A Creed for Self-Discipline

A Creed for Self-Discipline

Napoleon Hill
Excerpt from ‘The Master-Key to Riches’

Willpower:
Recognizing that the power of will is the Supreme Court over all other departments of my mind, I will exercise it daily, when I need the urge to action for any purpose; and I will form habits designed to bring the power of my will into action at least once daily.

Emotions:
Realizing that my emotions are both positive and negative I will form daily habits which will encourage the development of the positive emotions, and aid me in converting the negative emotions into some form of useful action.

Reason:
Recognizing that both my positive emotions and my negative emotions may be dangerous if they are not controlled and guided to desirable ends, I will submit all my desires, aims and purposes to my faculty of reason, and I will be guided by it in giving expression to these.

Imagination:
Recognizing the need for sound plans and ideas for the attainment of my desires, I will develop my imagination by calling upon it daily for help in the formation of my plans.

Conscience:
Recognizing that my emotions often err in their over-enthusiasm, and my faculty of reason often is without the warmth of feeling that is necessary to enable me to combine justice with mercy in my judgments, I will encourage my conscience to guide me as to what is right and what is wrong, but I will never set aside the verdicts it renders, no matter what may be the cost of carrying them out.

Memory:
Recognizing the value of an alert memory, I will encourage mine to become alert by taking care to impress it clearly with all thoughts I wish to recall, and by associating those thoughts with related subjects which I may call to mind frequently.

Subconscious Mind:
Recognizing the influence of my subconscious mind over my power of will, I shall take care to submit to it a clear and definite picture of my major purpose in life and all minor purposes leading to my major purpose, and I shall keep this picture constantly before my subconscious mind by repeating it daily.

Signed_____________________________

Discipline over the mind is gained, little by little, by the formation of habits which one may control. Habits begin in the mind; therefore, a daily repetition of this creed will make one habit-conscious in connection with the particular kind of habits which are needed to develop and control the six departments of the mind.

The mere act of repeating the names of these departments has an important effect. It makes one conscious that these departments exist; that they are important; that they can be controlled by the formation of thought-habits; that the nature of these habits determines one's success or failure in the matter of self-discipline.

 

TEN DON'TS

[1] DON'T be obsessed with the people you can't help. Focus on the
people you can. You are a mortal. You, like everyone else, are
limited. Obsessing about what you can't do prevents you from thinking
about things you can do.

[2] DON'T let the lack of kindness and giving of others influence you
to stop helping and giving. Some people feel resentful, "Other people
aren't helping. Why should I?" We learn from role models. Learn from
those who are kind, not from those who aren't.

[3] DON'T keep trying to help someone who truly doesn't want your
help. Some people are very independent. They could gain from
accepting your help. But their need to be on their own is stronger
than their wish for your help. Be aware that some people really want
your help but are embarrassed about it. If you feel that is the
situation, try to say things to put the person at ease.

[4] DON'T give up too soon. Some people might think that you really
won't be able to help them so they initially tell you not to bother.
If you don't give up, both you and the other person will see that he
will gain much more than he thought.

[5] DON'T complain that other people keep asking you to do things for
them. If others come to you for help, it's an expression that they
believe you are a kind person. You might not be able to meet other
people's needs right now, but by being aware of their needs, you might think of a creative solution.

[6] DON'T tell anyone, "I had to go without this for a long time. So
you also can go without it." Other people have a right to something
even if you didn't always have it. If you don't want to help someone, just say a polite 'NO'

[7] DON'T be hurt if a selfish person complains that you are selfish.
Some selfish people try to manipulate giving people by telling them
they are selfish. Perhaps you are being selfish. Then again, perhaps
not. You might want to ask objective outsiders for their opinion.

[8] DON'T be na�ve. Don't believe every story you hear. If a story
seems questionable, check it out. If you have good reason to believe
that someone is lying to you, perhaps he is. But be very careful.
Someone's sad story might not at first seem true, but it could very
well be that it is. A person who loves kindness would rather err on
the possibility of helping someone who doesn't need it rather than
not helping someone who does.

[9] DON'T say things that might cause someone to feel badly when you
help him. Some people might say things such as, "This is so difficult
for me to do. I don't know why I agreed to do this for you."
Or, "This is the last time I'll commit myself to do this for anyone."

[10] DON'T embarrass someone when you do something for him. Be
careful not to say or do anything in the presence of others that
would cause distress to the person you are trying to help.

--as seen in Kind Words