People often say there are no good or bad books (so to speak), only good and bad readings of books. But in the case of the famous book The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, I see a message that is nothing more than old ideas taken from other old books, somewhat adapted and slightly modified. And although it basically says the same as earlier books of its kind, its message comes with an interpretation that I would venture to call downright dangerous for people’s personal development.
In 1936, after the Great Depression, Napoleon Hill brought out the excellent Think and Grow Rich, which is still useful today. Years later came several titles by Norman Vincent Peale on the power of positive thinking, and in the 1980s it was Tony Robbins who brought out his famous book Awaken the Giant Within.
All these books, each in its own field, say exactly the same thing: watch your thoughts, keep a positive attitude towards life and towards problems, visualise your goals, focus on them and don’t get distracted from your objective. Don’t waver, don’t doubt, don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you won’t be able to do it, concentrate on what you want to achieve, and with perseverance you will reach that goal.
What is the problem with The Secret (in my opinion)?
While the other books mentioned above usually offer a range of very decent advice for improving ourselves, and even make us think about changing the way we act, The Secret is full of silly quotes and out-of-place clichés, and is even based on certain superstitions.
The Secret is based on the law of attraction. In other words, think positively and you will attract positive things into your life; think about money, visualise money, and money will come to you. On the other hand, if you only think about the things you don’t want in your life, that is exactly what you will attract.
The truth is that the law of attraction has an explanation that is more than scientific, and how positive thinking works is even backed by science. It is true that positive people will have a better life and achieve many things that negative people won’t. Many authors have explained logically and rationally why the law of attraction works. But the author of The Secret, in particular, has dived shamelessly into cosmological explanations: she says The Secret works because the universe is full of energy, and since our thoughts are energy that gives off a frequency, just like the universe itself, the universe will send us whatever our brain imagines, for better or for worse.
If you lie on the sofa sending out the frequency “I’m a rich man, I’m very rich, super rich, I’m so rich I’ve got a yacht…”, the universe will make you very rich and will even put an Anastasia on your doorstep so you can play Fifty Shades of Grey.
But that is exactly why this law of attraction doesn’t work: however much you imagine yourself as someone rich, or as a very attractive person (even if you weigh 190 kg), at some point you are going to have to do something to attract what you are thinking about.
It is true that people with a lot of self-confidence project it and others perceive it, in the same way that we also project insecurity.
That is why The Secret can be a very good read for someone who is truly down or in a depressive state: as an initial dose of motivation… it’s decent. But in the long run, just sitting there thinking and sending frequencies out into the universe will take you right back to where you started.
(See: The strangest secret, by Earl Nightingale)
Why is this book dangerous for our personal development?
With The Secret, we can’t doubt ourselves, because we can achieve anything we want if we firmly believe in it.
In other words, after getting fired up reading this book, I could even step into the ring with the world heavyweight boxing champion and knock him out, because I’m worth it.
The truth is that in life, it’s not that we should doubt ourselves, but we do need to be able to recognise our many weak points. Not everything is positivity: sometimes we shouldn’t avoid necessary confrontations, and however positive we are, when it comes to business we should always work out the scenario of what could go wrong, which would lead us to draw up a backup plan.
In personal relationships, thinking so positively, believing that the universe only sends you healthy people, can make you ignore the red flags, because our positive mind can make us see only what we want to see.
The other books talk about creating opportunities, looking for opportunities, encouraging opportunities, preparing ourselves through effort and sweat, and preparing to deal with failure. But if The Secret is only about thinking positively so that cosmic energy brings good things into my life, it’s obvious that if sooner or later we don’t take action and do something, we will end up in a really bad way.
I would venture to say that this book’s message works as an anaesthetic for your current situation, not as a remedy for it. If you want to lose 20 kilos, this book will teach you to see yourself as very sexy with 20 extra kilos, while other authors have put a lot of effort into explaining how to lose those 20 kilos. And no, it isn’t by picturing yourself thinner: it’s by working up a sweat again and again, creating routines and changing habits.
The same goes for when you want to add a few zeros to your bank account. Sorry, but the cosmos, the universe or Jupiter won’t bring you the bag of money, however much you think about it.
Further reading
- 8 books Warren Buffett thinks everyone should read
- Tony Robbins: 5 tips for building wealth that are as obvious as they are exciting
Featured image: Roger Higgins, World Telegram staff photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
