Book Summary- The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

Bring More Positivity Into Your Life with This Classic Self-Help Book

Introduction to the summary of the key principles of The Power of Positive Thinking

The Power of Positive Thinking is one of the cornerstones of the self-help book category. 

This book shows how the outcomes of your life are largely determined by your thinking and outlook. Positive changes to your thoughts will produce positive changes in your life. This book was a huge success immediately upon publication and became a pop culture sensation. It continues to be one of the top selling self-help books in the world. 

This book is highly praised even today, for its insights into positive thinking. Many people’s lives have been changed by using the techniques taught in the book and are thankful for the results they’ve seen. 

 The Power of Positive Thinking techniques will lead to a healthier and happier mental outlook and life. This is possible when you instill within yourself a stronger sense of self-confidence and focus on positive outcomes and learn to develop an appreciation for the people around you. 

 This book will show you how your faith helps you to clarify your goals, how your thoughts influence your life and how some simple things like taking a walk in nature can help you to deal with the modern world. Read the full book summary of the principles of The Power of Positive Thinking and see how it can improve your life.

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 1 

Self Confidence Leads to Success. How to Increase Belief in Yourself 

The modern world has increased feelings of inferiority and anxiety in many people. But instead of taking responsibility for their situation, some people try to shift the blame onto others or their circumstances.  

Negative thinking leads to negative outcomes because of the phenomenon of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. If you go to a party and think beforehand that no one will like you, it can affect the way you behave. As soon as you get the tiniest confirmation of your negative belief, you feel vindicated which leads to a vicious circle that’s impossible to escape. 

Self-confidence gives you the power to shape your life the way you want. Dr. Peale tells the story of a man who lost everything. He could have wallowed in his misery but instead, he made a list of all the positive things in his life. By concentrating on the positive, he changed his negative thinking around to a healthier perspective and a better more productive life. 

If you passively accept a negative situation nothing will change. Instead change your thinking and you will change your circumstances. 

Take the man in the stories approach and focus on the positive aspects already in your life, believe in your own success and you will overcome any obstacles in your way. 

You can do this by using visualization.  First visualize all the positive things you would like to have in your life, then visualize your problems. When you compare the two, your problems seem smaller, and you will see a way towards your goals. 

Dr. Peale’s magazine, Guideposts, had a serious problem. They desperately needed more subscribers in order to survive. Dr. Peale told his staff the problem during a meeting. He then had the staff actively visualize having more subscribers. That’s it. This led to the problem being solved as they found ways to accomplish their goals. 

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 2 

Caring About Other People Will Make Other People Care About You

Everyone has a desire to be appreciated. Everyone needs companionship. The problem arises because so many people only think of themselves. This leads to people feeling not needed or wanted by the people around them. 

What can you do to be more likable? 

First, you must understand that it’s your attitude that makes people either like or dislike you. When you change your attitude to a more positive one, you will be appreciated more by others. 

A former Postmaster General of the United States, James A. Farley, is a great example of someone with a positive attitude that made people very comfortable around him. Virtually everyone he met liked him and thought of him as a very natural, honest and outgoing person because he had the right attitude. 

Who are the types of people you really like? Do they constantly talk about themselves, or do they show a genuine interest in others? If someone shows an interest in you, you should return the favor and show an interest in them. Think positively about others and show them that you care. Express an interest in who they are and what they do, and they will become friendly with you. 

Dr. Peale once met a man at his clinic who thought everyone disliked him. Dr. Peale showed him how he was being self-centered and had no interest in others so people had no interest in him. By simply trying to talk to everyone he met and noticing them as individuals his focus naturally shifted from himself to the people around him, and people began to love and appreciate him in return. 

This can be hard to do with difficult people but if you remember that even they have hidden positive qualities and put in the effort to recognize those qualities, you can create a more friendly relationship with them. 

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 3 

 You Don’t Have to Face Your Problems On Your Own

When depression comes and you feel your problems mounting, do you think: “No one can understand because no one has the same problems as me”? While it may feel that way, millions of people have the exact same problems as you. 

