As a Man Thinketh is a 1903 essay, later published as a self-help book, by British author and New Thought philosopher James Allen. Allen was a pioneer of the New Thought movement, and As a Man Thinketh is his best-known work. It explores the importance of the power of thought in personal improvement and the pursuit of both righteousness and happiness. The title comes from the biblical passage Proverbs 23:7, which states, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.” The essay explores several themes: The Formative Power of Thought on Character and Destiny, The Importance of Vision in Making a Meaningful Life, and Self-Actualization Through Habit, Self-Discipline, and Personal Responsibility.

This guide refers to the Internet Archive PDF e-text edition.

Allen posits that people are what they think and that thoughts shape character. He compares thoughts and actions to seeds and plants. Actions grow from thoughts, even when people don’t consciously realize it. Joy and suffering are the fruits of the plants of action, as emotions stem from the thoughts that spur actions. Cause and effect impact both the mental and physical world: Via thought, people can fashion weapons to harm themselves or tools to better themselves. Allen believes that one can either use “right choice” and achieve “Divine Perfection” or “abuse” their thoughts and “descend below the level of the beast” (8-9). Either way, one is still in control of their life. By reflecting on one’s life and putting one’s energy into positive thinking to create “fruitful” outcomes, one becomes one’s “conscious master,” discovering the inner “laws of thought” via application, self-analysis, and experience (9-10). Allen emphasizes the need to dive into “the mine of [one’s] soul” to discover that one is fully in control of their life and can obtain “Understanding, Wisdom, [and] Power” (10) from their lived experiences. Allen believes that only patient practice and dedication let one pass through “the Door of the Temple of Knowledge” (10).

Comparing the mind to a garden, Allen asserts that one can carefully cultivate or neglect it, planting either useful seeds that produce useful thoughts or weeds that pollute the mind. People must weed out negative thoughts from their minds and cultivate positive thoughts to become the “master-gardener[s] of [their] souls” (11) and better understand the impact of their thoughts. People’s outer lives connect to their inner lives, and though Allen concedes that one’s circumstances do not always perfectly reflect one’s character, he believes that the external and internal worlds are linked. People’s attitudes and characters create their situations. They can learn from their experiences, as each situation offers a “spiritual lesson” and opportunity for growth. People can control their situations, and when they resolve to work on improving themselves and their thoughts, the world around them changes. Each thought that takes seed eventually blossoms into an action with consequences: “[G]ood thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts [bear] bad fruit” (13). People do not obtain what they want, but what they are, and what they are is the sum of their thoughts and actions.

Allen questions what it means to fight against circumstances and explains that people cannot change their external circumstances without addressing the cause. To improve their lives, they must first improve themselves. Allen offers three examples of his argument that people, often unconsciously, cause their own life conditions. One is a poor man who is anxious about his socioeconomic circumstances but tries to deceive his employer to gain higher wages. Allen argues that the man cannot better his financial circumstances because he engages in deceptive, negative thoughts. The second example is a rich man who has a disease resulting from gluttony. He pays money to get rid of the disease without giving up his gluttonous urges. Allen asserts that the man does not deserve and cannot gain health without addressing his overconsumption. The last example is an employer who cheats his employees out of their deserved wages to increase profits. Allen states that the man will inevitably lose his money and reputation because of his negative thoughts and actions.

Allen complicates his argument by asserting that forces outside people’s control impact their lives and that people are multifaceted. People are seldom entirely good or entirely bad and therefore obtain good and bad outcomes from their mixture of good and bad thoughts. People often mistakenly think that virtue may lead to suffering, but Allen states that only good thoughts and actions can produce good results, while only bad thoughts and actions can produce bad results. Suffering, stemming from wrong thoughts or actions, exists to purify people of their ills, therefore ceasing when people become pure.

Allen distinguishes between wealth and happiness, arguing that joy and affluence don’t always align. Indigence, or extreme poverty, and indulgence, or extreme wealth, are “two extremes of wretchedness” (21), as neither is natural to humankind. One can elevate oneself only when one searches for the “hidden justice which regulates [their] life” (21) and understands that they, not others, cause their life’s outcomes. People must use good and virtuous thoughts to elevate themselves and their lives. Allen believes that law is “the dominating principle in the universe” and that justice is the “soul and substance of life,” so people must “right” themselves to find out that the world around them is also “right” (22).

