Transforming Negative Thoughts

Worry is the child of Fear—if you kill out Fear, Worry will die for want of nourishment. This advice is very old, and yet it is always worthy of repetition, for it is a lesson of which we are greatly in need. Some people think that if we kill out Fear and Worry we will never be able to accomplish anything. I have read editorials in the great journals in which the writers held that without Worry one can never accomplish any of the great tasks of life, because Worry is necessary to stimulate interest and work. This is nonsense, no matter who utters it. Worry never helped one to accomplish anything; on the contrary, it stands in the way of accomplishment and attainment.

Worry is the child of fear. If you kill off fear, worry will die from lack of nourishment. This advice is very old, but it is always worth repeating. It is a lesson we badly need. Some people think that if we kill off fear and worry, we will never accomplish anything. I have read editorials in major newspapers whose writers claimed that without worry, no one can accomplish life’s great tasks. They argued that worry is necessary to stimulate interest and work. This is nonsense, no matter who says it. Worry has never helped anyone accomplish anything. On the contrary, it stands in the way of accomplishment and success.

The motive underlying action and “doing things” is Desire and Interest. If one earnestly desires a thing, he naturally becomes very much interested in its accomplishment, and is quick to seize upon anything likely to help him to gain the thing he wants. More than that, his mind starts up a work on the sub-conscious plane that brings into the field of consciousness many ideas of value and importance. Desire and Interest are the causes that result in success. Worry is not Desire. It is true that if one’s surroundings and environments become intolerable, he is driven in desperation to some efforts that will result in throwing off the undesirable conditions and in the acquiring of those more in harmony with his desire. But this is only another form of Desire—the man desires something different from what he has; and when his desire becomes strong enough his entire interest is given to the task, he makes a mighty effort, and the change is accomplished. But it wasn’t Worry that caused the effort. Worry could content itself with wringing its hands and moaning “Woe is me,” and wearing its nerves to a frazzle, and accomplishing nothing. Desire acts differently. It grows stronger as the man’s conditions become intolerable, and finally when he feels the hurt so strongly that he can’t stand it any longer, he says, “I won’t stand this any longer—I will make a change,” and lo! then Desire springs into action. The man keeps on “wanting” a change the worst way (which is the best way) and his Interest and Attention being given to the task of deliverance, he begins to make things move. Worry never accomplished anything. Worry is negative and death producing. Desire and Ambition are positive and life producing. A man may worry himself to death and yet nothing will be accomplished, but let that man transmute his worry and discontent into Desire and Interest, coupled with a belief that he is able to make the change—the “I Can and I Will” idea—then something happens.

Desire and Interest motivate action and “doing things.” If you deeply desire something, you naturally become very interested in achieving it. You are quick to seize on anything likely to help you get what you want. More than that, your mind begins working on a subconscious level, bringing many valuable and important ideas into your awareness. Desire and Interest are the causes of success. Worry is not Desire. If your surroundings and circumstances become unbearable, it is true that desperation may drive you to act. Your efforts may free you from unwanted conditions and bring you conditions more in line with your desires. But this is only another form of Desire. You want something different from what you have. When your desire becomes strong enough, you give the task your full interest, make a mighty effort, and bring about the change. But Worry did not cause the effort. Worry could content itself with wringing its hands and moaning “Woe is me,” fraying its nerves and accomplishing nothing. Desire acts differently. It grows stronger as your conditions become unbearable. Finally, when you feel the pain so strongly that you cannot stand it any longer, you say, “I won’t stand this any longer. I will make a change,” and behold, Desire springs into action. You keep “wanting” a change in the worst way (which is the best way). With your Interest and Attention focused on freeing yourself, you begin to make things happen. Worry never accomplished anything. Worry is negative and produces death. Desire and Ambition are positive and produce life. You may worry yourself to death and still accomplish nothing. But suppose you turn your worry and discontent into Desire and Interest, along with a belief that you can make the change. That is the “I Can and I Will” idea. Then something happens.

Yes, Fear and Worry must go before we can do much. One must proceed to cast out these negative intruders, and replace them with Confidence and Hope. Transmute Worry into keen Desire. Then you will find that Interest is awakened, and you will begin to think things of interest to you. Thoughts will come to you from the great reserve stock in your mind and you will start to manifest them in action. Moreover you will be placing yourself in harmony with similar thoughts of others, and will draw to you aid and assistance from the great volume of thought waves with which the world is filled. One draws to himself thought waves corresponding in character with the nature of the prevailing thoughts in his own mind—his mental attitude. Then again he begins to set into motion the great Law of Attraction, whereby he draws to him others likely to help him, and is, in turn, attracted to others who can aid him. This Law of Attraction is no joke, no metaphysical absurdity, but is a great live working principle of Nature, as anyone may learn by experimenting and observing.

