Chapter 17 Attitude determines your quality of life

I was on a radio show a few years ago and they wanted to find out, "What's the most important lesson you've ever learned?" This question is very simple for me, and the most important lesson I have learned is "the importance of thinking".You can tell what kind of person you are just by knowing what you think in your heart, because every person's character traits are formed by his thoughts.Our fate also depends entirely on our state of mind.Emerson once said: "A man is what he imagines all day long... how can he be otherwise?" I can now say with certainty that the biggest problem you and I have to face is how to choose the right thought—in fact, it is almost the only problem we have to deal with—and if we can do this, we can Solve everything.Marcus Arylius, the great philosopher who once ruled the Roman Empire, summed it all up in one sentence—one that can determine your destiny: "Life is formed by thoughts."

Yes, if all we think about are happy things, then we can be happy; if all we think about are sad things, then we will be sad; fear; if we think bad thoughts, we may not be at peace; if all we think is failure, we will fail; if we wallow in self-pity, others will. Intentionally avoid us. "You're not," said Norman Winson Peale, "you're not what you think you are, and you'll be what you think you are." By saying this, am I implying that we should all face all difficulties with habitual optimism?Of course not.Unfortunately, life is not as simple as this, but I encourage everyone to try to be positive rather than negative.In other words, we must pay attention to the problems we face, but not worry about them.And what's the difference between concern and worry?Let me put it more clearly: For example, whenever I have to drive through a New York City block with heavy traffic, I pay attention to what I am doing, but I don't worry.Concern is knowing what the problem is and then calmly taking steps to fix it; worrying is mindless and frantic circles.

A man can focus on some very serious issues, but at the same time he can strut around with flowers on his skirt.I've seen Lowell Thomas like that. I once assisted Lowell Thomas in a famous film about Ellen Bay and Lawrence going off in the First World War.He and a handful of assistants filmed the war on several fronts, and the film brilliantly documents Lawrence and his colorful Arab army, as well as Allenby's conquest of the Holy Land.His famous speech, "Ellenby in Palestine and Lawrence in Arabia", which runs through the entire film, caused a sensation in London and the world, and the London Opera Festival was postponed for 6 weeks to allow him The tales of these adventures are continued, with screenings of his films, at the Royal Opera House, Calvin Gardens.After his great success in London, he traveled successfully to several countries.He then spent two years working on a documentary about life in India and Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, after a string of unbelievable blows, the impossible happened - and he found himself broke.I happened to be with him at the time.I still remember that we had to go to the small street restaurants to eat very cheap food.We could scarcely have afforded our meager food if it had not been for the loan of money to Thomas by a famous Scottish painter, James Macbey. Here's the point of the story: When Lowell Thomas faced huge debts and plunged into deep disappointment, he was concerned, but he wasn't worried.He knew that once bad luck broke him, he would be worthless in the eyes of others, especially his creditors.Therefore, before he goes out to do errands every morning, he buys himself a fresh flower and puts it on his skirt, and then walks on the streets of Oxford with his head held high.His heart is positive and courageous, and he will never let setbacks break him down.To him, setbacks are just part of the whole thing—the healthy exercise you have to take to get to the top.

Our mental state can also have incredible effects on our bodies and strength.The famous British psychologist Hadfield once explained this situation in his 54-page booklet "The Psychology of Strength". "Three men were brought in," he wrote, "to test the psychological as well as the physiological influence. We measured it with a hand dynamometer." He asked them to grip the dynamometer as hard as they could on three different occasions.In an average waking state, their average grip strength was 101 pounds.In the second experiment, they were hypnotized and told that they were very weak.As a result, their grip strength was only 29 pounds—less than a third of their normal strength.