The proof of Allen’s argument exists in every person: Bad thoughts create bad habits, leading to detrimental circumstances (e.g., a person thinks lazy thoughts, develops unhygienic habits, and experiences negative consequences); in contrast, good thoughts crystallize into positive habits and lead to beneficial outcomes. One cannot choose their circumstances, but can choose their thoughts, shaping their life’s outcome. Allen encourages readers to stop negative thoughts and watch how the world embraces them anew.

Allen asserts that the “body is the servant of the mind” (26). Bad thoughts lead to an unhealthy body, and good thoughts lead to a healthier body. Allen believes that disease and health, like circumstances, stem from thought. Fearful thoughts can kill people, and anxiety harms the whole body, making it more susceptible to disease. In contrast, strong and happy thoughts improve bodily health, as the body is an instrument that responds to thoughts, both positive and negative. Impure thoughts lead to impure habits, which corrupt the body, while clean thoughts lead to clean habits and bodily health. To protect their bodies, people must protect their minds from negative thoughts, which can lead to wrinkly, sour faces. Allen recalls a 96-year-old woman with a “bright, innocent face” (28) that resulted from her positive thoughts, versus a young man who looked middle-aged because of his negative thoughts. Allen contends that some wrinkles stem from positive emotions, but those who live virtuously age with serenity and calmness. Positive thoughts bring peace and health.

Thought must link to purpose, as aimlessness leads to “catastrophe and destruction” (30). Those who live without purpose can experience fear, trouble, self-pity, and negative thoughts that inadvertently lead to bad habits and outcomes. Allen believes that people should hold a positive purpose in their hearts and set out to accomplish it, centering it within their thoughts and avoiding pitfalls and distractions along the way. Even if they fail to accomplish their purpose, the journey will help them gain “strength of character” (31). Allen asserts that those who are not ready to take up a “great purpose” should gather their thoughts and focus on daily positive tasks to train and strengthen themselves mentally. Once a person finds their purpose, they must pursue it, avoiding fear and distractions, as doubt and fear are “the great enemies of knowledge” (32-33). Conquering doubt and fear, Allen posits, means conquering failure. People who know they’re ready for a great purpose and pursue it become “conscious and intelligent wielder[s] of [their] mental powers” (33).

Allen believes that one’s thoughts dictate all one achieves or fails to achieve. He offers the example of slavery, noting that most people consider oppressors who enslave people worthy of hatred, while some blame the enslaved people for their fate. Allen instead argues that oppressor and enslaved person are “co-operates in ignorance” (35) that harm themselves. One who conquers weakness and rejects selfishness is neither an oppressor nor oppressed, but is instead free. A person can achieve this only by having positive, virtuous, and elevated thoughts, sacrificing selfishness for righteousness. Allen evaluates various types of achievement. Intellectual achievements come from thought dedicated to knowledge or truth, while spiritual achievements come from noble or holy thoughts. All kinds of achievement, Allen argues, stem from effort, thought, and self-control, but achievements are meaningless without virtuous, “directed thought.” Accomplishments demand sacrifice, and those who sacrifice greatly achieve great things.

Allen considers “dreamers […] the saviours of the world” (39). He posits that artists, like composers, sculptors, painters, poets, prophets, and sages, are “the architects of heaven” (39) because those who dream and hold an ideal in their hearts can realize their visions and create great beauty in the world. Allen encourages readers to cherish their visions, ideals, and the beauty in their minds because dreams can become reality: “Vision is the promise of what [a person] shall one day be,” while “Ideal is the prophecy of what [a person] shall at last unveil” (40). He offers a hypothetical example: A young man in poverty, dreaming of knowledge and refinement, mentally constructs an idealized version of his life until his mind exceeds the circumstances of his life, and life catches up to match his external life to his internal life. He achieves his “Vision” and becomes one with his “Ideal.” Allen assures readers that they will realize the vision of their hearts, whether good or bad. He dismisses luck, noting that achievement and gifts result from effort, not chance. The vision that a person holds and the ideal they strive toward will guide their life and be what they inevitably become.

Wisdom and the patience of self-control generate calmness. Allen asserts that people can become calm by understanding themselves and others as “thought evolved being[s]” (45) and recognizing cause and effect in the world around them. Calm individuals can, in turn, adapt to others, and the calmer one is, the more success, influence, and power for good they gain. Strong people encounter love and respect from others, and Allen argues that serenity is “the last lesson of culture, the fruitage of the soul” (46), and an asset more valuable than gold. Many let emotions and stress run their lives, but those who control their thoughts maintain serenity. Allen encourages people to strive for self-control, “Right Thought,” and calmness because controlling their thoughts will help them obtain their ideal.