PHOTOGRAPHY��GETTY�IMAGES
EACH�WEEK��THE�INTREPID�JOURNALIST�BARES�HER�SOUL
E ACH�WEEK� �THE�INTREPID�JOURNALIST�BARES�HER�SOUL
C O L U M N I S T
DAWN PORTER shares…
Self-belief is the only
secret you need to know
am a self-help sceptic.
While others see life
bibles, I see a multi-million
I pound industry that taps
into people’s insecurities
and offers a million different things
to believe in. So instinctively, I question
it. However, since I’m currently living
in Hollywood – a town where everyone
seems to use some sort of self-help
‘technique’ – I wondered if I should
open my mind and investigate, so
I bought myself a copy of The Secret.
The Secret (dubious title for
something you can buy in a shop)
is basically a method for how to live
your life: achieving ultimate success,
happiness and eternal youth along the
way (although surely the secret for
that is Botox?) by thinking good things
so that good things happen.
I have to agree: positive thinking
is key to success, but The Secret itself
is a little more assertive than that. You
can’t just hope for it – you have to insist
upon what you want in this universe. So
I gave it a go, and to be honest, got
a little freaked out by what happened.
Last year, a very close friend of mine
got diagnosed with cancer. It was pretty
touch and go for a while, but in January,
she was given the all-clear. Two months
ago, it came back, but worse. Like really
worse. The first thing I asked the
universe for was to make her better.
I begged for it. A week later, I received
an e-mail from her telling me that she
had been misdiagnosed, and she might
NOT have cancer again after all.
Was it a coincidence? Probably
(I’m not that daft) but much like when
Mystic Meg is suspiciously close to the
truth with my horoscopes, it made me
momentarily abandon my scepticism
and believe. Or at least question: what
else can this ‘secret’ do?
I started to ask the universe
for everything. I asked for the job
I really wanted, happiness
for my family and friends,
a quick influx of cash and
a much faster metabolic
rate. I asked and asked and
begged and begged then
sat still on the edge of
my bed, my eyes darting
around my room, waiting
for phone calls and emails
to confirm my good luck.
One month later and
nothing else on my wish list
had happened (I had of course
moved off the bed by this point).
In fact, in some cases, quite the
opposite had occurred. A few people
on my happy list had admitted to being
particularly unhappy and I had put
on 2lbs. Which, like when Mystic
Meg is way wide of the mark, I took
as my cue to not believe again.
Not only that but – despite my
friend being better, an unreal miracle
that I do not hold myself responsible
for – I was left with an overwhelming
feeling of guilt. Had my friends grown
unhappy and my weight risen because
I’d let my positivity turn to worry and
doubt? The Secret said things would
go wrong if I thought they would. Had
“I sat on the edge of my bed, my eyes
darting around my room waiting for phone
calls and e-mails to confirm my good luck”
I made the bad stuff happen? Argh,
a person could go mad thinking
about this stuff!
Five weeks on – and 2lbs lighter
once more – and The Secret has
enlightened me into seeing that
although thinking positively is
beneficial, you shouldn’t obsess
about stuff nor beat yourself up if
a couple of rubbish things happen.
The true secret (and please excuse
me for getting all Oprah Winfrey on
you) is just to believe in yourself.
THE NEW CAMOUFLAGE
SUIT WAS PERFECT
FOR SKIVING
Here’s the
thing…
People are so
hypocritical.
As I was driving around
the other day, a man
in the road screamed at
me because I'd nearly
run him over. He was so
angry – raging and waving
his clenched fist. Fair
enough, you might say, but
I honestly didn’t see him.
And the irony of this? He
was ACTUALLY wearing
camouflage gear. I mean,
for the love of God man,
what did you expect?!
SMELL�THAT?�
PUT�A�LID�ON�IT
Why do dustbins always
smell alike? I'm serious.
No ma�er what type of
food gets thrown into
them, they always smell
exactly the same. I realised
this when I was worried
about how the bin was
going to smell a�er I threw
away some le�over curry
last week.
But it
didn’t
smell of
curry
a few
hours
later – it
just smelt
of bins.
Bins…
fascinating!
WWW�STYLIST�CO�UK����
W WW�S TYLIS T�CO� U K� �
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.