Why Affirmations Don’t Work – Part 17

The Secret

I would say that one of the things that makes The Secret so exciting is the way that it is marketed as some special, mysterious thing that has existed for centuries, has shaped our world and has established genius and fortune – yet has remained hidden. When you hear such things, you instinctively think, “What is this secret? Tell me, please!”

The truth of the matter is that the power of the subconscious mind and the ability to use affirmations has been known and used for many years now. Dr Joseph Murphy wrote about the subconscious mind and affirmations in his classic work on this subject, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, which was first published in 1962. Even before that, Émile Coué used affirmations during the beginning of the twentieth century. So as you can see, “The Secret” is not so much a secret after all.

The Law of Attraction

The extremely popular Law of Attraction also conveys a sense of awe and excitement in that it is marketed in a spiritual wrapper. The Law of Attraction uses New Age speak to make the use of affirmations somewhat magical and mystical. There is a characteristic charm that no doubt accompanies such a focus.

I love Science Fiction – I have all three seasons of the original Star Trek on DVD. But I know that what contributes towards Science Fiction’s appeal is the fact that it is fantasy – it takes you away from your hum-drum existence into an exciting new world of make-believe.

In a similar way to Science Fiction, I believe that the Law of Attraction presents an exciting, other-worldly means of attaining whatever you want in life. Apart from the other-worldly appeal – there is also the excitement of being able to claim or attract things from the “universe”.

Personally, I am spiritual, I believe in destiny and divine purpose; I am Christian and therefore I believe in a God who involves Himself closely in our day-to-day lives – not just on important occasions.

I also believe that there is a type of law of attraction that we experience on a daily basis: I believe that people attract other people who are like them and that positive thinking people tend to attract positive experiences and vice-versa. But I cannot help but feel that there can be the tendency to exclude yourself from the picture when a spiritual, New Age wrapper is applied to goals and affirmations.

As I have said before, it is not the achievement or the material thing a person attains which determines his character, happiness, quality of life and level of success. All these things have much more to do with who you are on the inside, and therefore, your character, and ultimately, that comes down to the way you think.