Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.
– Walden
The most harmful kind of life, as Leo Tolstoy notes, is the wide and common use of self-deceit. It manifests as labels, stories, and lies you tell yourself. Sometimes self-deceit prevents you from acting on a dream. Sometimes it serves to elevate yourself above others undeservingly. These thoughts create self-doubt.
But these negative labels are only true to the extent you give life to them. They are true only if you confide in them and hold them tightly. Only once you will them into existence or you rely on them for self-worth. Instead of telling yourself that you aren’t smart enough, what if you found something to learn that is enjoyable to you? Instead of saying you’re not big enough to make the team, what if you push hard to develop skills that only smaller players can achieve?
Your thoughts create the map of your success or failure. Thoughts lead to ruin or glory, self-loathing or self-worth. Your thoughts are your fate. This isn’t so because thoughts magically make things happen, but they do provide courage to succeed or fear of trying. They create trust in yourself or faith in nothing. When we think positively, it’s almost impossible not to act the same. Or as Robert Pirsig writes, “Right thoughts produce right actions.”
