A central theme of the Eclectic Method is that of building the mind fortress. By likening the mind to a fortress, we can understand the importance of guarding your mind, fostering mindsets, and ruling the mind instead of being its servant.

James Allen in his book, As a Man Thinketh brilliantly articulates the significance of purpose on one’s thoughts and upon the outcome of one’s life. In the concept of the mind fortress, purpose is the king of the castle, and we will explore why that is.

“Until thought is linked with purpose, there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority, the ship of thought is allowed to “drift” upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for those who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction.”

-James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

The king is the one who directs the efforts of the kingdom, the one who aligns all who are subject to his rule under a unifying purpose, and such is the way with your mind. Until you have decided upon a significant purpose, be that for your existence, your current situation, or for your suffering as Viktor Frankl would say, then the control of your kingdom will slip out of your hands.

In a kingdom the king decides the purpose, and from the purpose comes the law. Law without purpose behind it is meaningless and easy to disobey, and soon chaos and destruction ensue. A mind without order is equally chaotic because it has nothing of significance to direct its activity. If there is no purpose, then why care? And if you don’t care, then you are sure to engage in destructive and meaningless thoughts and activities which eventually lead to ruin.

“They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to worries, fears, troubles, and self-pitying, all of which are indications of weakness, which lead just as surely as deliberately planned sins (though by a different route) to failure, unhappiness, and loss. For weakness cannot persist in a power evolving universe.”

-James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

Say for example, that you are incredibly dissatisfied with your current situation, but you have no purpose and so you engage in meaningless thoughts and activities until you find yourself poor, unhealthy and weak of character.

One day, the reality of your situation hits you full in the face with the force of a freight train, and you realize what a spineless worm of a human being you are. The disgust and anguish are powerful enough that you finally decide that enough is enough and you want to change your life.

By some miracle, you think a very powerful thought: what would give my life meaning? And then: What would make all of the suffering of life worth it? Who do I want to be? You do some deep pondering and then come to a radical decision.

You decide you want to create a company that makes health products. Why? Well, for the sake of this hypothetical example its because you find making people healthier a noble cause. Maybe its due to your own health issues or because of some health problems that your family member experienced that made an impact on you. Either way, you have found a purpose, and more importantly, a strong reason for that purpose.

Suddenly, instead of allowing your thoughts to drift any which way like tumbleweeds in the existential wind of your mind, you become focused; you start to learn and grow. You start thinking of ways to achieve that purpose, and it causes you to change the way you think and change the way you live.

You become disciplined and save money so you can eventually invest in products to sell. Maybe you learn how to sell products by taking an online class or perhaps you attend a seminar, and you learn about the variety of products that can improve one’s health.

At first, you lack confidence while pitching sales and you have more than your fair share of embarrassing moments and feelings of inadequacy, but your purpose drives you forward. You continue on despite failure and you make some sales. It’s not much yet, but its more than you’ve ever accomplished for yourself before.

Soon enough your confidence grows as you land more and more sales. Perhaps you experience a moment of insecurity when you attempt to sell health products because you know full well that you are not the picture of health. It hurts, but you have purpose and despite thoughts of weakness, your purpose encourages you to pursue exercise.

Although awkwardly, you begin exercising and soon enough when you present for sales, your physical changes turn into confidence and you give your customers a sense of trust and like magic, your sales grow.

One day you realize that you have so many customers that you have to hire employees, and now you have to grow into a leader. You experience the discomfort of failing as a leader, but again, your purpose drives you forward. Eventually, you have your own company and many employees and you are making an impact in the world.

The small, weak person you once were has vanished and you are finally accomplished, confident and completely changed from inside to out. The rewards in the material sense are great, but the rewards of character are greater. You can have all the money in the world, but if you are dissatisfied with yourself, then no amount of money will make you happy. The destination is great, but the journey is what makes it rewarding.

“This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought. Even if we fail and fail again to accomplish our purpose ( as we necessarily must until weakness is overcome), the strength of character gained will be the measure of our true success, and this will form a new starting-point for future power and triumph.”

-James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

Strength of mind and strength of body are both forged by effort and practice, and purpose provides the fuel when the going gets rough. You need something higher and greater than yourself to strive to, or else you will continue to spiral downwards, but you have to be willing to put in the time and effort.

I have known many people who drifted through life without purpose, and its a sad thing to see. When I worked in restaurants, it was the common theme. The job was a means to an end, that end being: pay rent and support an unhealthy drinking or drug habit. The job itself had no meaning because that person had no purpose. It simply supported the vicious cycle of meaninglessness and mediocrity.

It was the people who were using the job as a stepping stool to support education, or skill development, or as a supplement until they got the job they really wanted who went on to do great things.

However, the exceptions were fewer in number and those without purpose ended up staying at that restaurant forever, or they moved from one meaningless job to the next, always jealous, but never willing to decide on a purpose and put in the time and effort to struggle to its attainment. The lack of purpose always lead to some problem or the other, and soon enough mistakes were made that better options were cut off as a consequence of poor decisions, and that was used to justify why things were always so “unfair” to them.

“To put away aimlessness and weakness and to begin to think with purpose is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who recognize failure as only one of the pathways to attainment, who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.”

-James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

When you devote yourself to something higher than yourself, to a purpose that is higher than your fears and doubts, what happens is that they begin to matter less, and you conquer them more.

The failures experienced aren’t taken personally, because they are a part of the journey, and you are thinking of something greater than yourself, you get over misplaced pride, and by doing so, become more than you ever where.

This is what purpose can give you, when you truly dedicate yourself to a purpose. That terrible circumstance is just another step on the path. That setback is just another test of your determination. You can turn that loss into a win that serves your purpose when your thoughts are devoted to its accomplishment.

The universe is mental, and your thoughts create your reality, but they need direction. You need purpose. The king of your mental castle needs to purposefully direct the kingdom if it is to be lasting and prosperous.

Decide.

Like what you read? Subscribe to get the latest content!

Provide support and get awesome merchandise by shopping on the Eclectic Method store on Sticker Mule! Click the link and get $10 off your first purchase!

https://www.stickermule.com/unlock?ref_id=8032747701&utm_medium=link&utm_source=invite