After many many years, and constant referrals from friends and acquaintances, i finally watched The Secret , if you are unaware of what i am referring to, then let me break it down to you in a few simple points:
1) The Secret was written by a despaired woman who ended up on the wrong path and had faced many complications in her latter years
2) The whole system is based on three principles: Ask, Believe, and Receive
3) Basically, what The Secret dictates is that whatever a human being wants, a human being can get. This is done through visualization, positive thinking, determination, and an unyielding will to get to one’s target
My problem with it isn’t that i don’t think people can’t get what they want if they try hard enough, i do somewhat subscribe to the idea of “if there’s a will there’s a way”, although probably not entirely (after all, there are very few absolutes!) — My problem with it is that it somehow assumes, or rather proclaims, that if a human being sets her or his mind to something, the universe will align itself to make sure that what the person wants, happens! Is it just me or does that sound completely mad?! Maybe I’m a little heated up from enduring what was one of the most painful 90mins of my life watching the show, but i can identify countless holes in the argument. And i will!
First of all, if everyone got what they wanted, wouldn’t the world turn a bit chaotic? What if two wishes collide? what if there is an ill wish? We all know we can’t all get what we want, its kinda how the world goes round.
Added to that, The Secret embodies the idea (well maybe indirectly) that materialistic desires create happiness, that if i wanted to be happy, and i thought that a sports car would make me happy, then i could wish for it, get it, and be happy. Not only is that a product of the consumer society, but it pretty much defies the idea that in order to be happy with what you’ve got, you need to be happy with yourself to start with.
My main problem, and the reason why it’s really stung me is that i don’t see any reasoning, or any logic, or any atom-sized slice of evidence that proves that the UNIVERSE acts upon our wishes. As if there’s a wish-log for all the wishes of humanity (provided they abide by the three principles of the secret, of course!) are saved and responded to. In simple terms, there’s absolutely no reason to believe that wishes are externally rewarded. That’s not to say that the environment around a person can’t affect the outcomes of events, but what The Secret refers to is something far away from our immediate environment.
My humanity-influenced criticism of The Secret, and all documentaries, books, and speakers of its kind is that this sort of literature, this type of learning preys on the minds of the desperate. Some people in the world really have it going bad for them, and the last thing a desperate mind needs is false hope. People in desperate situations need to be empowered by reality, strengthened by confidence, not influenced into believing a hoax, a myth, or any unfounded claims.
So here’s the “The Truth”, Moadh Bukhash-style. If you want something, hunt for it, keep your belief and determination and you know what? You might actually end up getting it. This is what i referred to in my last ad-post about Ahdaaf. My brother spent over 3 years chasing a dream, to open an indoor sports and recreation facility – he hit countless hurdles of the way, each hurdle looked to defy his dream, to put his wishes to bed; and yet he persevered, set his mind on his target and went for it. 3 years on, and his business is up and running, with success appearing on the horizon.
There’s no magical path to take to fulfill your dreams, hard work and determination can get you there; but unlike The Secret, i won’t kid you, you won’t always get there – in order for events to take place, many factors play a role, some cases come through and the result is positive, and some don’t. But that’s no reason to give up, i’ve asked this question before, allbeit in different words, but the question remains, would you rather be negative and believe all outcomes are a failure, or fail a few times but have success once or twice?
3 comments
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February 5, 2009 at 7:42 pm
nidal
i agree with u and i like “The Truth”, Moadh Bukhash-style. what ur sayin is true, we have to try hard to get what we want. but sometimes even if u try hard and it didnt work, then its a chance for u to try harder the next
i didnt watch the movie ur talking about but from what ur sayin, i see that its just a big media propaganda to make ppl selfless out of motivation and hard work. its like:
1) ask for something
2)work hard and put ur hopes up and believe in it
3) it will work
i think this is ****** . things dont go always the way we want, puting aside destiny.
i think i need to watch it to get an idea to make a final concludtion.
keep it up, its nice to write about ur ideas and what u think
February 5, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Anas
I enjoyed reading that and a good surprise at the end too ;) .
I agree with you completely. The philosophy that i like to live by is when i want something i simply give it my best shot, give my all to achieve it, and well if i don’t achieve it, i feel still content that at-least i did all that i could do within my limited power and well it just didn’t work-out, and on the other hand if do achieve it, then it’s that’s simply a great feeling.
We simply have to accept that there are other forces that need to fall into place for us to achieve certain things. Nevertheless, we should still always try our best. A human can only feel happy with himself/herself when he/she knows they have put absolutely all their efforts into making it happen. And well that’s the only way we will find out whether these goals were meant to be reached or not.
February 22, 2009 at 9:12 am
GinaP
Haven’t read the Secret, but my gut feeling based upon your description is that it is New Age hogwash. If a person lives in poverty in a place like Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, will wishing alone get them what they want? Ideas like this arise and take hold in places where we already have access to our basic needs, and are striving for our desires. Perhaps positive thinking, having an optimistic outlook, and trying our best will get people who already have a decent standard of living, some perk in life, like entrance to a good school or a sports car. But I doubt that these things will help someone living in structural poverty or in a place of perpetual warfare.
Soon to be US senator Al Franken had a shtick in the 80′s that self-affirmation would help anyone. His character, Stuart Smalley would gaze at himself in the mirror and say “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me!” When he applied the philosophy to the Kurdish problem, it was the stuff of comedy: “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it, people ….well, maybe not everyone…but that’s OK, at least some people like me.” The ensuing laughter revealed what most people know to be true–positive self-talk gets at least some people, absolutely nowhere.
Thanks for sharing your interesting thoughts Moadh!