As a Man Thinketh

Key takeaways

• Your character is the sum of your habitual thoughts, so choose them on purpose
• Circumstances tend to reveal who you are, not just shape you
• An untended mind fills with weeds, so tend it like a garden every day
• Chronic worry and resentment wear down the body as well as the mood
• A single clear purpose gathers scattered thought into real achievement

Inside this bit

1. You become what you think

   Picture a man who complains that life has been unfair to him. His job is dull, his friends let him down, his luck is poor.

2. Your mind is a garden

   Allen's central image is a garden. If you plant nothing, weeds arrive on their own.

3. Circumstances grow from character

   Here is the part people argue with. Allen says your circumstances do not shape you as much as reveal you.

4. Thoughts show up in the body

   Allen goes further and links thinking to health. Fear, envy and chronic worry, he says, wear the body down, while calm, cheerful and purposeful thought supports it.

5. Purpose gives thought a spine

   A drifting mind is easy prey for worry, so Allen insists on a central purpose. Pick one aim, large or small, and make it the point your thoughts return to.

6. Put it to work

   Start by listening to your own inner talk for one day and writing down the sentences that repeat. You will be surprised how few there are and how often they run.