Ok, I know this final post was supposed to be written at the end of last year, but I needed to wait a few weeks because there’s something I wanted to show you.
Her name is Jemima, and I picked her up from the SPCA yesterday. She’s curled up asleep on my lap right now, which is making it rather difficult to use my laptop, but I really don’t mind.
If you remember, getting little Jemima was the third and final of my goals I set near the end of January last year. To recap, these goals were:
1. Find a new job – preferably one which I enjoy, pays well, and lets me use my brain.
2. Move out of home – find a house in a nice neighbourhood, with affordable rent, and which allows pets.
3. Get a kitten – I really, really want a cat. I’m not allowed one while I live at home.
I achieved the first goal at the end of March when I accepted a two-month long temp job doing administration work. It’s been over ten months since then and I’m still there. The longer I’ve been there the more responsibilities I’ve been given, and while it still isn’t my ideal job, it is helping me to gain some really valuable experience that is benefitting me in other job applications. I still have faith that my ideal job will come along, but until then I’m happy where I am.
My second goal was achieved in December when I moved out of home and into a lovely little two-bedroom place with Duncan. It’s in a neighbourhood where your neighbours stop to talk to you about the weather, rather than hurling abusive language at you for having the nerve to walk down your own driveway. I really like it here.
The third and final piece of the puzzle, as I have already mentioned, arrived yesterday. I wanted to wait until I could take a few days off work before I got her because it seemed cruel to leave her home by herself all day as soon as she came to live here.
So what does all this mean in relation to my Secret project? Without The Secret, I know there is no way I could have achieved my goals within a year of setting them. But do I believe you can control the Universe and your surroundings by thinking positively and practising The Secret? No.
I believe that The Secret helps to put you in a better state of mind, and to find the positives in every situation. For me it helped to clarify what it is I really want, and taught me to be happy with what I have. I think that when you’re in that positive state of mind, and focussing on the things you want, you’re in a better position to recognise opportunities and ways to get those things. When you’re feeling really down, and stuck in that horrible dark swirly place, you’re never going to recognise an opportunity when it arises, because you can only see the hopelessness in everything.
I still recommend to people that they read (or watch) The Secret. I found it really inspiring, and I still practise some of the techniques mentioned in my blog – my particular favourite being the ‘I am’ technique – whenever I need to get myself into a better mindset. I believe that The Secret does work, in the sense that it helps you to get the things that you want. Whether it really does allow you to get what you want out of the Universe or not is up for debate.