 The truth is that many people have been in your exact situation. The good news is that many have overcome the exact same circumstances. No situation is hopeless. When you realize that many people felt as hopeless as you do now, but they found a way to carry on you will understand that so can you. 

Negative thoughts lead to hopelessness which makes you isolate yourself leading to unhappiness and failure. You prevent this by focusing on the good, by understanding the power of your positive thoughts. 

An overblown sense of self-importance will make you feel as if you are carrying the problems of the entire world on our shoulders. When you make every problem your own it makes it hard to solve any of them. You start to feel as if you have limited time to solve infinite problems. Trying to solve everything leads to an inability to solve anything. 

Prayer or meditation should be used to reduce tension and combat stress. When you accept that your problems aren’t totally unique, and others can show you how they can be solved you’ll find the way to a better outcome and a healthier life. 

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 4 

Your Attitude Is the Key to Overcoming Your Problems

When you are overwhelmed by your problems, understand that ultimately, it’s your attitude toward your problems that is important. Even if you can’t solve your problems immediately, you can change your attitude in an instant. 

 When you focus on positive things and search for inner peace, you’ll find it much easier to overcome your problems. When you do certain positive things you will find inner peace. 

For example, the Dr. Peale once had a meeting with two people who had two very attitudes because of how they slept the night before. The one who watched the news with all its negativity, slept poorly, the one who read the Bible slept peacefully. 

Sleep is crucial because it revitalizes us. Sleeping after watching the news will lead to poor sleep that prevents you from solving your problems. Filling your mind with positive thoughts will positively influence your quality of sleep and give you a solid source of energy. 

Most people go through life believing that the outside world and dumb luck determines their circumstances. The truth is that your world is determined by the thoughts you have about your life experiences. 

Positive thoughts set up positive forces that bring positive results. Negatively brings negative results including poor physical health. 

Dr. Peale knew one young man, whom he described as “one of the most complete failures” he had ever met. This young man couldn’t make any positive changes in his life because he refused to examine his attitude. Once he understood that his experiences were negative because his thoughts were negative, he was able to make changes. 

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 5 

Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Overcome the Destructive Worry Habit

The habit of worrying, while completely natural, can also be unhealthy, and can lead to illnesses and negative changes in your personality. In fact, worry is the source of many physical and psychological diseases. Worrying creates stress which can lead to high blood pressure and lower life expectancy.  

The good news is that habits can be changed and the habit of worrying is surprisingly easy to break when you realize it is possible to free yourself from it and know some simple techniques. 

These techniques involve the practice of draining your mind by stripping your mind of negative thoughts. This should be done before going to sleep, because that’s when our thoughts lodge in our subconscious. Fear, worry and other negative thoughts can “impede the flow of mental and spiritual power” if you don’t drain them to stop them from lodging into your subconscious. 

But just draining your mind isn’t enough. You must at the same time fill your mind with positive thoughts to replace the negative ones. Positive thoughts inspire feelings like courage, hope and faith. While hard in the beginning, by practicing it each day, you will achieve positive change. 

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 6 

You Must Make the Choice to Be Happy

Modern life can often be hectic, creating stress and unhappiness which many people can’t seem to find a way to solve. In their attempts to keep up with the demands of modern life, many people damage themselves both physically and mentally leading to chronic fatigue and frustration. 

It’s important to find strategies to deal with the stress and anxiety of modern life. Even Mr. Peale felt the burden of modern life overwhelming when he was in a place like New York City. He discovered that going into nature could relieve the tension. 

Ultimately, unhappiness is a choice that can be made, or reversed. Even when unhappiness is caused by real serious problems like poverty or unemployment it’s important to remember that the conditions are not as important as your attitudes towards them.  

Your attitudes have the power to perpetuate unhappiness into your life or help you to choose happiness despite the negative conditions. When you choose unhappiness, it leads to a negative loop. You’ll start seeing everything in a negative light which will produce even more unhappiness. 

