Seven Ways to Cultivate a Mental Attitude That Will Bring You Peaceand Happiness
Chapter 42
Eight Words That Can Transform Your Life
A Few years ago， I was asked to answer this question on aradio programme： “What is the biggest lesson you have everlearned?”
That was easy： by far the most vital lesson I have ever learnedis the importance of what we think. If I knew what you think， Iwould know what you are. Our thoughts make us what we are.
Our mental attitude is the X factor that determines our fate.
Emerson said： “A man is what he thinks about all day long.”…
How could he possibly be anything else?
I now know with a conviction beyond all doubt that the biggestproblem you and I have to deal with—in fact， almost the onlyproblem we have to deal with—is choosing the right thoughts. If wecan do that， we will be on the highroad to solving all our problems.
The great philosopher who ruled the Roman Empire， MarcusAurelius， summed it up in eight words—eight words that candetermine your destiny： “Our life is what our thoughts make it.”
Yes， if we think happy thoughts， we will be happy. If wethink miserable thoughts， we will be miserable. If we think fearthoughts， we will be fearful. If we think sickly thoughts， we willprobably be ill. If we think failure， we will certainly fail. If wewallow in self-pity， everyone will want to shun us and avoid us.
“You are not，” said Norman Vincent Peale， “you are not what youthink you are; but what you think， you are.”
Am I advocating an habitual Pollyanna attitude toward all ourproblems? No， unfortunately， life isn’t so simple as all that. But I am advocating that we assume a positive attitude instead of anegative attitude. In other words， we need to be concerned aboutour problems， but not worried. What is the difference betweenconcern and worry? Let me illustrate. Every time I cross thetraffic-jammed streets of New York， I am concerned about whatI am doing—but not worried. Concern means realising what theproblems are and calmly taking steps to meet them. Worryingmeans going around in maddening， futile circles.
A man can be concerned about his serious problems and stillwalk with his chin up and a carnation in his buttonhole. I haveseen Lowell Thomas do just that. I once had the privilege of beingassociated with Lowell Thomas in presenting his famous filmson the Allenby-Lawrence campaigns in World War I. He and hisassistants had photographed the war on half a dozen fronts; and，best of all， had brought back a pictorial record of T. E. Lawrenceand his colourful Arabian army， and a film record of Allenby’sconquest of the Holy Land. His illustrated talks entitled “WithAllenby in Palestine and Lawrence in Arabia” were a sensationin London—and around the world. The London opera season waspostponed for six weeks so that he could continue telling his taleof high adventure and showing his pictures at Covent GardenRoyal Opera House. After his sensational success in London camea triumphant tour of many countries. Then he spent two yearspreparing a film record of life in India and Afghanistan. After alot of incredibly bad luck， the impossible happened： he foundhimself broke in London. I was with him at the time.
I remember we had to eat cheap meals at cheap restaurants.
We couldn’t have eaten even there if we had not borrowed moneyfrom a Scotsman—James McBey， the renowned artist.
Here is the point of the story： even when Lowell Thomas wasfacing huge debts and severe disappointments， he was concerned，but not worried. He knew that if he let his reverses get him down，he would be worthless to everyone， including his creditors. Soeach morning before he started out， he bought a flower， put it inhis buttonhole， and went swinging down Oxford Street with hishead high and his step spirited. He thought positive， courageousthoughts and refused to let defeat defeat him. To him， beinglicked was all part of the game—the useful training you had toexpect if you wanted to get to the top.
Our mental attitude has an almost unbelievable effect evenon our physical powers. The famous British psychiatrist， J. A.
Hadfield， gives a striking illustration of that fact in his splendidbook， The Psychology of Power. “I asked three men，” he writes， “tosubmit themselves to test the effect of mental suggestion on theirstrength， which was measured by gripping a dynamometer.” Hetold them to grip the dynamometer with all their might. He hadthem do this under three different sets of conditions.
When he tested them under normal waking conditions， theiraverage grip was 101 pounds.
When he tested them after he had hypnotised them and toldthem that they were very weak， they could grip only 29 pounds—
less than a third of their normal strength. （One of these men wasa prize fighter; and when he was told under hypnosis that he wasweak， he remarked that his arm felt “tiny， just like a baby’s”。）
When Captain Hadfield then tested these men a third time，telling them under hypnosis that they were very strong， they wereable to grip an average of 142 pounds. When their minds werefilled with positive thoughts of strength， they increased theiractual physical powers almost five hundred per cent.
Such is the incredible power of our mental attitude.
To illustrate the magic power of thought， let me tell you oneof the most astounding stories in the annals of America. I could write a book about it; but let’s be brief. On a frosty October night，shortly after the close of the Civil War， a homeless， destitutewoman， who was little more than a wanderer on the face of theearth， knocked at the door of “Mother” Webster， the wife of aretired sea captain， living in Amesbury， Massachusetts.
Opening the door， “Mother” Webster saw a frail little creature，“scarcely more than a hundred pounds of frightened skin andbones”。 The stranger， a Mrs. Glover， explained she was seeking ahome where she could think and work out a great problem thatabsorbed her day and night.
