As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

As a Man Thinketh is a short, excellent book that everyone should read; I've started listening to it every chance I get. But the most important part of the book for me is this passage:

"A man may be honest in certain directions, yet suffer privations; a man may be dishonest in certain directions, yet acquire wealth; but the conclusion usually formed that the one man fails because of his particular honesty, and that the other prospers because of his particular dishonesty, is the result of a superficial judgment, which assumes that the dishonest man is almost totally corrupt, and the honest man almost entirely virtuous. In the light of a deeper knowledge and wider experience such judgment is found to be erroneous. The dishonest man may have some admirable virtues, which the other does not possess; and the honest man obnoxious vices which are absent in the other. The honest man reaps the good results of his honest thoughts and acts; he also brings upon himself the sufferings, which his vices produce. The dishonest man likewise garners his own suffering and happiness."

I tend to judge people based on a few interactions. It is a lot easier to put them in buckets such as "good," "bad," or "evil." But everyone is a complex being. Everyone has good qualities and bad qualities within them.

Because of this, there is no reason to get worked up about other people at all. Don't get upset that some "evil" people are more successful; they might have other redeeming qualities that you don't know about, or qualities that the particular world values.

How I Plan My Life

Based on this realization, here is how I plan to approach my life moving forward:

• Positive thinking: Maintaining a focus on good thoughts.
• Stop judging others: Don't even think about other people or judge them—they just don't matter. Just focus on improving yourself to cultivate good thoughts. People will notice, and you will naturally attract good people if you have a good mindset.
• Play to your strengths: Understand that everyone is a mixture of good and bad, including yourself. Having good thoughts might help eradicate the bad parts, but I am not entirely sure if that is completely possible. So, go to where your good parts are valued significantly better and your bad parts (weaknesses) can do minimal damage.

Footnote: This post was generated by Antigravity based on my obsidian note.