The Seven Day Mental Diet

by Emmet Fox, Johannes Malan (Illustrator)

We often hear off people going on a diet in order to loose weight. The Seven Day Mental Diet proposes a totally different kind of diet - a mental diet. Our thoughts influence our lives in profound ways and with them we can create either heaven or hell on earth for ourselves. Most of us are not even fully aware of the kind of thoughts that run through our minds on a regular basis. The Seven Day Mental Diet propose a new discipline to become very aware of what the content of our mental processes are and how to learn to manage it.

This book written in 1935 (and now revisited) was hailed by the world-famous life coach Anthony Robbins as one of the books that had a profound impact on his life.

It first argues for the importance of taking on the challenge of a Seven Day Mental Diet and then it explains in detail how to take the diet. In this "revisited" version we have added a visual summary of the whole book for you as well as a handy summary of the rules of the Seven Day Mental Diet to keep with you as a reminder while you are on the diet.

This little book can change you life, because it will for help you to for maybe the very first time in your life see into the nature of your thoughts.

Genres: Self Help, Spirituality, Psychology, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Philosophy, Personal Growth

46 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1935

About the author

Emmet Fox was a New Thought spiritual leader of the early 20th century, famous for his large Divine Science church services held in New York City during the Depression.

Reviews

[Hideo Kuze · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this pamphlet, Emmet Fox’s challenge to the reader is to immediately deflect every single negative thought that enters one’s consciousness, for seven days continuously. After several attempts, I actually managed to achieve this feat; if you would like to read about my experiences, here is the link.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-comp...

The review below pertains to the text itself, not the results I experienced.

It’s important to remember that this slim tome was published prior to the second world war. So I for one found it fascinating that so much of what the author says, and so many examples he draws on from his time, can be very easily transposed to the situations in which we might find ourselves today.

He does make >one< assertion which has become rather obsolete, but on the whole, this publication shows how consistent human nature tends to remain, even though we live in an age of incomparably greater technical advancement.

A key selling point is the idea that, “If you change your mind, your conditions must change, too … This does not simply mean that you will be able to face your present difficulties in a better spirit; it means that the difficulties will go.” Depending on your position regarding New Thought, you will find this angle either exciting or tedious.

One way or another, any reasonable person could surely appreciate how beneficial it must be to develop a habit of choosing never to harbour unresourceful thoughts. And this is a great path of encouragement to such a habit. The text is dynamically written, and motivation does leap out at the reader from its pages. It’s clear to see why Mr Fox was so successful in his day; he really knows how to evoke a sense of burning ambition.

In my opinion, this little publication is definitely worth a read -- and even better, worth a try.

[Shhhhh Ahhhhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very brief book but no shorter than it needed to be. I was skeptical at the first mentioning of god but I found that I resonated strongly with the content of the book. It struck me as the practical meeting place of The Untethered Soul and The Obstacle is the Way, by way of mindfulness meditation (not by name). The central idea of this book is to spend a week consciously attempting to let negative thoughts go as they come up, without dwelling on them, in order to foster the habit of thinking positively. That's it. That's the whole idea. Simple idea and a book that didn't spend 200 pages shoving it down my throat and repeating itself. Good.

"you must be quite clear that what this scheme calls for is that you shall not entertain, or dwell upon negative things. Note this carefully. It is not the thoughts that come to you that matter, but only such of them as you choose to entertain and dwell upon. It does not matter what thoughts may come to you provided you do not entertain them. It is the entertaining or dwelling upon them that matters. Of course, many negative thoughts ‘will come to you all day long. Some of them will just drift into your mind of their own accord seemingly, and these come to you out of the race mind. Other negative thoughts will be given to you by other people, either in conversation or by their conduct, or you will hear disagreeable news perhaps by letter or telephone, or you will see crimes and disasters announced in the newspaper headings. These things, however, do not matter as long as you do not entertain them. In fact, it is these very things that provide the discipline that is going to transform you during this epoch-making week."

[Shraddha Dahal · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Thought is the real causative force in life, there is no other. You cannot have one kind of mind and another kind of environment.”

The book talks mostly about not dwelling much on negative thoughts and accepting situations as it is, without letting it affect you. In other words, being mentally detached from the environment around you, no matter how negative the circumstances might be. However, I do not completely agree with everything that’s mentioned here. For instance, it talks about how if you come home and are greeted with a negative conversation, you should not be “preaching your sermon, but you should also not be accepting the negativity” that other people have established . No matter how good it sounds, I don’t find it practical enough to apply things like this in real life. As humans, we thrive on social interactions. The environment around us has a potential to influence our behaviour and mood to some extent, no matter how hard we try to avoid it. There are a lot of good ideas to be taken from the book as well, such as detoxing the mindset, not entertaining any negative thoughts and refocusing our mind into something positive and worthwhile. But the book in general is a little too quixotic for my taste.

