Scott Adams and The Secret

If you read this blog, you know I’m a Scott Adams super fan :-)
I was very amused by his entry on The Secret.

When I first read The Secret, I think I agreed with 85% of the content. But the weight part was huge problem for me. One of the things that I thought ridiculous was when she said you’re not supposed to observe fat people if you want to be thin. You need to focus your thought on people who have the weight you’d like to have:

“If you see people who are overweight, do not observe them, but immediately switch your mind to the picture of you in your perfect body and feel it. (...)Make it your intention to look for, admire, and inwardly praise people with your idea of perfect-weight bodies. Seek them out and as you admire them and feel the feelings of that-you are summoning it to you.”

I think we are all entitled to some narrow minded hypocrisy. And like everyone else, I read this part and felt somewhat disgusted, like if the author was being prejudice against people who are overweight. Again, Scott Adams opened my eyes. Look at what he wrote in the Dilbert blog about reviews on The Secret:

“One skeptical reviewer picked the most outrageous sounding example in the book to point out how ridiculous it is. Apparently the book claims, without science to support it, that if you want to be thin, you should avoid overweight people, even to the extent of avoiding looking at them.

Clearly, that’s mumbo jumbo.

Today I read in the news that researchers have discovered weight to be “socially contagious.” Your chances of becoming obese are 57% higher if you have ONE friend who is obese.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/25/health/webmd/main3097001.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3097001 “

I then thought to myself… after coming to work on my new company, I’ve been dressing down a lot. The reason is… everyone here dresses down. Women don’t really look like women most of the time. I think some of them don’t really brush their hair in the morning. And to blend in, I’ve been unconsciously trying to copy the way they dress. My new circle of friends in the US is also much heavier than my previous circle of friends. Since I got here, I gained 6 pounds that I cannot find a way to lose. Coincidence? Or maybe it’s me, trying to fit into the ugliness of the place?

Well, maybe I should stop being a hypocrite, because I think it’s ok to avoid unhappy people because they make me feel sad. Maybe the same applies to weight and appearance. Maybe I should invest in better looking friends that have the same health values that I do.

***

According to the research, if one friend becomes obese, your chance of getting obese too increase by 57%. If two friends become obese, your chance of gaining weight jumps to 171%. And the most amazing thing is that the chance increases even if your friends live far away from you.

The researchers said they are “stunned” with the results. I’m not.