书城英文图书思考致富(英文朗读版)
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第91章 HOW TO OUTWIT(8)

Making the most of LIFE, due, generally, to lack ofpurpose, or lack of a suitable occupation. This fearis more prevalent among the aged, but sometimesthe more youthful are victims of it. The greatestof all remedies for the fear of death is a BURNINGDESIRE FOR ACHIEVEMENT, backed by usefulservice to others. A busy person seldom has time tothink about dying. He finds life too thrilling to worryabout death. Sometimes the fear of death is closelyassociated with the Fear of Poverty, where one’sdeath would leave loved ones poverty-stricken. Inother cases, the fear of death is caused by illnessand the consequent breaking down of physical bodyresistance. The commonest causes of the fear ofdeath are: ill-health, poverty, lack of appropriateoccupation, disappointment over love, insanity,religious fanaticism.

OLD MAN WORRY

Worry is a state of mind based upon fear. It worksslowly, but persistently. It is insiduous and subtle.

Step by step it “digs itself in” until it paralyzes one’sreasoning faculty, destroys self-confidence andinitiative. Worry is a form of sustained fear causedby indecision therefore it is a state of mind whichcan be controlled.

An unsettled mind is helpless. Indecision makes anunsettled mind. Most individuals lack the willpowerto reach decisions promptly, and to stand by themafter they have been made, even during normalbusiness conditions. During periods of economicunrest (such as the world recently experienced), theindividual is handicapped, not alone by his inherentnature to be slow at reaching decisions, but he isinfluenced by the indecision of others around himwho have created a state of “mass indecision.”

During the depression the whole atmosphere, all over the world, was filled with “Fearenza” and“Worryitis,” the two mental disease germs whichbegan to spread themselves after the Wall Streetfrenzy in 1929. There is only one known antidotefor these germs; it is the habit of prompt and firmDECISION. Moreover, it is an antidote which everyindividual must apply for himself.

We do not worry over conditions, once we havereached a decision to follow a definite line of action.

I once interviewed a man who was to be electrocuted two hours later. The condemned manwas the calmest of some eight men who were in thedeath-cell with him. His calmness prompted me toask him how it felt to know that he was going intoeternity in a short while. With a smile of confidenceon his face, he said, “It feels fine. Just think, brother,my troubles will soon be over. I have had nothingbut trouble all my life. It has been a hardship to getfood and clothing. Soon I will not need these things.

I have felt fine ever since I learned FOR CERTAINthat I must die. I made up my mind then, to acceptmy fate in good spirit.”

As he spoke he devoured a dinner of proportionssufficient for three men, eating every mouthful ofthe food brought to him, and apparently enjoyingit as much as if no disaster awaited him. DECISIONgave this man resignation to his fate! Decisioncan also prevent one’s acceptance of undesiredcircumstances.

The six basic fears become translated into a stateof worry, through indecision. Relieve yourself,forever of the fear of death, by reaching a decisionto accept death as an inescapable event. Whipthe fear of poverty by reaching a decision to getalong with whatever wealth you can accumulateWITHOUT WORRY. Put your foot upon the neck ofthe fear of criticism by reaching a decision NOT TOWORRY about what other people think, do, or say.

Eliminate the fear of old age by reaching a decisionto accept it, not as a handicap, but as a great blessingwhich carries with it wisdom, self-control, andunderstanding not known to youth.

Acquit yourself of the fear of ill health by thedecision to forget symptoms. Master the fear of lossof love by reaching a decision to get along withoutlove, if that is necessary.

Kill the habit of worry, in all its forms, by reachinga general, blanket decision that nothing which life hasto offer is worth the price of worry. With this decisionwill come poise, peace of mind, and calmness ofthought which will bring happiness.

A man whose mind is filled with fear not onlydestroys his own chances of intelligent action, but,he transmits these destructive vibrations to the mindsof all who come into contact with him, and destroys,also their chances.

Even a dog or a horse knows when its master

lacks courage; moreover, a dog or a horse will pickup the vibrations of fear thrown off by its master,and behave accordingly. Lower down the line ofintelligence in the animal kingdom, one finds thissame capacity to pick up the vibrations of fear. Ahoney-bee immediately senses fear in the mind of aperson—for reasons unknown, a bee will sting theperson whose mind is releasing vibrations of fear,much more readily than it will molest the personwhose mind registers no fear.

The vibrations of fear pass from one mind to another just as quickly and as surely as the soundof the human voice passes from the broadcastingstation to the receiving set of a radio—and BY THESELF-SAME MEDIUM.

Mental telepathy is a reality. Thoughts pass fromone mind to another, voluntarily, whether or not thisfact is recognized by either the person releasing thethoughts, or the persons who pick up those thoughts.

The person who gives expression, by word of mouth, to negative or destructive thoughts ispractically certain to experience the results of thosewords in the form of a destructive “kick-back.”