Promise Yourself
The Optimist Creed
Written by Christian D. Larson
From the book Your Forces and How to Use Them
Promise yourself...
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
(Promise Yourself...)
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
(Promise Yourself...)
To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
(Promise Yourself...)
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
(Promise Yourself...)
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
(Promise Yourself...)
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but great deeds. To live in faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”
Christian D. Larson (1874 – 1954) was an American "New Thought" leader, teacher, writer, and prolific author of metaphysical and "New Thought" books. Many of Larson's books remain in print today, nearly 100 years after they were first published. Larson's book, Your Forces and How to Use Them, was adopted as Optimist International's creed in 1922 and his Promise Yourself poem is used as a fundamental principle of "The Secret."