The beginning of something wonderful?

22 years old, unemployed, living with my parents.  What have I got to lose?

In one week’s time I will embark on a quest to find my ideal life.  I’m going to hand my destiny over to the universe, and live life according to The Secret.  In case you’ve been living on another planet for the past few years, The Secret is a book and movie which focuses on the law of attraction and teaches us how we can create our ideal life through our thoughts. 

You’re probably wondering why on earth I would want to leave my fate entirely in the hands of the universe for a whole six months.  Firstly, I want to know whether The Secret truly can change people’s lives the way it suggests it can.  According to the book, I can have millions of dollars, be impervious to disease, live in my dream home, drive an expensive car, be successful, and even fix my dodgy eyesight.  The Secret tells us we can do and have anything we want.  If we can think it we can do it, be it, and have it.  I’m curious as to whether it really is possible to have this kind of control over our lives simply by controlling our thoughts.

My second reason (and, I’ll be honest, main reason) for conducting this experiment is because I am literally out of other options.  2010 was such an utter failure of a year for me.  I completed my degree at the end of 2009, and 2010 was supposed to be the year that I began my career.  When I think back to this time last year I was so excited about finally going out into the real world, earning some money, and having a job that I enjoyed going to.  I was not at all prepared for what the year had instore for me.

A series of unfortunate events saw me lose all my possessions in a burglary, crash my car, receive a rejection letter for every job I applied for, and be stuck in a job that made me want to cry every morning when my alarm went off.  By the end of September I’d decided that happiness was more important to me than an income, and so I gave my employers a month’s notice of my resignation.

I must have been somewhat delusional because I really did believe that a month would be enough time for me to find a new job.  But you’ve already guessed what comes next, right?  Fast-forward to November and I’m sitting at home with no job.  When the contract expired on our flat in December it was inevitable that I would have to move back in with my parents.

So here we are in 2011, 22 years old, unemployed, living with my parents, and about to start a six month project which involves thinking my way to a better life.  It might sound like a crazy idea, but really, what have I got to lose?