Think, Act, Improve: Lessons from As a Man Thinketh

Every few years, I like to work my way through James Allen’s short book, As a Man Thinketh. This time, I listened to it as an audiobook.

Each time I work through this classic, I come away with lots of thoughts and feelings.

Our Thoughts are Powerful

The first takeaway is that Allen argues, and I agree, that our thoughts affect many aspects of our lives.

Specifically, he believed that thoughts often shape our character. Put another way, what we repeatedly think about gradually becomes our attitudes, habits, and behaviors.

With that said, Allen wasn’t a proponent of “believe it, and you can achieve it.” And, for what it’s worth, I’m not either.

Instead, he taught that wanting or desiring a different outcome isn’t enough. This desire must be accompanied by disciplined thought and action. This sounds a lot like what we lean thinkers practice every day!

Vision Before Creation

Allen also would have loved value stream mapping since he taught that vision comes before creation. Specifically, Allen taught that we must form a clear picture of what we want to accomplish (or become) before working toward it.

This likely sounds like common sense to experienced lean thinkers…but, if I’m being open and honest, I can’t tell you how many times I still emotionally jump to conclusions.

Calmness is Strength

Lastly, while the book has many other lessons, the one that spoke loudest to me this time is that calmness is a form of strength. The older I get, the more I realize the way I respond to a situation, especially a less-than-ideal situation, is more than half the battle.

If I can calm my mind and stay in total control of my thoughts, words, and actions, I’m in a much better position to work through it. But if I allow the intensity of the moment to overwhelm my ability to think clearly, my ability to problem-solve is severely limited.

Self-Control is Strength

To wrap things up, I’d like to close with James Allen’s own words: “Self-control is strength; right thought is mastery; calmness is power.”

I’ll be working on that last part for the rest of my life. How about you?

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