'The Secret' : A Review

'The Secret' written by Rhonda Byrne in 2006 is a self help book which has been a roaring success with the book being translated into 44 languages and has sold well over 21 million copies all over the world; not to forget there is also a movie on it. It will serve you a dose of positive thinking which is so much needed in this world. So basically, it is based on the law of attraction and the effect of positive thinking.

It would be unfair to term this book as 'just a good' book. It is one such book that you want to buy and keep it with you rather than getting it issued from a library. Though I was bit surprised at some of the advice offered in the book.

What I learned from 'The Secret'

The following are a summary of points that I liked :

• If you focus on something with emotion, you will attract that thing to you.
• The law of attraction that determines the complete order of universe through the process of 'like attracts like'. It envisages that whatever thoughts we dwell on, we attract similar thoughts in our life.
• Positive and negative emotions both attract, but positive emotions are stronger. Gratitude and love are the strongest emotions.
• You should act in a way that is in congruence with with your desires, or else you can contradict your wishes.
• It doesn't matter if that emotion is positive or negative, you will still attract the thing you're concentrating on. If you focus on losing weight, you will attract weight. If you focus on winning sweepstakes, you will win more often.
• Time is an illusion, and the things you want – that perfect body, or whatever – you already have. So you should act as if you already have the things you desired, and you should be grateful for those things. 

What I didn't like about 'The Secret'

• The Secret says that nothing bad will happen to you unless you attract those things to you. But some terrible things happen to people that are out of their control. I don't believe that people attract those things to them.
• Sometimes, The Secret seems impractical and unrealistic. For example, it says that focusing on illness attracts illness to you, and that you should focus on being healthy and feeling great. That's fine, but it then says that if someone wants to talk about their illness, you should change the subject or walk away. We've all been comforted by discussing hurtful things with a loved one. To not be allowed to discuss or think about negative things at all seems unrealistic and downright mean.
• The Secret focuses a bit too much on wishing, and almost completely ignores doing.  

My Conclusions

I have only read the book and till date haven't yet watched the movie. These are my personal experiences from reading the book. The book is very helpful and it brought out a refreshing change of perception towards life in me. But some of the advice seemed over the top and unbelievable that I thought was too much philosophy.

But I've found myself talking and thinking about 'The Secret' quite a lot since I finished reading and I've have been less inclined to complain or focus on negative things.

I would suggest that the book is still worth a read. However don't be afraid to ignore the parts of 'The Secret' that don't appeal to you.