Yes, fear and worry must go before we can accomplish much. We must cast out these negative intruders and replace them with confidence and hope. Turn worry into strong desire. Then you will find your interest awakened, and you will begin to think about things that interest you. Thoughts will come to you from the great store within your mind, and you will begin to put them into action. You will also bring yourself into harmony with similar thoughts from others. You will draw help from the great volume of thought waves that fill the world. You attract thought waves that match your prevailing thoughts, your mental attitude. You also begin to set the great Law of Attraction in motion. Through this law, you draw people who are likely to help you. You are, in turn, attracted to others who can help you. This Law of Attraction is no joke or metaphysical absurdity. It is a powerful, active principle of Nature, as anyone can learn through experiment and observation.

To succeed in anything you must want it very much—Desire must be in evidence in order to attract. The man of weak desires attracts very little to himself. The stronger the Desire the greater the force set into motion. You must want a thing hard enough before you can get it You must want it more than you do the things around you, and you must be prepared to pay the price for it. The price is the throwing overboard of certain lesser desires that stand in the way of the accomplishment of the greater one. Comfort, ease, leisure, amusements, and many other things may have to go (not always, though). It all depends on what you want. As a rule, the greater the thing desired, the greater the price to be paid for it. Nature believes in adequate compensation. But if you really Desire a thing in earnest, you will pay the price without question; for the Desire will dwarf the importance of the other things.

To succeed at anything, you must want it very much. You must have desire in order to attract. A person with weak desires attracts very little. The stronger the desire, the greater the force set in motion. You must want something badly enough before you can get it. You must want it more than the things around you, and you must be prepared to pay the price. That price is giving up certain lesser desires that stand in the way of achieving your greater desire. You may have to give up comfort, ease, leisure, entertainment, and many other things (though not always). It all depends on what you want. As a rule, the greater the thing desired, the greater the price you must pay for it. Nature believes in fair compensation. But if you truly want something, you will pay the price without question. Your desire will make the other things seem less important.

You say that you want a thing very much, and are doing everything possible toward its attainment? Pshaw! you are only playing Desire. Do you want the thing as much as a prisoner wants freedom—as much as a dying man wants life? Look at the almost miraculous things accomplished by prisoners desiring freedom. Look how they work through steel plates and stone walls with a bit of stone. Is your desire as strong as that? Do you work for the desired thing as if your life depended upon it? Nonsense! you don’t know what Desire is. I tell you if a man wants a thing as much as the prisoner wants freedom, or as much as a strongly vital man wants life, then that man will be able to sweep away obstacles and impediments apparently immovable. The key to attainment is Desire, Confidence, and Will. This key will open many doors.

You say you want something very much and are doing everything possible to get it? Nonsense! You are only pretending to desire it. Do you want it as much as a prisoner wants freedom, or as much as a dying man wants life? Look at the almost miraculous things prisoners do because they want freedom. Look at how they work through steel plates and stone walls with a bit of stone. Is your desire that strong? Do you work for what you want as if your life depended on it? Nonsense! You don’t know what Desire is. I tell you, if a man wants something as much as a prisoner wants freedom, he can overcome seemingly immovable obstacles. He can do the same if he wants it as much as a man full of vitality wants life. The key to getting what you want is Desire, Confidence, and Will. This key will open many doors.

Fear paralyzes Desire—it scares the life out of it. You must get rid of Fear. There have been times in my life when Fear would get hold of me and take a good, firm grip on my vitals, and I would lose all hope; all interest; all ambition; all desire. But, thank the Lord, I have always managed to throw off the grip of the monster and face my difficulty like a man; and lo! things would seem to be straightened out for me somehow. Either the difficulty would melt away, or I would be given means to overcome it, or get around, or under or over it. It is strange how this works. No matter how great is the difficulty, when we finally face it with courage and confidence in ourselves, we seem to pull through somehow, and then we begin to wonder what we were scared about. This is not a mere fancy, it is the working of a mighty law, which we do not as yet fully understand, but which we may prove at any time.

Fear paralyzes Desire. It scares the life out of it. You must get rid of Fear. There have been times when Fear seized me and gripped me to the core. I lost all hope, all interest, all ambition, and all desire. But, thank the Lord, I have always managed to shake off the monster's grip and face my difficulty like a man. And then, somehow, things would seem to work out for me. Either the difficulty would melt away, or I would be given a way to overcome it, get around it, or go under or over it. It is strange how this works. No matter how great the difficulty, we seem to pull through somehow when we finally face it with courage and confidence in ourselves. Then we begin to wonder what we were scared about. This is not just a fancy. It is the working of a mighty law. We do not yet fully understand the law, but we can prove it at any time.

