Review of The Thought Exchange

If you've ever had the feeling that there's something missing from your life, or that there's something stopping you from achieving your dreams, you would probably benefit from watching the film The Thought Exchange. The movie is based on the book by the same name, written by renowned Disney composer David Friedman. I would categorize it loosely in the Self Help or Self Improvement genre. Its kissing cousin would be The Secret, but don't let that turn you off. There is none of the hokey, repetitive, dramatic staging found in The Secret. The Thought Exchange is much more straight forward and tolerable. (Disclaimer: I have nothing against The Secret, with the exception of its cheese factor).

Throughout The Thought Exchange, Friedman describes his revelations in learning to live the life of his dreams. Realizing that what he was doing wasn't working, he set to work trying to figure out something that would put him on the right path. What he learned was essentially the importance of working through our uncomfortable sensations to get where we want to go. Friedman purports that feeling terribly uncomfortable is a sure sign that we are heading in the right direction toward the fulfillment of our greatest wishes. He challenges us to feel the panic, the chills, and the fear, and to not only put a new name on it, but to also use these unpleasant sensations to our advantage.

Friedman, along with the narrator and the other guests in The Thought Exchange, does a great job explaining the points and practices of his theory. The mirror and shopping analogies mentioned were particularly useful as far as clarifying and putting the movie's objective in perspective. This is the type of movie that needs to be watched more than once in order to glean everything possible from it. It is a thought-provoking learning experience, and I look forward to watching it again, and reading the book as well.