As a Man Thinketh: The Garden of the Mind

In the second chapter, Allen asks how our thoughts are connected to the circumstances of our lives.He begins with a picture that many readers never forget.

“A person’s mind is like a garden, which may be carefully looked after or allowed to run wild.Either way, something will grow there. If no useful seeds are planted, weed seeds will fall into it and keep growing.Just as a gardener pulls out weeds and grows flowers and fruit, we can pull out wrong and useless thoughts and grow good ones.In this way we discover that we are the master gardener of our own soul and the director of our life.

People do not attract what they want, but what they are.Circumstance does not make the person; it shows them who they are.Many people are anxious to improve their circumstances but unwilling to improve themselves, so they stay where they are.

Even someone whose only goal is wealth must be ready to make great personal sacrifices.Think of a poor man who wants a better home, yet avoids his work and tries to cheat his employer because his pay is low.Or think of an employer who cuts his workers’ wages to make bigger profits, and then blames bad luck when his business fails.Both are working against the very thing they want.”