The Secret’s Secret
“The Secret,” published in 2006, introduced many to the law of attraction, whose premise states that one’s thoughts produces one’s experience. If you think positive thoughts, then you will have positive experiences. The same is true for negative thoughts and experiences, so it wise and beneficial to be intentional with one’s thoughts. A similar idea can be found in James Allen’s “As a Man Thinketh,” published in 1903. Allen’s inspiration came from a biblical verse in Proverbs.
Yet, the call to action is missing.
While positive thinking is essential to one’s well-being, it can also be deceptive, giving the illusion that one is moving towards one’s desired outcome. That motion may manifest as planning, learning, and strategizing. For schools “doing” equity work, it may show up as engaging in conversations to change curriculum, forming a diversity task force, and publishing letters detailing next steps towards a more equitable community. These options are setting the school up to do something different, but often do not produce change because they are seen as action. Since they are misunderstood as action, the work stops there and, unfortunately, not much changes.
Perceived action: Engaging many community members, often only adults, in multiple conversations to consider removing “To Kill a Mockingbird” from the curriculum
Real action: Choosing and teaching a different book to replace “To Kill a Mockingbird”
The self-congratulatory pat on the back for the positive thought sabotages real action from occurring. After the conversations, the task force, and the letters, schools are in the same place because the Secret’s secret necessitates action, which scares our risk averse schools. The financial fallout from the pandemic is tightening school leaders’ reliance on doing what we’ve always done. And the result is that we would have spent more time in motion, when the time called for action.
