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What are your thoughts on THE SECRET?

I first came across The Secret a few years ago, when a woman I met - and dated - absolutely believed this shit.

Had an actual vision board and everything. Probably not surprising that we didn't last.... 😉

Anyhoo, I'm a huge UFC fan, and came across this YouTube channel yesterday.

This particular video, however, is far more about a commentary on The Secret than about the fighter in question.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on both the video and The Secret.

Particularly @VictoriaNotes, @evestrat, SarahSiddons and @indySent. Ladies, I know it's a 'fight' video, but I'd love tohear your opinions.

Everyone else too, of course! 🙂

Warning. 'Colourful' language throughout.

Kreig 7 Jan 4
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16 comments

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10

I think it is one of the most foul and fetid works ever written. It's the ultimate "blame the victim" book. Did you get cancer? Well, it's your fault, you attracted it. Were you raped? You attracted that. In fact, you and your abuser "made an agreement" before coming here. Is there suffering in the world? Well, that's because you're attracting that suffering.

And it gets worse. The author of this book, whose name I refuse to mention, recommends that we "avoid negative people (aka people in negative situations)" so we aren't brought down by their negativity.

In the meantime, she's made gobs of money from the very people who needed to hear truth instead of a fairy tale scenario that cannot exist in a world where "stuff happens."

Well said!

6

Utter bollocks.

5

Self-help books/videos specifically target the demographic that is struggling to make their life better. They use a little bit of common sense, pseudoscience, and celebrities to create something unique to make sales. Where there are opportunities there are opportunists.

Betty Level 8 Jan 4, 2018
4

Having a plan, goals, and visualization are great tools to get ones self off the couch....but you have to put in the work. I can believe all day that I'm going to be an mma champ but I eat garbage and don't drink enough water. No matter how kick ass my "vision board" is it's not going to give me an mma belt. Can't agree more with the video that the universe doesn't give a shit about us

4

@Kreig I actually have made a vision board in my sales career. When I was an Area Manager for Gund, Inc. we had 4 sales trainings across the US a year. One of them was on Visualization of Sales Goals. Was it my board that I was named #1 Sales Representative of the Year in 2008? I set goals, objectives to reach those goals, and had a plan. Did the Board help? I don't know.,

4

Law of attraction right? Prayer with a different veneer if you ask me and, just like prayer, it's typically egocentric of we humans to believe the universe even hears our desires let alone gives a damn about them!

3

Total hype. From Traveling Medicine shows to the Tony Robbins gang they seduce the unwary with pseudo-science and sheer bullshit. Find some good books on logic and neuroscience.

3

Being positive is better than being negative.....however, just picturing your goals or success isn't enough to achieve them. It's only the first step. This mindset in the video is just something that successful people advocate because they made it in their elected field of profession. It's kind of like rich people saying, "It's just money". Tell that to a family of 5 who can hardly put food on the table. Not everyone who works hard will gain the rewards from that work. If we could all be millionaires and/or achieve our dreams, the entire system that we are under wouldn't work. If everyone was rich, the money would be devalued. Scarcity is what causes value. The "Secret" is probably a case of correlation implying causation. You need vision, hard work, luck, help from others, and probably more variables we aren't even aware of to succeed.

3

He makes some very good points. The universe does not hand you anything, you have to work at what you want and be aware of the opportunities.

2

Wow, there sure are some strong opinions here. It's been several years since I saw it but at the time it was one of the things that initiated my move from the church. So, I'm thankful I came across it. I'd have to watch the movie or read the book to comment further.

1

I didn't read The Secret. From the sound of the previous posts here, that's probably a good thing since I can be a bit prone to falling for total bullshit.
I have read other books along the lines of "self-help" but I guess what I looked for in those books more than "help" was people in similar situations or with struggles I relate to. Sometimes just knowing you're not the only idiot flubbing your way through this life is help enough.

0

I watched 2 friends get suckered into The Secret-vision boards and all. I've had to stand by and watch as life kicked them in the ass and showed them another path. For one friend, her path took her in a different direction and she's made it into something good. For the other friend, her path has taken her through some rough territory, but she made it through the difficult times. I don't believe in that "attraction" shit. I think life has ups and downs. Life and opportunities take you places. Sure, you make the choice to go right or left, up or down, but in the end it is more of the butterfly effect than anything else. Stuff happens, how you deal with it defines your character. Attracting bad stuff is victim blaming.

0

Thanks for sharing. I stumbled upon this while searching for what others thought before writing about a current situation I am in regarding the law of attraction. I pretty much agree with the video in that yes, positive thinking can help people achieve their goals if they put action behind those thoughts. Like others have said, the danger of the secret and loa are people who can't deal with tough situations since they are essentially ignoring their problems.

0

This is creepy, as my ex wife suggested this

0

Like UFC, just BS.

0

Napoleon Hill documented this in his 1929 work, Think and Grow Rich. The intense focus of humans, especially when harnessed in groups, the Mastermind principle, is a powerful force and has been used by successful people for a very long time. It's what is actually going on when large groups pray for something, and action happen. It has more to do with harnessing the power of the human mind and intent than some all powerful deity granting wishes.

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