The Secret/law of attraction (Byrne)

Australian television producer Rhonda Byrne was named among Time magazine’s 100 influential people after The Secret became a bestseller in 2006. The book claims that thoughts attract matching events through a universal law. That metaphysical claim has many adherents but is not supported by scientific evidence.

When to use it

• Use the practical parts—goal clarity, visualisation and focused attention—when working towards a personally meaningful outcome.
• Possible applications include career progress, recognition or a financial objective, provided they are translated into action and realistic constraints.

Origins

Byrne’s Time recognition and the success of her 2006 book brought ‘law of attraction’ teaching to a mass audience; the magazine’s list contained 100 people. Her account drew from the older New Thought tradition and works including Charles Haanel’s The Master Key System, originally a 24-week correspondence course published in 1912, and Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich from 1937.

What it is

Byrne presents a three-part method: ask for an outcome, believe it will occur and become ready to receive it. The book treats thoughts as a force that causes the universe to supply corresponding events.

A defensible psychological interpretation is narrower. A clearly defined goal can influence attention, persistence, planning and the opportunities a person notices. Positive expectations may support effort, but they cannot guarantee health, wealth, promotion or any event controlled by other people and systems. Outcomes also depend on action, resources, chance, structural conditions and feedback.

How to use it

The method cites the biblical line ‘whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive’ (Matthew 21:22) and proposes:

1. Ask: define and visualise the desired result in concrete detail.

1. Believe: build commitment and imagine what acting consistently with the goal would require.

1. Receive: prepare to recognise progress and respond with gratitude.

For practical use, add an evidence-based action plan. Identify behaviours, milestones, resources, people to consult and conditions outside your control. Use visualisation to rehearse the process as well as the result. Seek disconfirming evidence, update the plan and distinguish a motivational belief from a factual prediction.

Final analysis.

Sustained attention can lead someone to read more, speak with relevant people and reorder priorities, increasing the chance of progress; see Reticular activating system. That mechanism does not validate a cosmic law. Claims that thought alone causes events can encourage magical thinking, survivor bias and victim-blaming when illness, poverty or failure is attributed to insufficient positivity.

Top practical tip

Use a vivid goal to focus attention, then define the next observable action, evidence of progress and conditions that may require adaptation.

Top pitfall

Positive thought is not a guarantee and must never be used to blame people for adversity or replace medical, financial or professional evidence.

Further reading

Byrne, R. (2006) The Secret. New York: Atria. Haanel, C.F. (2007) The Master Key System. Radford, VA: Merchant Books. Hill, N. (2007) Think and Grow Rich. Radford, VA: Wilder Publications.