The Secret Is Not A Secret.

13 66
Avatar for MightyTalon
3 years ago
Topics: Life, Blog, Reality, Motivation, Freewrite, ...

The Secret, written by Rhonda Byrne, hit the shelves shortly after the film in 2006 and claimed to hold the secret method to obtaining everything your heart desires in life. I saw it advertised, I watched the hype, I listened to friends talking about it in conversations around the braai... And I decided I would not read or watch it.

I was browsing Netflix a few nights back, looking for a new documentary to watch, and The Secret popped up as a suggestion in my profile (really, Netflix?!). I was about to skip past when I remembered that my friend Rambles had mentioned before that she enjoyed the concept of the book/film. So in the interest of educating myself, I pressed "play".

I watched the whole thing. I raised my eyebrows in parts, shook my head in other parts. By the end of it my blood pressure was way up and I had the urge to write to the author and directors and say "WTF - you need to refund your fans".

In short, here's why I think The Secret is a load of bull...

The Experts - the panel of "experts" is made up of a bunch of philosophers and authors and an entrepreneur. They all seem like nice folk, but they just happen to exhibit the typical signs and mannerisms of con-people. Notice the slicked-back hair, the practised smile, the unblinking or wide-eyed stare, the typical salesy lingo and catch phrases... All designed to build trust to get you to buy what they're selling.

Scientific Claims - when someone says "scientists have proved that...", you should already hear a warning bell. When they use scientific terms to explain pseudoscience, your BS radar should be blaring.

The Law of Attraction - this is the premise of the whole philosophy: you attract the things you think about or feel (i.e. manifest). If you think positive thoughts, good things will happen. If you feel strongly about getting something you really want, it will happen. It might seem like a harmless thing to believe, but look a bit closer...

When a person thinks positively and pursues their goals, this is what happens:

  • They project confidence, which makes people take them more seriously - in work, in relationships, in every area of life.

  • Their positivity makes them better company, so people will want to spend more time with them, which expands a person's network and presents more opportunities. Their positive mindset means they will be more likely to notice and take opportunities, leading to success.

  • Having goals and big dreams makes a person more inclined to act responsibly with their finances and decisions, and to spend time with people who share the same mindset, which limits the room for things to go wrong in life and things will seem to keep going right.

There is no Law of Attraction. The universe doesn't care about you personally.
The results that come from thinking and acting positively are logical.
COMMON SENSE.
You don't need to buy a book or watch the film to gain this knowledge, because logic is FOR FREE.

The book and film are making specific people rich by taking common sense, twisting it around, adding some scientific terms and then tacitly encouraging readers to turn off their common sense and blindly believe a bunch of woo instead.
And the more you believe the woo, and the less you use your common sense, the more spin-off products they can sell and the more money they can make.
The Secret isn't magic, or the manifestation of energy - it's business.
There's a lot of money to be made in selling hope and self-help.

I'm sure I'll get hate for my opinion because the philosophy now has a cult-like following, but to anyone who feels defensive or aggressive when reading this: Apply the concept of thinking positively and acting positively to achieve your hopes and dreams, but don't let anyone sell you logic packaged as magic.

You can achieve your goals with positivity and logic.
There is no Secret.
And I'm sorry to deal a double blow, but Santa Claus doesn't exist.

6
$ 6.63
$ 5.37 from @TheRandomRewarder
$ 1.00 from @JustMyRambles01
$ 0.10 from @lowededwookie
+ 3
Avatar for MightyTalon
3 years ago
Topics: Life, Blog, Reality, Motivation, Freewrite, ...

Comments

Heheh I am a bit quizzical with the law of attraction myself. For some reason Murphy's law is far more convincing hahaha.

It does have a good impact though. Nothing wrong with focusing on what you want to happen ergo your energy and momentum is geared towards working things out towards your goal and dreams

But i find giving credit more to the universe than the One who created the universe a bit .. odd. Lols.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Hahaha yeah I see Murphy's Law quite often in my life :P The world is full of people who believe different things and not everyone believes that someone/something created the universe, but if you believe that it was created then I do understand your point about credit. At the end of the day, as long as people are pursuing their goals in an honest way, it's good :)

$ 0.00
3 years ago

What do you mean Santa doesn't exist!?? Really!! 🀣 My Santa and Easter bunny stories from my childhood will amuse you.

I agree with your general overview in terms of the positive outlook and I agree as well that there were some slimy type characters in there. It was a pretty cheap production - yet for me the theory works. And no comments rubbishing my theory and stomping on the little shoot because I didn't win the lotto yet 🀭

I do believe that scientifically they haven't proven it exists adequately (the man who walked out of hospital when they said he had no chance...the power of the mind and inner strength is something I've seen in patients of my own, they should have done a brain mapping study of him and others), but I believe out of my own experiences that it does. The power of visualizing what you want to achieve, I've been ticking things off my vision board, one by one. Yes, hard work, however, there are certain things that I feel my mental output has helped to cause.

Since the movie I don't ever look for parking and my spot is always available. πŸ˜›

It's nice to see you back on here! Even if I disagree with your hateπŸ˜‰, I still absolutely adore your writing! Welcome back and get busy with your next post!!!!🌺

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Hahaha I would actually love to hear your Santa and Easter Bunny stories!

I also believe in the power of the mind, in terms of self-motivation and goal-oriented behaviour. The placebo effect is a real thing, and also people who are driven by their own self-generated mental energy definitely seem to do better in life. It seems to me like people with inner strength are able to get through any challenging situation in life.

I'll tell you what though, if/when you win the lotto, I'll eat my words and change my mind about The Secret ;)

$ 0.05
3 years ago

You'll be changing your mind tonight. It's going to happen tonight 🀣 I'll plaster it across your read and noise, and let you edit this article to say "it works" πŸ˜›

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Did it happen?? If not, the NEXT one will be the one! ;)

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Yep...the next one! :D

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Hahaha you have a deal!!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I find your article very interesting, I am new to this platform so I am learning a little from all of you

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Thank you Serpiend, and welcome! :)

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Wow! Long time no see MightyTalon. It's nice to hear from you again. Truly Santa doesn't exist, only hardwork and dedication pays.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

Thank you Happy :) you're a good example of how hard work and dedication pays!

$ 0.05
3 years ago

Thanks for the Compliment sir. You support when i started got me this far.

$ 0.00
3 years ago