The following is verbatim from Chapter Six in Andy Andrew’s book, The Seven Decisions: Understanding the Keys to Personal Success starting on page 123. This book continues to be the catalyst for accomplishing relational miracles among some clients and I offer it now for your consideration. merlin
Forgiveness is a secret that is hidden in plain sight. It costs nothing and is worth millions. It is available to everyone and used by few. If you harness the power of forgiveness, you will be sought after and regarded highly. And not coincidentally, you will be forgiven by others.
The Compassionate Decision changes the way most people view forgiveness. A forgiving spirit allows you to let go of the past and embrace a compelling new future. Harboring anger and resentment for others – regardless of whether or not “they deserve it” – poisons your soul and limits your growth. When you embrace forgiveness through the Compassionate Decision, your level of personal success becomes boundless.
I Will Greet This Day With A Forgiving Spirit:
“For too long, every ounce of forgiveness I owned was locked away, hidden from view, waiting for me to bestow its precious presence upon some worthy person. Alas, I found most people to be singularly unworthy of my valuable forgiveness, and, since they never asked me for any, I kept it all for myself. Now, the forgiveness that I hoarded has sprouted inside my heart like a crippled seed yielding bitter fruit.
No more! At this moment, my life has taken on new hope and assurance. Of the world’s population, I am one of the few possessors of the secret to dissipating anger and resentment. I now understand that forgiveness only has value when it is given away. By the simple act of granting forgiveness, I release the demons of the past about which I can do nothing and create in myself a new heart, a new beginning.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness.
Many are the times when I have seethed in anger at a word or deed thrown into my life by unthinking or uncaring person. Valuable hours have been wasted imagining revenge or confrontation. Now I see the truth revealed about this psychological rock inside my shoe. The rage I nurture is often one-sided, for my offender seldom gives thought to his offense!
I will now and forever more silently offer my forgiveness even to those who do not see that they need it. By the act of forgiving, I am no longer consumed by unproductive thoughts. My bitterness is given up. I am contented in my soul and effective again with my fellow man.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly.
Knowing that slavery, in any form, is wrong, I also know that the person who lives a life according to the opinion of others is a slave. I am not a slave. I have chosen my own counsel. I know the difference between right and wrong. I know what is best for the future of my family, and neither misguided opinion nor unjust criticism will alter my course.
Those who are critical of my goals and dreams simply do not understand the higher purpose to which I have been called. Therefore, their scorn does not affect my attitude or action. I forgive their lack of vision and forge ahead. I now know that criticism is part of the price paid for leaping past mediocrity.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.
For many years, my greatest enemy has been myself. Every mistake, every miscalculation, every stumble I made has been replayed over and over in my mind. Every broken promise, every day wasted, every goal not reached has compounded the disgust I feel for the lack of achievement in my life. My dismay has developed a paralyzing grip.
When I disappoint myself, I respond with inaction and become more disappointed.
I realize today that it is impossible to fight an enemy living in my head. By forgiving myself, I erase the doubt, fear, and frustration that have kept my past in the present. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny. I have forgiven myself. My life has just begun.
I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly. I will forgive myself.
I will greet each day with a forgiving spirit”.
The following is verbatim from Andrew’s 2008 book The Seven Choices, page 140-142. I must admit after reading The Power of Positive Thinking in my 20’s, I have since succumbed to my perceived residual negativity of the evangelical community toward Peale. Perhaps I need to read the book again. The letter below reminds me of Paul Harvey “and here’s the rest of the story.” Enjoy! merlin
Real Traveler Profile: Norman Vincent Peale
Dr. Peale was an minister and an author of 46 books, which have been translated into 40 languages, including the perennial inspirational classic The Power of Positive Thinking. Along with his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale, he started a magazine called Guideposts, which is enjoyed by more than 15 million readers. More than 31 million copies of his inspirational booklets have been distributed over the years, and he maintained a full speaking schedule until his death in 1991. Peale received 22 honorary doctoral degrees and was one of the few private citizens in history to be honored in a White House ceremony when President Reagan presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Norman Vincent Peale said, “When God wants to send a gift, he wraps it up in a problem, and the bigger the gift that God sends, the bigger the problem.” It’s easy to assume that the man who wrote The Power of Positive Thinking didn’t have to worry about positive thinking. We figure that the author of a book that has sold 30 million copies to date (2008) must have had it easy, right?
Here, then, is the great letter I received from a man whose very life embodied the Compassionate Decision. It is a story that will surprise you – and one I am certain very few have heard.
Dear Andy:
I suffered rejection when I wrote a book called The Power of Positive Thinking. Actually, I wanted to call it “The Power of Faith”, but my publisher insistently demanded that I change the title to a phrase … [from] the book, “The power of positive thinking.”
It soon to my surprise, hit the bestseller list for 186 weeks, which at that time was a record. This projected me into the most vehement criticism I ever received. I considered the book a vitally Christian book, but some ministers castigated me as an arch-conservative, a tool of capitalistic interests, who was turning Christianity into a way to get rich. One bishop, a scholarly and gifted man, usually dispassionate and objective, became quite intemperate in his attacks on the book and upon me personally. Many ministers even preached against some terrible thing labeled “Pealeism.” And one distinguished pulpiteer called my work a perversion of the Christian religion.. This hue and cry became so violent that I actually wrote my resignation from my ministry, though my church stood by me valiantly. I took a train upcountry to see my aged father who perceived that something was bothering me. And he, even in that remote area, knew of the scathing attack upon me. So my father, sitting in his rocking chair, said, you have always been true and loyal to Jesus Christ. You believe in and preach Bible truths. You have always been in the mainstream of Christianity, never following any temporary faddism. You have united the pastoral office with the best in the scientific and healing arts. You have blazed new pathways of positive thinking to counter the old destructive negatives. You are my son, and your old father who has known good men and not so good men for 80 years and more, both in and out of the church, says you are a good and loyal minister of Jesus Christ.” He was silent and thoughtful for a long minute. “Besides, and remember this, the Peale’s never quit. It would break my heart if one of my sons was a quitter, afraid to stand up and face any situation.”
My father was a gentle-spirited man and in all my life I had never heard him use any expression that included a swear word. Imagine my shock when he said, “And Norman, there’s just one thing more.”
“What is it, Dad?” I asked.
“Tell ‘em to go to hell,” he declared, to my astonishment.
Stepping into another room, I tore up my resignation letter and threw it into the wastebasket. Needless to say, I came away fortified in in spirit. The book has sold upwards of 20 million copies worldwide and has become, in book statisticians’ opinions, one of the few books in American history that has sold the most. The title has become part of the language and culture not only in America but around the world.
A lady who was at one time president of the American Council of Churches, Cynthia Weddell, meeting a friend a friend of mine, said, “How’s Norman?” And the friend replied, “He is fine.” And added, “He has outlived his critics.” “No,” said Mrs. Weddell, “he has out-loved them.”
In every rejection you learn something, and I learned that if you go about your business and love people and not hate anyone, you ultimately gain a victory. Now it so happens that very few people criticize me, wherefrom I deduce that perhaps I am slipping!
Cordially yours,
Norman Vincent Peale
Go Forth Forgiven….
And if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 NIV
The End