The Power of positive Thinking

"Faith is the one power against which fear cannot stand. Day by day,
as you fill your mind with faith, there will ultimately be no room left for
fear. This is the one great fact that no one should forget. Master faith
and you will automatically master fear."
"There was a time when I acquiesced in the silly idea that there is no
relationship between faith and prosperity; that when one talked about
religion he should never relate it to achievement, that it dealt only
with ethics and morals and social values. But now I realize that such a
viewpoint limits the power of God and the development of the individual.
Religion teaches that there is a tremendous power in the universe
and that this power can dwell in personality. It is a power that can
blast out all defeat and lift a person above all difficult situations."

If it were not for Peale's wife's persistence, this book—which is one of
the all-time bestselling self-help titles and made him a founder of the
human potential movement—might never have been published. He
was in his 50s when he wrote it and had received nothing but a stack
of rejection slips. Dejected, he threw the manuscript into the wastebasket
and forbade his wife to remove it. She took him literally, next
day presenting the manuscript, inside the wastebasket, to what became
the successful publisher.
The book has sold around 20 million copies in 42 languages. Along
with How to Win Friends and Influence People it was one of the original
twentieth-century self-help classics.
The perception
If likened to a television character, Peale's book might be Ned Flanders
from The Simpsons, the Christian dad always ready with a cheery word
for his neighbor Homer Simpson. Through Homer we see the world as
it "really" is, through Ned Flanders the world as the do-gooders perceive
it. The book has become linked with a Pollyanna-ish attitude to
the world that sees no evil and hears no evil, and believes that a happy
smile can melt all obstacles. "Every day, in every way, I am getting better
and better" is Emile Coué's famous positive thinking mantra, which
to most ears is superficial and even idiotic.
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey criticizes
positive thinking by saying that before we can justifiably take on a positive
frame of mind, we first have to accept that things are not OK, and
then take responsibility. Otherwise we are fudging reality.
The reality
However, when we open up Peale's book, we read:
"The book is written with deep concern for the pain, difficulty and
struggle of human existence."
He went on to say:
"It teaches positive thinking, not as a means to fame, riches or power,
but as the practical application of faith to overcome defeat and
accomplish worthwhile creative values in life."
These are not the ideas of someone with an unrealistic take on life.
Peale saw plenty of human misery in his daily life as a minister in New
York City, but he was not content to provide a weekly sermon; he
wanted measurable change in the life of the people he met. Over many
years, he created a "simple yet scientific system of practical techniques
for successful living that works," tested and refined among thousands
of people within and outside his ministry. And like Carnegie with How
to Win Friends and Influence People, Peale ran the ideas as an adult
course long before they were distilled into book form.
The source of positive thinking
For Peale there was no greater source of personal power or guidance
than the Bible. Biblical quotes are the mainstay of the book (supplemented
by the likes of Emerson, William James, and Marcus Aurelius)
and perhaps because it is based on this timeless wisdom, Peale's classic
has amazing power. When statements such as the following are highlighted
for us, it is difficult to argue with Peale's conviction:
"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
"If thou can believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."
(Mark 9:23)
"According to your faith, be it unto you." (Matthew 9:29)
Peale's theme was that we don't have to depend on ourselves; there are
incredible sources of power open to us if we only believe in their existence.
We make life hard, but an appreciation of the universe's ability
to make good and to provide would lead us to see life as flowing and
abundant. Life seems difficult because we only believe in ourselves. He
expressed the great secret of self-help that, in order to gain personal power and peace, we have to be willing to go beyond the merely personal
to something greater than ourselves.
The book proceeds by cases and stories, some of them incredibly
touching. Filled with the struggle of humanity, its aim is to show that
defeat is not permanent. Some of the chapters, with examples of their
content, are described below.
"How to have constant energy"
Peale revealed the secret source of energy of every great person he had
known: attunement with the infinite. The knowledge that what one is
doing is supported outside oneself and is serving a divine end provides
a constantly renewable source of energy. Working only by oneself and
for oneself leads to burnout.
"Try prayer power"
Prayer is different to what you may have thought. It is a space to say
whatever is on your mind, in whatever language you choose. Instead of
asking for things, give thanks in advance for what you desire, leave it
in God's hands, and visualize the good outcome. The Peale formula is
"Prayerize, Picturize, Actualize." Be surprised at its effectiveness.
"Expect the best and get it"
Fearful creatures that we are, we tend to expect the worst. But an
expectation of the best has a way of organizing forces in your favor.
You are less likely to keep anything in reserve. The subconscious,
which regulates many of our actions, merely reflects your beliefs. Alter
the belief about an outcome and your actions will seem to be shaped in
order to achieve it. Peale's phrase is: "Doubt closes the power flow.
Faith opens it."
"New thoughts can remake you"
Use only positive and hopeful language for a 24-hour period. Then go
back to being "realistic" the next day. Repeat this over a week and you
find that what you considered realistic a week ago now seems pessimistic.
In golfing terms, discover that "the rough is only mental." Your new understanding of what is realistic moves up to a higher, permanently
positive level.
Final comments
To really appreciate The Power of Positive Thinking you have to understand
its background. Peale came from plain Mid-Western stock, and
he believed he was writing, in his words, "for the plain people of this
world." Most readers will find it quaint or amusing because the
language conjures up simple church-going folk in the 1950s. It might
be old-fashioned, but only a cynic would find it redundant—the book's
principles are easily moved from its original time and place and applied
to your life, as you would expect of a classic. It is refreshing because
there are no gimmicky techniques; expect to find only a bag of wellworn
tools for chiseling away cynicism and hopelessness.
Although the book contains things like a "prayer for salesmen," it is
something more than a hotchpotch of Christian and capitalist morals.
Consistent with most of the self-help classics, it says that the highest
morality is fulfillment of potential; to "give up" is to deny yourself all
the spiritual and material rewards that are rightfully yours.
If you are feeling down, there is an unassailable logic to Peale's book
that can forcefully restore life again and again, clearing all doubt from
the mind.