2. The self-image can be changed. Numerous case histories have shown that one is never too young nor too old to change his self-image and thereby start to live a new life.
One of the reasons it has seemed so difficult for a person to change his habits， his personality， or his way of life， has been that heretofore nearly all efforts at change have been directed to the circumference of the self， so to speak， rather than to the center. Numerous patients have said to me something like the following： "If you are talking about 'positive thinking'， I've tried that before， and it just doesn't work for me." However， a little questioning invariably brings out that these individuals have employed "positive thinking，" or attempted to employ it， either upon particular external circumstances， or upon some particular habit or character defect （"I will get that job." " I will be more calm and relaxed in the future." "This business venture will turn out right for me，" etc.） But they had never thought to change their thinking of the "self" which was to accomplish these things.
Jesus warned us about the folly of putting a patch of new material upon an old garment， or of putting new wine into old bottles. "Positive thinking" cannot be used effectively as a patch or a crutch to the same old self-image. In fact， it is literally impossible to really think positively about a particular situation， as long as you hold a negative concept of self. And， numerous experiments have shown that once the concept of self is changed， other things consistent with the new concept of self， are accomplished easily and without strain.
One of the earliest and most convincing experiments along this line was conducted by the late Prescott Lecky， one of the pioneers in self-image psychology. Lecky conceived of the personality as a "system of ideas"， all of which must seem to be consistent with each other. Ideas which are inconsistent with the system are rejected， "not believed，" and not acted upon. Ideas which seem to be consistent with the system are accepted. At the very center of this system of ideas —— the keystone —— the base upon which all else is built， is the individual's "ego ideal，" his "self-image，" or his conception of himself. Lecky was a school teacher and had an opportunity to test his theory upon thousands of students.
Lecky theorized that if a student had trouble learning a certain subject， it could be because （from the student's point of view） it would be inconsistent for him to learn it. Lecky believed， however， that if you could change the student's self-conception， which underlies this viewpoint， his attitude toward the subject would change accordingly. If the student could be induced to change his selfdefinition， his learning ability should also change. This proved to be the case. One student who misspelled 55 words out of a hundred and flunked so many subjects that he lost credit for a year， made a general average of 91 the next year and became one of the best spellers in school. A boy who was dropped from one college because of poor grades， entered Columbia and became a straight "A" student. A girl who had flunked Latin four times， after three talks with the school counselor， finished with a grade of 84. A boy who was told by a testing bureau that he had no aptitude for English， won honorable mention the next year for a literary prize.
The trouble with these students was not that they were dumb， or lacking in basic aptitudes. The trouble was an inadequate self-image （"I don't have a mathematical mind"； "I'm just naturally a poor speller"）。 They "identified" with their mistakes and failures. Instead of saying "I failed that test" （factual and descriptive） they concluded "I am a failure." Instead of saying "I flunked that subject" they said "I am a failure." Instead of saying "I flunked that subject" they said "I am a flunk-out." For those who are interested in leaning more of Lecky's work， I recommend securing a copy of his book： self consistency， a Theory of Personality. The Island Press， Now York， N.Y.
