What is “The Secret”?
Currently atop the New York Times ‘Best Seller’ list in the “Hardcover Advice” category, The Secret makes some big promises. If you only know The Secret, money, health, relationships, and happiness can all be yours. What is The Secret?
“What you think about the most or focus on the most, is what will appear in your life.??? (p.17) One example explains how a man is having trouble at work. He is being abused, and dwells on negative thoughts. However, after thinking more positively, all of the people that were hassling him moved to another department, quit their job, or just left him alone. This is the ‘Law of Attraction’: Like attracts like. You get whatever you focus on; if you think about how you’re being mistreated, you’ll get more mistreatment. There’s no question about it: “The law of attraction is a law of nature. It is impersonal and does not see good things or bad things.” (p. 13)
The Secret is not really new; it expands upon the popular idea of the Power of Positive Thinking, as popularized by the 1952 book of that name. And positive thinking is quite beneficial. Dwelling on negative thoughts can result in a cycle of negative, defeatist thinking. Certainly a pattern of negative thoughts can lead us to make to negative actions which will lead to adverse effects.
But the idea that we can change the physical world around us using the mental energy of our thoughts seems much more dangerous. Take the example of the man above who, by using his thoughts, made other people around him quit their jobs. This is quite a scary idea: That our actions are, in at least in part, being controlled by other people. After all, his thoughts made them quit their jobs. But wait, The Secret is supposed to be that our own thoughts cause our own situations? How can someone else’s thoughts impact me? Do you believe your friends and family can control your actions with their minds?
Another example given in the film is a guy who worries about his bike being stolen, so he double-locks it … and of course it gets stolen. The Secret implies it was his own negative thoughts that caused it to be stolen. But the bike didn’t steal itself. Someone else had to steal it. So the implication is that his thoughts caused someone else to steal his bike. According to the ‘Law of Attraction’, the person who stole the bike had no choice!
What do you think of The Secret? Do you find it convincing? Why or why not? Is the popularity of The Secret as a means to achieve wealth and happiness more of a reflection of our North American society than anything else?
5 Responses to “What is “The Secret”?”
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I believe Juno is a very inspirational movie. My girlfriend and I went througnh a similiar situation about a year ago as freshemn, we had our little bundle of joy, and i wouldn’t trade him for the world. I don’t dissaprove with the idea of abortion but I’m glad we decided to keep Jay. I love him with all of my heart.
Very interesting!
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i think the secert help alot of people think different and it shows how much help is needed in the great usa. there is nothing wrong with the movie and i dont feel it should be called a lie . why? because it has been said and i think proven the things you dwell on you find away to bring them to pass. now i will say that the movie made things seem easy and fast like the bike be stolen well the 2 locks atracted more and maybe when the crook saw it or the bike with the single lock .then the crooks thinks ishow him 2 locks or this will be a good thing to tell my friends but for sure the 2 locks atracts more attation. but the film never says or emplies to not think about safty. just to be cool and not dwell and freat over it.
i never think about bad stuff but i do dwell on my dept all the time now i still work and i keep a better recond of it so i don’t waste time thinking about it but if i get extra money i can then go to the books and seee what is the best way to use the money i just got and yes i do think about mailbox money and i look for it also i look for forpeople to just give it to me . Why because it has happened to others
I used to live it a house in a nice subdevision for familys . i was always saying i was someday going to have a place with a little more land and more private . well i lost my job and house but my daughter was married and my son was in his 2nd year of high school so we didnt have to find a place out of the area a family let us share thier house we got a house but it was rented in the same school area now i make more money and again we own our land and home on 3.5 acres trees all around but it is a very high traffic and yet very private i didnt know i was going to lose my job but things happened and i feelGod use the bad andmade good come to pass but because this is what i was always saying i got it now i say things a little more carefull and i try to think it out before i make a life statement.
anyway i dont think anyone should come down to hard on a old way brought out new but i think if and when they start teaching it has the way to get God to forgive you then that will be bad . But just to think better and not to dwell on bad side great nitch in life
First and foremost, let me acknowledge that the mind is a very very powerful thing. It is pretty amazing to think that the way each persons mind perceives things is that person’s reality, full stop. In this same vein, I agree with the article’s author in acquiescing that negative thoughts can, in a cause and effect way, affect one negatively or lead to negative actions. By that same token positive thinking CAN positively affect one’s life. Take for example a person who has failed at accomplishing his or her goal many times, but each time after failure gets up and has a positive attitude that they can succeed. As a result this person continues to try and attempt to be successful. But to be honest these things are no “secret” and certainly less revolutionary than a bestselling book may have you believe. They are simply well-known cornerstones of success, hardwork and determination.
So for brevity, I do not believe that your thoughts can directly affect other people around you, but i do believe that your thoughts can affect you and your perceived reality, which in turn can affect how you act in the physical world, which in turn can affect other people around you.
I think the controversy behind “The secret” comes from trying to further simplify an already simple concept, by taking out a logical and undisputable step in the process of how thinking affects you and others. Namely it should simply be caveated with this statement: your thoughts affect you, and you can affect others around you.