You do not have the luxury of negative thought.
I had to learn it the hard way, so here’s a chance for you all to learn an easier way.
When I was in high school, I developed a bad habit of always anticipating the worst possible thing that could happen in every situation. It wasn’t healthy, and I don’t know where it came from, but it took over my life.
My attitude prevented me from doing so many things. I was constantly afraid of failing, constantly preoccupied with what others thought of me and constantly wrapped up in negativity. To me, everything was going to have a negative outcome.
By the time I was a high school senior, I had done poorly on tests, missed out on countless opportunities and most importantly, driving people close to me away all because they couldn’t stand to hear the “what-ifs” any longer.
But that’s when my dad introduced me to “The Secret.”
If I could go back and apply one thing I’ve learned today to my life back then, it would be the exact message philosopher Bob Proctor dictates in the movie “The Secret.” In the movie Proctor states, “Whatever is going on in your mind, you are attracting to you.”
According to the movie, The Law of Attraction is a fundamental part of our everyday lives. Proctor said everything that comes into our lives, we are attracting by the virtue of the images in our mind. He said by focusing on things you don’t want, in reality, you are calling them into existence by giving them so much undeserved attention.
Proctor argues that our thoughts have frequency. If you’re thinking a thought over and over again, you are emitting that frequency many times, something that can be especially harmful when applied to negativity.
After hearing this movie’s philosophy, it made all the sense in the world to me. Instead of thinking about the things I wanted to happen, I was thinking about the things I didn’t want to happen, which turned out to be one of the greatest mistakes I have made so far in my life.
Before watching this movie and learning its secret, I saw every opportunity or test as a chance to fail, but now I see them as a chance to achieve, and I cannot express the world of difference it has made for me.
This one attitude turn-around has accounted for all the happiness and successes in my world. Out of my greatest despairs, have come my greatest achievements and this is why I want to share “The Secret” with all of you.
I encourage you all to watch this movie and take its message into account, no matter who you are. Whether you’re a St. Thomas student, parent, alumni, community member or just a citizen, start to sort through your thoughts and turn the negative ones into positive messages, doing this will encourage you to achieve in school and in life. Your life is a manifestation of the thoughts in your head, so why think thoughts that could potentially make your life an unhappy place?
The Law of Attraction is not biased to what you do or don’t want. It punches no clock, and you can’t press pause. It is forever in action. So get out there and actively seek positive thoughts. As soon as you do, positive things will start to actively seek you.
Briggs LeSavage can be reached at lea4364@stthomas.edu.
Mac: “The Secret is a self-help book that Dee read and explained to us. It’s about how you can get whatever you want without having to work for it!”
Dennis: “All you have to do is envision all the [stuff] in the world that you want, cut pictures of it out and paste it on a board, and then you get it! You get the stuff!”
Charlie: “Check it out: See how I put all these sweet pics of Ty Pennington from Extreme Home Makeover? I’m going to become like him. I’m going to have that dude’s life.”
* * *
Frank: “I hate to tell you this, but you know this ‘self-help’ stuff? It’s all BS. It’s a big scam.”
Dee: “Oh is it, Frank? Because that’s how I got the house. See, I envisioned the court’s recognizing how ridiculous it is that my mother didn’t leave me anything, and I did some good deeds, and boom, I’m rich. I’m mansion rich!”
This was really interesting Briggs! I feel as if a lot of students, myself included, could benefit from this “secret” you have shared with us! I think a lot of us are consumed by negative thinking at this point in our lives as we seek out so many of our dreams. It’s amazing how much those negative thoughts will keep us down.
Thanks for sharing!
Amazing “It’s Always Sunny” reference..
As much as I support the positive thinking movement, appealing to unscientific, new-agey crap like The Secret is not the way to go. For a more empirically sound treatment of these ideas, see Learned Optimism or Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman.
Chris – What is the difference between the “unscientific, new-agey crap” in the Secret and praying?
I see what you did there, Dan, and I like it.
Nothing comes to mind. As far as I’m concerned, they’re both a waste of time.