Motivation

Have you heard about “The Secret” yet? You know, the book that Oprah featured on her show, the book that everyone’s talking about. I think there was a movie, too. I told my husband all about it at dinner the other day.

I haven’t read it yet (I’m number 487 on the library’s waiting list) but I gather that the secret they’re talking about is “The Law of Attraction.” Basically, if you think about what you want, you will attract it to yourself. Think about success, and you attract success. Think about failure, and … you get the picture.

It’s not a new idea, I told my DH (Dear Hubby) as he partook of our evening meal.  Napoleon Hill wrote “Think and Grow Rich,” Norman Vincent Peale wrote “The Power of Positive Thinking,”  Henriette Klauser wrote, “Write it Down, Make It Happen,” Deepak Chopra wrote “The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire,” and those are just the ones I was able to think of off the top of my head.

You’re supposed to “Ask, Believe, Receive,” I explained to him. Ask the universe to provide what you want (that’s asking) and truly believe that what you long for will happen (that’s believing) – according to The Secret, you will receive it. 

“So why doesn’t everybody receive their heart’s desire just by thinking about it or fervently praying for it?” I asked rhetorically.  “Maybe they don’t really believe it could happen to them.”

“Maybe people should want less,” my husband remarked. I could see he wasn’t getting it.

Also, I noted, you’re supposed to take action towards your goal. Maybe the thinking and praying opens up unexpected doorways, that serendipity that Deepak Chopra calls the Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, but it’s up to you to walk through those doors.

Desire. Asking. Praying, concentrating, directing mental energy towards the outcome you want, followed by being ready to take advantage of the opportunities the universe presents to you, and gratitude for what you are being given, what you already have right now. If you diligently work to bring together all these elements, you can achieve fulfillment and reach your highest potential.

My husband listened. As dinner was ending, he announced, “I’m going to write a self-help book of my own, and I’m gonna call it, WHY BOTHER?”

I laughed. “Okay,” I said. “You know, you could probably sell that. So what else would you say in this great demotivational book of yours?”

He shrugged. “Eh,” he said, and started to clear the table.

Are you working towards your goals? If you've followed the principles set forth in "The Secret" or a similar self-help book, how has it worked out for you?

Saralee