Law of At(r)Action

Since the release of the movie “The Secret”, there has been considerable attention given to “The Law of Attraction“. Wikipedia describes “The law of Attraction”a metaphysical belief that “like attracts like“, that positive and negative thinking bring about positive and negative physical results, respectively. Although I believe that there is value to the concept of “The Law of Attraction”, I feel that many people may not achieve all that they desire since they may feel that all they need to do is sit in their home and imagine their desired future without taking an action. I feel that you will get more results from using “The Law of Attraction” if you look at is as “The Law of At Action”. You can only build “the life of your dreams” if you take consistent action in acquiring your goal. “The Law of Attraction” works because when you thinking positively about your goals you will have more thoughts about possible action steps to attain your goal.

One essential belief of the “law of attraction” is that you can manifest your desires if you have a clear picture of what you want and you believe that it is already on it’s way. If the word “metaphysical” makes you leary of the “Law of Attraction”, you can choose to look at the “Law of Attraction” pragmatically since you can observe how the “Law of Attraction” from a cause and effect perspective.

It all starts with belief. When you belief that you are worthy of having what you want in life, you will have more positive thoughts about your possibilities and more positive feelings about your actions. With any life goal, you need to believe that you can do it. It is always important to start by reflecting on your belief system as well your specific beliefs about your personal goals.  Belief makes it all possible. If you do not believe that you can do it, you are done! You will not even try to act towards your goal. If you believe you can, you will move forward.

Thoughts and feelings are also vital in creating what you want. Your brain is programmed as the ulitimate pattern recognition device. When you thoughts include a clear image of what you want, your brain starts looking for the patterns that are consistent with the picture of what you want. Feelings are vitally important in this process since our limbic system is highly tied to our memory system and we also pay more attenion to things that we have sting feelings about.

Action are the physical steps that we need to take to accomplish any goal. Once you start taking action, you will notice that you will have different choices that you had before. After each decision and each action, you will have another set of choices that you would not have even know about if you had not taken any action towards your goals. Even if you made a choice that may seem like a “mistake”, you can use the results of this choice as feedback of where you need to proceed to attain your goal.

We can use the idea of a map to conceptualize how the “Law of Attraction” can help us. First we visualize where we want to go. Next, we believe that it is possible to get there. We then use our thoughts and feelings to keep of following the route on the map. Our Actions move us down the road. When we make a “wrong turn”, we acknowledge this feedback and look at our map to see where we are. We then take consistent action and keep moving forward to our designation.

All comments are greatly appreciated!

The Four Agreements

The Four Agreements is an great book by Don Miguel Ruiz.

If you have not read it yet, I strongly recommend it. These four agreements and really help you reflect on how you are choosing to engage with others and react to life events.

Below are quotes from “The Four Agreements”

  Be Impeccable with Your Word

Words are important. Words have power to create positive or negative messages. The truth is the most important part of being impeccable with your word. Nurture the seeds of truth, empowerment, kindness and discretion with your Word.

Don’t Take Anything Personally

Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves.  To take things personally means you make the assumption that everything is about “me.” If someone gives you an opinion, it is they who are dealing with the feelings, beliefs or opinions.  If you take it personally, you take on the message, and make it yours.  You set yourself up to suffer for nothing.  You are personally and ethically responsible for your own actions and words, and no one else’s.

Don’t Make Assumptions

The problem with making assumptions is that you believe they are the truth.  All the sadness and drama you have experienced was rooted in making assumptions, and then taking them personally.  You assume that others think, feel, judge and abuse the way you do.  We make assumptions about ourselves. The way to keep from making assumptions is to ask questions.  Make sure communication is clear.  Have the courage to ask questions, including of yourself.

Always do Your Best
Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other times it will not be as good. No more and no less than your best. If you always do your best there is no way you can judge yourself.  Your best does not overdo, because you deplete your body and go against yourself. If you take action because you have to, then you cannot do your best. Action is about living fully.  Inaction is the way that we deny life.  Live your life, and always do your best.

Think from the End and Have Fun Along the Way.

One of my favorite quotes from Wayne Dyer is “think from the end”. If you want to live the life of your dreams, you need to know what the life of your dreams is.

Here is a simple exercise to help you “think from the end”. Get out some writing paper or get out your word processor, it is time to get ready to write! First, set aside some quiet time to reflect. This reflection will not work if phone calls/ family members would repeatedly interrupt you or if you are preoccupied on a report that is due tomorrow. Once you have found a quiet time and place, close your eyes and imagine what you want in your life. Take some time to explore your true wants and desires. For this exercise, remember that you are worthy of anything and anything is possible. Once you are able to imagine your perfect day in such clarity that it runs like a video in your head, it is time to write it down. Write your vision with as much detail as possible. Explain how your perfect day would start. Include the people that you would interact with. List your feelings as you move through this imagined day. Your description should include details of the sights, sounds and smells of the day.

When you have finished this exercise, you have created the destination that you wish to achieve. You can now start working on the road map of getting you there. You future vision can assist you in creating goals and can help you with further self-reflection.

What beliefs would I need to change to achieve my perfect life?

What habits would I need to implement on a daily basis to get where I want to go?

How would I need to think to achieve my goals?

What actions can I take to start moving forward?

Life is always a great adventure. Have fun along the way!

Personal Responsibility

The first step of getting from where you are to where you want to be is to take full responsibility for everything in your life.

Of course I am not talking about taking responsibility for earthquakes, tsunamis, fires and floods and unavoidable events. I am talking about talking full responsibility of your beliefs, thoughts, your chosen emotional responses, daily habits and actions.

For example, if you are dissatisfied about your current job, it is best to evaluate all the things that you can control.

Belief: What are your current beliefs about the job? Upon reflection, are your beliefs valid? Is your job consistent with your core beliefs and values? Do you have any limiting beliefs about your potential in your profession? Do you feel that you are worthy of something better?

Thoughts: What are your recurring thoughts about your job? Are your thoughts related to what you can accomplish in your job? Are your thoughts related to solving challenges, or are you fixated on problem admiration? Can you change your thoughts about your job? If you change your thoughts about the job, would your feelings about your job change?

Feelings: How are you choosing to feel about your job? Can you change how you feel? Does your emotional outlook affect how your co-workers respond to you? If you were in a different job, would your emotional response be different?

Actions: Do you have a long term plan to find another job? Do you need additional education? Have you researched other professions that you are interested in? Are there any actions that you can take in your current job to make the job more enjoyable or more lucrative?

When you take responsibility of where you are in life, you will take full ownership of what you can control in order to move forward towards your goals.

If you do not take responsibility, you are more likely to end up complaining or blaming people or circumstances for where you are in life. You will most likely stay in the same place and engage in the same thoughts, feelings and habits that have lead to your current level of satisfaction. You will continually collect data to support the belief that you are a victim and that the world is out to get you. You will hold other people accountable for your thoughts feelings and actions.

Believe that you are worthy of having the life that you desire. Choose to focus on thoughts that lead to problem solving and creating value to others. Realize that you are in control of the majority of your emotional responses and that your emotional responses have a great influence on those around you. Take the action that is needed for you to create the life our your dreams!