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“How
to Develop Self-Confidence
In Speech and Manner” eBook Online Version
In developing the habit of positive thinking--of seeing only the best in yourself and others--of regarding yourself as capable of great things--it is well to bear in mind that our thoughts really make us what we are. What you did yesterday makes you what you are to-day, and what you do to-day determines what you will be tomorrow. Suppose you put these practical questions to yourself: Does negative thinking pay? Is it desirable for me to encourage thoughts in my mind that break down, hinder, and incapacitate me for good work? Do I want negative thoughts that inevitably bring discontent, unhappiness, and ultimate failure in their train?
Your answer will be, of course, that you do not want them. But such thoughts work insidiously, and will find an entrance into your mind if you are not extremely vigilant. The surest way to keep them out, however, is to fill the mind completely with vital positive thoughts, to think constantly of yourself as a man of unlimited possibilities, growing daily in mental and spiritual power, equipped for great things, a necessary part of God's glorious creation, and moving forward toward a triumphant and immortal destiny.
It is difficult to construct positive thoughts out of the poor stuff from which dreams are made. A man should devote himself particularly to the practical things of life. Some men learn this lesson all too late, for, as Thoreau says, '' Youth gets together the materials for a bridge to the moon, and maturity uses them to build a wood-shed."
The habit of right thinking, when firmly established, becomes a source of attraction. Good thoughts soon become great thoughts, and the mature mind attempts even the impossible. The power of a single thought at the beginning of a day can hardly be estimated. It can change despondency into hope, and fear into courage. It can nerve the arm for great and noble deeds. It can strengthen a weak and timid character into four-fourths of a man. It is possible for it to set in motion an influence that will reach the ends of the world.
The importance of right thinking is its effect upon right doing. How many disastrous mistakes are made for lack of proper thought? How many of life's failures are due to a careless and unwise selection of a business or profession? It was Sidney
Smith who said: "If we represent the occupations of life by holes in a table, some round, some square, some oblong, and persons by bits of wood of like shapes, we shall generally find that the triangular person has got into the square hole, the oblong into the triangular, while the square person has squeezed himself into the round hole."
But meditation, too, is an essential part of clear and right thinking. A writer said that there is not much real, honest thinking done in the world, but we are not inclined to agree with him. Much of the thinking is honest enough, but it is badly organized, and even more badly applied. We must learn to brood more over our thoughts, to dwell long and intently upon ideas that seem dark and obscure, to fashion patiently intricate links of truth into chains of powerful argument.
In his pursuit of right thinking the student should learn the art of definition. Thoughts fully matured in the mind are seen to be there in so many words. What do our thoughts or words really mean? The first step is to define them, and next to consider their truth. The habit of “constant and searching reflection," recommended by Gladstone, is what more than anything else produces right thinking.
"I wish to congratulate you, Mr. Webster," said a young admirer, "upon your wonderful impromptu effort to-day." "Impromptu!" exclaimed the great orator, "my young friend, I have been thinking out that speech for over six months!" “How long does it take to prepare a sermon?" some one asked Dr. John Watson. "If you mean to write the manuscript, then a day may suffice; but if you mean to think a sermon, then it may be ten years!''
It is well sometimes to think aloud, when alone, in order to bring one's thoughts out into concrete form. There is the advantage of definiteness, of getting an impression of the sound of words, and of tangibleness. Thoughts when uttered take on at the instant a life, reality, and character not possessed before. They can then better be considered, analyzed, and assigned to their proper duty or thrown upon the scrap-heap. The very act of giving expression to our thoughts illuminates and invests them with new power and significance.
An excellent way to furnish the mind with material for right thinking is to commit to memory some of the sayings of great men and to ponder them at leisure.
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