Here’s an interesting quote by Charles Haanel:
“You have found from your study thus far that thought is a spiritual activity and is therefore endowed with creative power. This does not mean that some thought is creative. All thought is creative. And thought can be used in a negative way, through the process of denial.
The conscious and subconscious are but two phases of action in connection with one mind. The relation of the subconscious to the conscious is quite analogous to that existing between a weather-vane and the atmosphere. Just as the least pressure of the atmosphere causes an action on the part of the weather-vane, so does the least thought entertained by the conscious mind produce within your subconscious mind action in exact proportion to the depth of feeling characterizing the thought and the intensity with which the thought is indulged.
It follows that if you deny unsatisfactory conditions, you are withdrawing the creative power of your thought from these conditions. You are cutting them away at the root. You are sapping their vitality.
Remember that the law of growth necessarily governs every manifestation in the objective, so that a denial of unsatisfactory conditions will not bring about instant change. A plant will remain visible for some time after its roots have been cut, but it will gradually fade away and eventually disappear; so the withdrawal of your thought from the contemplation of unsatisfactory conditions will gradually but surely terminate these conditions.
You will see that this is an exactly opposite course from the one which we would naturally be inclined to adopt. It will therefore have an exactly opposite effect to the one usually secured. Most persons concentrate intently upon an unsatisfactory condition, thereby giving the condition that measure of energy and vitality which is necessary in order to supply a vigorous growth.”
This quote explains that all thought is inherently creative, and the conscious and subconscious minds work together like a weather-vane responding to the atmosphere.
Thoughts, especially those held with strong feeling, influence the subconscious and shape reality. By denying or withdrawing attention from undesirable conditions, you cut off the creative energy that sustains them, allowing them to fade over time.
Focusing on problems, on the other hand, energizes and strengthens them, which is why Charles Haanel emphasizes redirecting thought rather than dwelling on unsatisfactory circumstances.