[Nerea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corto , hubiera agradecido mas ejercicios o modelos a seguir.

[Seemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short yet powerful mental game changer - it isn’t easy if you genuinely and whole heartily do it - not letting your mind entertain, react of dwell on any negative thought - it really shows what that can mean and impacts your life - I think mindfulness/meditation is something that would help towards mastering this long term - but certainly actually seeing your own results will motivate you to implement it daily beyond the 7 days - I think that’s the beauty about this short book - you gotta do it only 7 days - not less and not more - the gift it leaves you with is not that you won’t experience negativity again or be impacted by it - but a reminder about how choosing to control your state can impact your life in so many ways...

To Our Continued Success!
Seemy
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[Edwin S. Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regaining Renewing and Affirming

This book is about regaining a positive personality. Finding joy in life becomes difficult as we grow older and cynical. This is a book for those who have lost joy in life and seek to regain it. I am working on a book and see how these principles can help anyone. It is a must read for the reborn Christian to learn how to renew their mind as they begin reading the bible. This may take the concept a bit too far, as many people hate too positive a person. The practices in this book shows everyone how to cope with life in general.

[Mary Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book, more like a pamphlet, about thoughts and attitudes, and how to make them positive. Dr. Emmet Fox brings wisdom that shines through time, and very quickly tells you how to make a habit of positive thoughts. This is all good for everyone! If only everyone would embrace it.

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short with a powerful challenge. A must read for those who recognize the power of thought and how hard it is to restructure our thinking.

[Lupita Figueroa BookLoverRomantic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corto y poderoso.

[Fairy Biba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tiny book, huge teaching. Keep positive

[Cinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good message, nothing new

The message is your regular "change your perspective, change your life" that all counseling/psychology, specifically CBT based books dwell on. The writing is awful. But I like the idea of trying the "diet" for a week and to dispel all negative thoughts from consuming us. I think we all allow this to happen from time to time but I'm curious to see if I could go a whole week without this happening one time. I do think my opinion might be slightly biased bc I have a degree in counseling so this isn't fresh info for me. I think this would be useful for people a little less familiar who may need to change some of their thought patterns. What I really disliked was the part where it says some things are unavoidable such as seeing an accident or injustice and it shouldn't be taken at face value. To me, that's almost like saying to pretend not to see reality or face the truth.

[Azheen Nazhad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this little book to everyone who's struggling with being positive and optimistic.

It's been quite a long time now since I have been stuck in the victim mindset and my negativity. I've been reading information here in there yearning to find something that sparks that positivity and peace of mind back to me. I wanted to get into the head of someone positive just so i know how they're perceiving life and maybe just maybe i could do so as well...
it wasn't until i found this book that I understood that being positive doesn't mean you won't have negative thoughts. this little book is very brief yet long enough for you to understand that you are human, you have both negative and positive thoughts and its up to you to decide which one of them you entertain and dwell upon. it doesn't mean you ignore the negative thoughts to be positive, it means you just have to acknowledge their existence and focus on something else, something that relaxes your mind a bit. and you should remember that this is an on going practice and self discipline you have to do whenever you need to.

I loved this book. I've been on day 4 now and the results so far are amazing ..
i'll give it five stars!

[Klidneklara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was recommended this method by a health coach and wasn’t sure I understood his instructions well so I got this book and well. It has like 15 pages size A6 and still is one of the most beneficial techniques I have practiced. I hoped it could help me with ankylosing spondylitis symptoms and it helped in so many other areas of my life than only my health. It’s pretty energy demanding exercise that requires quite a dedication and patience since doing 7 days of positive thoughts after thinking my self-doubting, criticizing etc thoughts is a significant change. Give it a try, it costs more energy and dedication than money and is worth all the effort. I keep this in my library as a gentle reminder that this exercise never ends:-) it’s become rather a lifestyle to me.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very short book but still very powerful.

In this book Mr. Fox suggests that while you have negative thoughts we spend to far to much time entertaining those thoughts which then translate into actions. So people who constantly think about how they cannot get ahead results in you staying right where you are. While it takes practice to control your thoughts you can stop them from bleeding over and causing you to spend extra energy everyday on what you cannot do or cannot have. Instead turn those negative thoughts around and spend your time on positive thoughts and improve your situation.

[Jordan Bickimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an old, freely available pamphlet intersperced with edits and product placement for someone's life coaching service, essentially. A little irritating trying to parse out the good from the bad here. But the original material is solid!

[Athira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for people looking for a quick read. Nevertheless, the topic discussed in the book is not very trivial.

Often, people who read self-help books can get caught up in just reading the books and not entering into the practical arena. This book is pretty amazing in that aspect as it makes sure that the readers don’t just get caught up in the reading part but are actually encouraged to try out the technique discussed in the book.

