The Power of Positive Thinking

by Norman Vincent Peale

I suggest that you begin with such a primary procedure as simply the practice of keeping physically still. Don’t pace the floor. Don’t wring your hands. Don’t pound or shout or argue or walk up and down. Don’t let yourself get worked up into a dither. In excitement one’s physical movements become accentuated. Therefore begin at the simplest place, that is by ceasing physical movement. Stand still, sit down, lie down. Certainly keep the voice down to a low pitch. In developing a calm control it is necessary to think calmness, for the body responds sensitively to the type of thoughts that pass through the mind. It is also true that the mind can be quieted by first making the body quiet. That is to say, a physical attitude can induce desired mental attitudes.