People often ask: “It’s all very well for you New Thought people to say ‘Don’t worry,’ but what’s a person to do when he thinks of all the possible things ahead of him, which might upset him and his plans?” Well, all that I can say is that the man is foolish to bother about thinking of troubles to come at some time in the future. The majority of things that we worry about don’t come to pass at all; a large proportion of the others come in a milder form than we had anticipated, and there are always other things which come at the same time which help us to overcome the trouble. The future holds in store for us not only difficulties to be overcome, but also agents to help us in overcoming the difficulties. Things adjust themselves. We are prepared for any trouble which may come upon us, and when the time comes we somehow find ourselves able to meet it. God not only tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, but He also tempers the shorn lamb to the wind. The wind and the shearing do not come together; there is usually enough time for the lamb to get seasoned, and then he generally grows new wool before the cold blast comes.

People often ask: “It’s all very well for you New Thought people to say ‘Don’t worry.’ But what should a person do when he thinks about everything that might upset him and his plans?” All I can say is that it’s foolish to spend time thinking about troubles that may come in the future. Most things we worry about never happen. Many of the others turn out to be less severe than we expected. And other things always happen at the same time that help us overcome the trouble. The future holds not only difficulties for us to overcome, but also help in overcoming them. Things work themselves out. We are prepared for any trouble that may come our way. When the time comes, we somehow find ourselves able to face it. God not only softens the wind for the freshly shorn lamb, but also toughens the lamb for the wind. The wind and the shearing do not come together. There is usually enough time for the lamb to grow accustomed to the cold. Then the lamb generally grows new wool before the cold wind comes.

It has been well said that nine-tenths of the worries are over things which never come to pass, and that the other tenth is over things of little or no account. So what’s the use in using up all your reserve force in fretting over future troubles, if this be so? Better wait until your troubles really come before you worry. You will find that by this storing up of energy you will be able to meet about any sort of trouble that comes your way.

It has been well said that nine-tenths of our worries are about things that never happen. The other tenth are about things that matter little or not at all. If that is true, why use up all your reserve energy worrying about future troubles? Better to wait until troubles actually come before you worry. By saving your energy, you will find that you can handle almost any trouble that comes your way.

What is it that uses up all the energy in the average man or woman, anyway? Is it the real overcoming of difficulties, or the worrying about impending troubles? It’s always “Tomorrow, tomorrow,” and yet tomorrow never comes just as we feared it would. Tomorrow is all right; it carries in its grip good things as well as troubles. Bless my soul, when I sit down and think over the things which I once feared might possibly descend upon me, I laugh! Where are those feared things now? I don’t know—have almost forgotten that I ever feared them.

What uses up all the energy of the average man or woman, anyway? Is it overcoming real difficulties, or worrying about troubles ahead? It’s always “Tomorrow, tomorrow,” yet tomorrow never comes quite as we feared. Tomorrow is all right. It brings good things as well as troubles. Goodness, when I sit down and think about the things I once feared might happen to me, I laugh! Where are those things now? I don’t know. I’ve almost forgotten I ever feared them.

You do not need to fight Worry—that isn’t the way to overcome the habit. Just practice concentration, and then learn to concentrate upon something right before you, and you will find that the worry thought has vanished, The mind can think of but one thing at a time, and if you concentrate upon a bright thing, the other thing will fade away. There are better ways of overcoming objectionable thoughts than by fighting them. Learn to concentrate upon thoughts of an opposite character, and you will have solved the problem.

You don’t need to fight worry. That isn’t how to overcome the habit. Just practice concentrating. Then learn to focus on something right in front of you, and you will find that the worrying thought has vanished. The mind can think of only one thing at a time. If you focus on something positive, the worry will fade away. There are better ways to overcome unwanted thoughts than fighting them. Learn to focus on thoughts of the opposite kind, and you will have solved the problem.

When the mind is full of worry thoughts, it cannot find time to work out plans to benefit you, But when you have concentrated upon bright, helpful thoughts, you will discover that it will start to work subconsciously; and when the time comes you will find all sorts of plans and methods by which you will be able to meet the demands upon you. Keep your mental attitude right, and all things will be added unto you. There’s no sense in worrying; nothing has ever been gained by it, and nothing ever will be. Bright cheerful and happy thoughts attract bright, cheerful and happy things to us—worry drives them away. Cultivate the right mental attitude.

When your mind is full of worry, it cannot find time to make plans that benefit you. But when you focus on bright, helpful thoughts, your mind will start working subconsciously. When the time comes, you will find all sorts of plans and methods to meet the demands on you. Keep the right mental attitude, and all things will come to you. There is no sense in worrying. Nothing has ever been gained by it, and nothing ever will be. Bright, cheerful, and happy thoughts attract bright, cheerful, and happy things to us. Worry drives them away. Cultivate the right mental attitude.