As A Man Thinketh
31 pages • 1-hour read
James AllenAs A Man Thinketh
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Themes
The Formative Power of Thought on Character and Destiny
As a Man Thinketh centers on the idea that positive thinking leads to positive consequences in life. Allen explores various facets of this idea, arriving at the understanding that thought directly shapes people’s characters and the outcomes of their lives. In the opening lines of the text, he states, “A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts” (7). Allen uses gendered language throughout the text, consistent with other writings from the early 20th century, but the term “man” applies to any person. The idea that people shape themselves and their lives according to their thoughts is consistent with New Thought philosophies.
Allen frequently pushes back against the idea that chance or luck are significant, asserting that the quality of each person’s selfhood stems almost exclusively from the quality of their thoughts:
A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favour or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character […] is the result of the continued harbouring of grovelling thoughts (8).
Allen highlights the importance of “continued” efforts to promote positive thinking by repeating the term twice, using parallelism to illustrate that thought has far more than a fleeting impact on the formation of a person’s character and requires dedication. He positions dedication to “Godlike,” or good and virtuous, thinking as the cornerstone of thought’s power over personal development and life’s outcomes.
Allen argues that the ability of thought to influence a person’s life should be a source of joy:
Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul […] none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this—that man is the master of thought, the moulder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny (9).
Allen states that people make their own “destinies” and that this empowers people to take charge of their own lives instead of throwing up their hands and assuming that unseen forces control their circumstances. Knowledge, Allen believes, can empower people to take control of their thoughts and change the trajectories of their lives. Allen reminds readers, “Gifts, powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized” (44). By noting that the good elements of life are “thoughts completed,” Allen demonstrates that thought is the first step toward creating a better self and a better life. To change one’s destiny, therefore, one must start by changing one’s patterns of thought.
The Importance of Vision in Making a Meaningful Life
Allen explores what a meaningful life looks like throughout As a Man Thinketh. He contends that good thinking leads to good circumstances in life, but he complicates his argument by clarifying the role of purpose in the creation of positive outcomes. Thought requires direction to improve one’s life, and Allen states, “Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment” (30). People can achieve their goals only by directing their thoughts toward their purpose in life, which requires vision.
The purpose, Allen states, can be anything a person seeks to obtain, accomplish, or become, and a person must ally their thoughts with this purpose to elevate themselves: “Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force: he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations” (33). People can rise above baser urges and align themselves with their intended purpose, which they will soon accomplish if they dedicate their thoughts to it. The fulfillment of this purpose is achievement, which Allen refers to as the “diadem thought” (37), the crowning accomplishment of a purpose-driven life.
Purpose-driven relies on the concepts of Vision and an Ideal. Allen capitalizes the terms on occasion to lend them abstract significance in his argument and to highlight their importance in his philosophical theories. He addresses readers directly when discussing these ideas, writing, “Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil” (40). Allen’s lush language belies the simplicity of his statement: A person’s vision is what they seek to accomplish, and their ideal is who they will become as a result. A meaningful life requires more than a purpose; people can have many purposes throughout their lives that they accomplish and put thought into. People must decide on a vision to dedicate their lives to and, in doing so, create an idealized version of themselves to work toward.
Allen creates a clear relationship between the concepts that he deems central to living a meaningful, enlightened life. Purpose guides people toward their Vision, which leads them to their Ideal. Without vision and purpose, people falter in becoming the best versions of themselves or achieving their goals. Thought, the central focus of the text, provides a tool for achieving these positive outcomes, and positive thinking is the starting point for this process of self-improvement.
Self-Actualization Through Habit, Self-Discipline, and Personal Responsibility
Self-actualization, coined by American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), refers to a person’s reaching their full potential. Allen describes the process of achieving fulfillment of one’s potential in his exploration of purpose, vision, and ideals. He explores the importance of personal responsibility in achieving self-improvement: “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” (8). Allen highlights that people make the improvement or devolution of their own personhood via tools of their creation. People can make themselves better or worse through their patterns of thought, and a person is responsible for the outcome of their life, even “in [their] weaker and most abandoned state” (9). People must accept responsibility for their actions; otherwise, they cannot recognize the need for positive thoughts.
Once a person recognizes the need for personal responsibility over their life’s outcomes, according to Allen, they must practice positive thinking to create a pattern of good habits. He lists examples of bad thoughts that lead to bad habits before using parallel structure to demonstrate the inverse:
On the other hand, beautiful thoughts of all kinds crystallize into habits of grace and kindliness, which solidify into genial and sunny circumstances: pure thoughts crystallize into habits of temperance and self-control, which solidify into circumstances of repose and peace (23).
Allen establishes the importance of habit as a mediation between thought and circumstance. Thoughts become actions, so repeated good thoughts lead to repeated good actions, and these actions change the circumstances of a person’s life for the better.
Good habits, however, require sacrificing baser instincts: “There can be no progress, no achievement without sacrifice, and […] success will be in the measure that [one] […] fixes [the] mind on the development of [one’s] plans, and the strengthening of [one’s] resolution and self-reliance” (36). The connection between habit, sacrifice, and responsibility becomes clear in the last few sections of the text. To forge good habits, a person must sacrifice their temptation to act badly or selfishly, and to make this sacrifice requires an increase in personal responsibility. According to Allen, to be truly responsible, one must surrender selfish caprice and focus on creating good patterns of both thought and habit, a requirement in the journey toward absolute self-improvement.
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