“As A Man Thinketh” was written by James Allen a British writer and published in 1903. Allen was known for his inspirational work and is regarded as one of the pioneers of the personal development and self-help movement.
Allen described his pamphlet or essay as follows:
" It shows how, in his own thought-world, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances."
“As A Man Thinketh” has been in circulation since it original publication and has been a source of inspiration to many.
The phrase "as a man thinketh" is derived from the Christian bible book of Proverbs chapter 23 verse 7.
Free PDF download: "As A Man Thinketh"
The philosophical basis of the essay is monistic, in practical terms this means that everything is of one and thoughts and matter are inseparable.
"Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass."
Inherent in this philosophical position is what is referred to as the responsibility assumption
which is a doctrine - or belief - prevalent in the world of personal development
that each individual has substantial or total responsibility for the
events and circumstances that occur in their life.
This belief states that there is a far stronger connection between a person's thoughts and the circumstances of their life than is commonly assumed.
This belief has a specialized meaning beyond the usual idea of taking responsibility for something. There are broadly two degrees of responsibility attributed to a person: either:
Partial but substantial responsibility
Which means that there is a connection between your thoughts and the actions that follow from those thoughts and the outcomes that you experience in your life.
A connection between thoughts and actions describes a correlation but not a causation.
“As A Man Thinketh” clearly supports that view.
Personally I am very comfortable with this outlook because personal and observed experience has shown this to be true time and again.
Total responsibility
This is controversial and is taught in "The Secret" and by "Abraham Hicks" and many others. This is what's known as "reverse mental causation", that is to say that your thoughts are responsible for everything - every circumstance - in your life.
This belief describes causation between thought and circumstance.
Clearly this is absurd and deeply offensive, but nevertheless these people teach this!
I have addressed this point specifically here and at length with examples and a rebuttal, and evaluated the whole of the law of attraction here in considerable depth.
I repeat here my conclusions:
As I have said, the belief of "total responsibility" with a 100% causation of events and circumstance and a person's thoughts is in my view preposterous, deluded [as totally belief based and not proven nor supported by any evidence] and to be rejected because of the damage this belief can do.
James Allen is not explicit on this point, but he does appear to veer in this direction...
“As A Man Thinketh” is a thoughtful reflection and extended meditation on the power of thought but not, in my view, to be taken too literally.
For example:
Return to: The Law Of Attraction
- What if everything we think…
LATEST ARTICLES
The Power Of Patience - Why You Need The World's Toughest Quality
Demonizing The Other and Personal Acts Of Compassion
Why You Should Embrace Anomalies - The Incredible Value Of Disconfirming Evidence
Amazing Grace - The Majesty And The Mercy of Freedom From Your Pain
The Transformative Power Of Acceptance
Inversion - The Power Of Opposite Thinking
Are You Aligned With Reality? Or Do You See What You Believe?
The Law Of Response and Outcome
Clear Thinking - Turning Ordinary Moments Into Extraordinary Results
Self Dialogue - Working With Your Many Selves
The Balanced Brain - The Ultimate Route To Personal Transformation
How To Make Better Decisions - By Avoiding The Narrative Trap
The Greatest Love - The Most Important Relationship You Will Ever Have
Everything Is Connected And Why You Don't Feel It
Who Is In Charge Of Your Brain?
How To Be A Winner On A Very Large Scale
The Metagame Approach To Life
- Being better by doing things d…Shantideva - The Way Of The Bodhisattva
Reframing History - Deconstruction And Discussion Not Destruction
Tao Te Ching - Connecting To Your True Source Of Power.
How Things Really Are - The Inbuilt Design Flaws
Intuition Or Anxiety - Are There Angels Or Devils Crawling Here?
What Is Truth - How To Tell A Partial Truth From The Whole Truth?
Duality And Life Beyond Your Thinking Mind
The Conscious Mind Is Limited - Be Aware And Be Prepared
Your Inner Map Of Reality - Here's Why You Think The Way You Do
The Failure Of Cancel Culture - Suppression Not Engagement
4 Big Reasons Why We Get Stuck In Our Attempts At Personal Change
How Do I Change And Why Is It So Hard?
The Illusion Of A Separate Self - Windows 11 With Self Awareness!