The Power of Positive Thinking

by Norman Vincent Peale

At least once in every twenty-four hours, preferably in the busiest part of the day, deliberately stop whatever you are doing for ten or fifteen minutes and practise serenity.

A prominent citizen of New York told me that his doctor suggested that he come to our clinic at the church “because,” said his physician, “you need to develop a calm philosophy of living. Your power resources are played out.”

“how can a man fifty years old, of a high-strung nature such as mine, suddenly change the habits of a lifetime and develop this so-called calm philosophy of living?”

It helps a person to become peaceful and thus to tap new resources of strength.

In attaining emotional control the daily practice of healing techniques is of first importance. Emotional control cannot be gained in any magical or easy way. You cannot develop it by merely reading a book, although that is often helpful. The only sure method is by working at it regularly, persistently, scientifically, and by developing creative faith.

suggest that you begin with such a primary procedure as simply the practice of keeping physically still.

Stand still, sit down, lie down. Certainly keep the voice down to a low pitch.

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.

“No,” he said, “I feel fine, but I am beginning to get mad, and I have learned that it is difficult to get mad lying down.”

In proportion to the rising of his tension or anger, he depressed his voice and talked in exaggerated low tones. “You cannot carry on an argument in a whisper,” he said with a grin.

A beginning step, therefore, in achieving calmness is to discipline your physical reactions.

It is, moreover, a good procedure to practise being phlegmatic or apathetic, even indifferent. To a certain extent even practise being

Make a mental list of times in your life when you have been conscious of God’s watchful care and recall how, when you were worried and anxious, He brought things out right and took care of you.

In direct proportion to your progress the power heretofore drawn off by this unhappy habit will be felt in your increased ability to meet life’s responsibilities.

merely learned the magic of believing. I discovered that if you expect the worst you will get the worst and if you expect the best you will get the best.

trained myself to think positively about everything. Along with that I try to live right.” He smiled and said: “God and I struck up a partnership. When I adopted that policy, things began to change almost at once for me. I got into the habit of expecting the best, not the worst, and that is the way my affairs have turned out lately. I guess it’s a kind of miracle, isn’t it?”

Learn to expect, not to doubt. In so doing you bring everything into the realm of possibility.

you learn to believe, then that which has seemingly been impossible moves into the area of the possible. Every

“Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing

To learn to believe is of primary importance. It is the basic factor of succeeding in any undertaking.

Perhaps you have not been doing so well in the game of life. Perhaps you stand up to bat and cannot make a hit. You strike out time and again and your batting average is lamentably low. Let me give you a suggestion. I guarantee that it will work.

Select a dozen of the strongest statements about faith, the ones that you like the best. Then memorise each one. Let these faith concepts drop into your conscious mind. Say them over and over again, especially just before going to sleep at night.

By a process of spiritual osmosis they will sink from your conscious into your subconscious mind and in time will modify and reslant your basic thought pattern.

Believe—believe—so it drives home the truth that faith moves mountains.

Things become better when you expect the best instead of the worst, for the reason that being freed from self-doubt, you can put your whole self into your endeavour, and nothing can stand in the way of the man who focuses his entire self on a problem.

Expecting the best means that you put your whole heart (i.e., the central essence of your personality) into what you want to accomplish.

whatever you are doing, give it all you’ve got. Give every bit of yourself. Hold nothing back. Life cannot deny itself to the person who gives life his all.

that most people, athletes as well as non-athletes, are “hold-outs,” that is to say, they are always keeping something in reserve. They do not invest themselves 100 percent in competition. Because of that fact they never achieve the highest of which they are capable.

Don’t be a “hold-out.” Go all out.

“Throw your heart over the bar and your body will follow.”

Fire the heart with where you want to go and what you want to be. Get it so deeply fixed in your unconscious that you will not take no for an answer, then your entire personality will follow where your heart leads.

‘Throw your heart over the bar’ means to throw your faith over your difficulty, throw your affirmation over every barrier, throw your visualization over your obstacles.

Emerson said: “Beware of what you want for you will get it.”

You took me to task because I was five minutes late for our appointment. You were really quite severe with me. Has it ever occurred to you that your attitude represents a pretty serious fault? I think a husband would have a very difficult time if you checked him up that closely all the time. In fact, you would so dominate him that, even if you did marry, your marital life would be unsatisfactory.

Love cannot live under domination.”

On the other hand, other girls came to college who were very plain, but when they returned thirty years later they were beautiful women. “What made the difference?” he asked. “The latter had the beauty of an inner spiritual life written on their faces,” and then he added: “God runs a beauty parlour.”

Not only did she experience a softening and mellowing of her inner spirit, but she properly used a great quality which she possessed, namely, the driving force to get what she wanted.

This led her to the point where she was willing to change herself so that her dreams could be realised. She had that quality of mind whereby she took herself in hand, she applied the spiritual techniques, and she had a profound and yet simple faith that what her heart told her she wanted could be obtained by the proper creative and positive procedures.

So the formula is to know what you want, test it to see if it is a right thing, change yourself in such a manner that it will naturally come to you, and always have faith. With the creative force of belief you stimulate that particular gathering t...

if you ‘throw your heart over the bar’, you can swing up to any high place to which you want to take your life and your service and your achievement. Whenever you have a bar, that is to say a barrier, in front of you, stop, close your eyes, visualise everything that is above the bar and nothing that is below it, then imaginatively ‘throw your heart’ over that bar and see yourself as being given lifting power to rise above it. Believe that you are experiencing this up thrust of force. You will be amazed at the lifting force you will receive. If in the depth of your mind you visualise the best and employ the powers of faith and energy, you will get the best.

I asked an outstanding newspaper editor, an inspiring personality: “How did you get to be the editor of this important paper?” “I wanted to be,” he replied simply. “Is that all there is to it?” I asked. “You wanted to be, and so there you are.”

There is a deep tendency,” he declared, “to become what your mind pictures, provided you hold the mental picture strongly enough and if the objective is sound.”

So expect the best at all times. Never think of the worst. Drop it out of your thought, relegate it. Let there be no thought in your mind that the worst will happen.

Cultivate faith and you will have the necessary courage and character.

power works wonders.

And how do you develop faith power? The answer is: to saturate your mind with the great words

‘Ye shall say to this mountain’. That is to say, do not address your efforts to the entire mountain range of all your difficulties, but attack one thing that may be defeating you at the moment. Be specific. Take them one by one.

If there is something you want, how do you go about getting it? In the first place, ask yourself, “Should I want

‘Lord, I’m sending this toe right back to the plant. You made that toe. I make refrigerators and I know all there is to know about a refrigerator. When we sell a refrigerator, we guarantee the customer service. If his refrigerator doesn’t work right and if our service agents can’t fix it, he brings it back to the plant and we fix it, because we know how.’ So I said: ‘Lord, you made this toe. You manufactured it, and your service agents, the doctors, don’t seem to know how to get it working right, and if you don’t mind, Lord, I would like to have it fixed up as soon as possible, because it’s bothering me.’” “How is the toe now?” I asked. “Perfect,” he replied.

Be specific. Ask God for any right thing, but, as a little child, don’t doubt. Doubt closes the power flow. Faith opens