A mental diet for 7 days where you don’t entertain “negative” thoughts and purely focus your attention on the positive ones.

This book has clearly conveyed the concept in as little words as possible, thus encouraging the readers to put it into practice, rather than sit idle.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick little self help type book to train yourself to stop thinking negatively. He suggests that if you think only good and productive thoughts for 7 straight days you can break yourself of the bad habit of thinking negatively. If you accidentally think of something negative you must start over completely. Skip a few days and start the "diet" over. This book reminds me of the Bible verse Phillipians 4:8 " Finally brethren, whatsoever things that are true, whatsoever things that are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

[Cheryl's Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Key is to cultivate a good disposition and make your life happy and worthwhile.
Try the 7 day mental diet - devote one week solely to the task of building a new habit of thought and during that week let everything in life be unimportant as compared with that.
Don't allow yourself to dwell for a single moment on any kind of negative thought. Stay positive, constructive, optimistic and kind. When a negative thought floats into your mind, immediately turn it out and think of something else. Don't let anything said or done by anyone else throw you off the diet - only your own reaction to the other person's conduct can do that.

[Khalid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very brief and no longer than it needed to be. This guidebook is essentially an instruction manual on what to do when applying the 'mental diet' or otherwise what I like to think, the things we pick up on from all the self-help books we read.

It's a book on how to cleanse yourself but also what to do and expect when you begin your journey. The most important thing to takeaway is that you should not tell people what you're going through when you embark on this journey, but only when you have achieved it!

[Nunzia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bah. Più che un libro, mi è sembrato un post di un blog, un po' più lungo. In sintesi, l'autore consiglia di fare, appunto, una dieta mentale di sette giorni, ossia di non lasciare che alcun pensiero negativo - che sia una critica, una brutta notizia, una cattiveria, qualsiasi cosa, insomma, negativa - sosti per molto tempo nella mente e di concentrarsi sulle cose positive. Non sgarrare, non imbrogliare; nel caso non ci si riesca, attendere un po' e ricominciare.
Sinceramente mi aspettavo altro e sarei proprio curiosa di conoscere qualcuno che ce l'ha fatta.

[Bookish Butterfly ✨️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly the shortest book I've ever read. It was recommended to me today to help me overcome some mental blocks I'm facing. I can see how this 7 day mental diet could be very helpful. This book doesn't go very far in depth, it simply tells you what to and then your job is to do it. I look forward to the challenge and will try to remember to report back once I've done it. I give it 4⭐️ not because the writing is anything special, but because I see the great potential this book has on positively improving someone's life if they choose to follow the 7 day mental diet.

[Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing I love about his book is that Dr. Fox does not sugarcoat how hard this is to do. It is very challenging to complete. I hangout most of my life with a lot of spiritual folks and went on this journey with them. Few of us were able to finish it. I made it to four days my last time around and gave it up. But I learned so much about myself that I was never sorry I did it. The discipline itself alone was good for me.

[Charles Francis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Avoid to Middleman’s rendering of Fox.

This is not truly a Emmett Fox write up, it is this authors poor attempt to summarize the good work done by Fox all the while hawking is on product and website. If you truly want the reading Fox, get the book pamphlet and not go through this third person.

[Justin Behymer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Great information!

Must read if your looking for help for a strong start in changing your life! I did not check any of the external links so I can't comment on them.

[Keerthi Krishna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice book i learned alot after reading this and applying this will be more helpful for me

Learned alot
Behavioural change
Steady growth
Calm down
The one week mental diet definitely change me alot . I feel great after reading this

[Sabrina Norman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do NOT READ THIS VERSION!

Get the unabridged version. This version is the co-author trying to sell her ecourse on every page! The text is not the original. So much is missing, especially the ESSENCE of Emmit Fox

[sergio villalba · Rating 5 out of 5]

La Gran Dieta

Realmente aquí está la base para la solución a cualquier problema. Con mente abierta y analítica esta enseñanza es aplicable a cualquier situación en la vida. A cualquiera, solo es de analizar bien la información y aplicarla. Excelente!

[Preeti Nayak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this short book in one-go while travelling. The thoughts and ideas suggested in this book were somewhat the ones suggested in "Don't believe everything you think by Joseph Nguyen". It's about regaining a positive personality.

[Raúl Bonilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro muy corto que puedo resumir en dar un cambio a tu mentalidad adoptando una postura estoica. Creo que puede servir para personas que conscientemente quieren hacer un cambio en su vida, pero no es para personas deprimidas, ni tampoco ofrece algo milagroso.

[Disha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I learned:
- The diet is to avoid negative thoughts
- First catch negative thoughts and then replace with positive thoughts - affirmations, gratitude, or focusing on solutions rather than problems