For the past couple months, I have practiced taking a different approach towards life. Since I could remember, a natural instinct of mine is to stress and overthink the smallest things. I have always struggled with anxiety, and college has definitely pushed me to my limits. However, with each experience, I have learned a new lesson and I have grown in a variety of ways. I have learned that negative thoughts can sometimes even lead to more negative bumps in the road, yet one positive thought can potentially have a lot of impact in any situation. I chose to take the course of Positive Psychology because it would help me end my last couple of semesters of college on a good note. Recently, my father recommended a book to me named “The 10 The 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace” by Dr. Wayne Dyer. In all honesty, this book has given me positive insight to apply towards every action I take from here on out. That is why I believe Positive Psychology and this book can relate in a variety of ways.
The 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace by Dr. Wayne Dyer consists of advice to choose a path of spiritual and positive wisdom. As the title states, the book suggests ten secrets to apply to one’s daily life in order to successfully live a happier and peaceful life. Having a very simplistic and inviting front cover, the book is very easy to skim through the 10 chapters that state a different quote that reveals each secret. Though it is very simple to read these short phrases, each chapter describes the secret that pertains to that chapter in depth. It provides different approaches to apply that secret to our daily life. I think a good way to really practice the wisdom this book provides is to scan through each secret and then read that one chapter that reverberates at the moment.
One should allow themselves to really digest what the message behind that chapter provides and give a few days to practice applying it to daily life. As humans, we all have grown to have our own morals and own principals. If there is one secret that does not particular speak to you, one should not force themselves to practice something they do not agree with. Again, this self-help book only suggests advice, does not force upon anything, and one can take it as they will. I am going to be honest, this book does not speak about success as one may think it does. The term success in this book reveals a deeper message on reaching upmost potential of inner peace with oneself which can help one shift their thoughts on what true success in life means.
Reading this book, I learned that I had to keep an open mind at the message it was providing. Which leads to the first secret: “Have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing” (Dyer, 2016). Since an early age, we have all been conditioned to practice the morals and culture that have been instilled within us. Though it is very beneficial for different ideas to unite, as humans we tend to hold a lot of pride towards our own beliefs, which can be difficult to accept different opinions aside from our own. This secret teaches us to be open about different outcomes by freeing oneself of any attachments to our expectations or own ideas. This message really spoke to me, allowing me to try going with the flow in different events. However, it is important to stay true to oneself leading to the second secret that states: ‘Don’t die with your music still in you’ (Dyer, 2016). This message reveals to follow your passion that calls you even if your own rhythm of actions is different from those people that surround you. Following your passion opens a path to self-love and self-respect. However, if one has no love for themselves, it is very difficult to give others love. The secret, “you can’t give away what you don’t have” speaks of this (Dyer, 2016). It emphasizes how it is important to have an overwhelming amount of love and respect for oneself so that it is easy to give it away to others.
The secret “embrace silence” emphasizes how silence allows us to calm our minds while reflecting on inner peace, which helps drive away any negative energy. Another secret that spoke to me was “give up your personal history.” As human beings, we tend to hang on to past events that we sometimes use to justify current self-sabotaging actions. Dr. Wayne Dyer (2016) suggests to forgive ourselves for past mistakes, view our past history with compassion for what we have overcome, and begin living in the moment. The secret “You can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it” is actually very enlightening. In every problem, Dr. Wayne Dyer (2016) suggests that any problem can be resolved if one learns to look outside the box by changing our minds and thoughts.
Throughout our lives, we sometimes hold grudges towards those who have wronged us. However, the secret “there are no justified resentments” speaks about how holding grudges and resentments can damage us more than the event itself. If one learns to let go of any resentment, they free themselves from any hate or negativity pertaining to past memories (Dyer, 2016). The secret “treat yourself as if you already are what you’d like to be” suggests to manifest our dreams and intentions by applying our energy and living as if our dreams already exist. “Treasure your divinity” recommends to think that God, higher power, divine realm, etc. as something that is everywhere and found within us (Dyer, 2016).
The last secret, and probably my favorite, is “wisdom is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you.” I believe that this one in particular is very true. Our thoughts have more energy than we know. When we think negative, we unconsciously call upon negative reality. However, our whole reality can change with just one positive thought. Dr. Wayne Dyer (2016) suggests to replace any negative and weakening thoughts with positive thoughts of joy and peace, which can manifest a peaceful reality. The course of Positive Psychology basically speaks about this. General psychology focuses on how to fix situations such as anxiety, depression, addiction, etc. that already exist. However, when studying the approach of positive psychology, it focuses on being able to avoid these negative situations by focusing on implying positivity to our thoughts and actions, ultimately leading to a happier lifestyle.