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 7 

Don’t Lose Heart: Always See the Positive Even When You Have Problems

Being caught unprepared for something is a horrible feeling. While it is important to prepare for possible challenges, we should not always expect the worst because then we are opening ourselves up to experience negative outcomes. 

You can choose what you want to focus on. When you focus on negative outcomes, you stop your power flow, cutting off your ability to handle life’s challenges. Even when you do stand up to these challenges, negative thinking will weaken your ability to deal with them. 

Your attitude determines how you handle challenges. If your attitude is a positive one, you will see your challenges as something that can be overcome, and you will find it easier to do just that. 

Mr. Peale tells the story of a tennis player, Pancho Gonzalez, who was not the best player, and managed to win many championships during his career as an outsider. 

He was able to do this because he never allowed himself to become discouraged in defeat. After every loss, he looked for positive possibilities instead and worked towards them. 

You can solve every problem using the same attitude because there are no unsolvable problems. When you practice positive thinking, you will begin to see the possibilities open to you. 

Even if your subconscious is now telling you that your problems are hopeless, you can train your subconscious to be more positive. You do this by changing the way you think about your possible life outcomes, focusing on the positive outcomes and not the negative ones. 

Mentally “draining” your mind of negative outcomes and focusing instead on what you can achieve is the way to overcome your problems. 

Often there is more than one solution to a given problem, and you may not find it on your first attempt. With a clear mind focused on the positive, you stand a much better chance of finding them. 

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 8 

The Bible: Faith Can Help You to Solve Your Problems 

Christianity and the Bible are sometimes seen as offering only abstract advice or general guidelines, but the Bible can help you by showing you how positive thoughts and actions can radically change your life. 

Biblical lessons offer practical solutions to help solve many problems, if you follow them. One of the most important lessons of the Bible is to avoid anger and love our enemies. Doing this will lead to a healthier and happier life. 

Mr. Peale tells the story of his friends, Bill and Mary. Bill felt cheated when he wasn’t offered his retiring boss’s job, as he’d been led to believe he would. 

Mr. Peale told him to follow Biblical teachings; to let go of his anger towards his new boss and to deal with his disappointment in a positive way by working even harder. He followed this advice and soon his new boss moved on and Bill got promoted because he did follow the teachings of the Bible and didn’t allow anger to derail his progress. 

Remember, Faith will only lead to success after you first know what you want and whether it is right to want it. To answer these questions, use prayer to help release negative thoughts and energy which can lead to creative ideas. Prayer allows you to put your problems into the proper perspective which gives you a better vantage point where solutions can be seen. 

Faith is only a solution when the success you seek is spiritually, ethically and morally right. If the success you want is wrong in the essence it is bound to be wrong in the result. 

The Power of Positive Thinking-Principle 9 The body and the soul 

Both your mind and body are linked as one. When you experience stress, it can lead to physical pain. Sometimes physical pain cannot be explained by medicine. Sometimes, it’s not the body that’s the problem, but the mind. You must take care of your body, mind and spirit as one. 

The combination of “God and the doctor” will give us better health. 

Some doctors prescribe religious and inspirational books as well as Western medicine with the idea of helping patients help themselves by creating a positive mind-set through faith. 

Dr. Peale ran a clinic in New York City with a psychiatrist, where they cooperated with one another to combine their therapies. They achieved the best outcomes in their patients by recognizing each professional’s unique skills and the importance of each as they worked together by pooling their knowledge. 

They used the power of the subconscious mind to achieve these results. By allowing the picture of health sink into the subconscious, this powerful part of your mind will send forth radiant health energy. 

It’s important to have Faith and to trust in a higher power. By doing this, you’re able to truly believe in your positive convictions about your health. Positive thoughts can lead to better health only when those thoughts are backed by Faith. You have to believe in your own physical and spiritual healing. 

Final Summary of The Power of Positive Thinking

• There are no problems in your life that cannot be overcome by the power of positive thinking.  
• Stay calm, gain perspective, nurture your faith and focus on positive outcomes and you will have the power to create a happier, healthier life. 
• Commit to staying motivated.  
• Remember – “The difficult times are only mental. I think victory – I get victory.”