love and still in my candid submission one cannot over-love or love to a fault.
(iv) “Forgive them, and help them to understand”. Forgiveness is needed in our day to day activities, because we’ll come across people and situation that will test our endurance or even disappoint us. Hence, the need to forgive, help people who offend us and move on with live.
(iv) “…….. we are trying to overcome our limitations in order, patiently”. Our limitations vary and thus require taking care of them in order of priority. Thus, it calls for patience in course of the analysis.
(v) “No limits, Jonathan”. And in indeed, no limits. No mountain too high, but how far we go is determined largely by how far you are willing to go. Hence, we need to work on our willingness because our decision and destiny are products of thought – mind your thought.
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 fully understand the message the author was passing across, so I don’t really see any portion unclear. The book only needs patience for proper understanding.
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 exercises are purely meant for life application.
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.
None really, I think they all taken care in the assessment questions.
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? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9