Does the law of attraction work?
Partly, and not in the way the film suggests. Here is what holds up and what does not.
What does not hold up
The strong claim, that thoughts send out a force which pulls matching events toward you, has no support in physics. The quantum language used in the field is metaphor.
There is also research pointing the other way on pure wishing. The psychologist Gabriele Oettingen has found across many studies that people who only fantasise about a good outcome tend to put in less effort and achieve less than people who also picture the obstacles.
What does hold up
Expectation changes behaviour. People who expect to succeed try more things, persist longer, notice more openings and ask for more. A clear goal held in mind directs attention. Mental rehearsal improves performance in sport and music. None of that is mystical, and all of it is what the better teachers are describing.
Why most people see nothing change
Three reasons come up again and again. The goal is vague. The person says the words and does not believe them. And a thought running the other way, "people like me don't get that", is doing its work unnoticed.
The Secret addresses none of the three. That gap is the difference between an introduction and a training.
The verdict
The useful version of the idea is real: what you expect and attend to shapes what you do and what you get. Treat it as a skill to be trained.
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