It's nothing new.
Norman Vincent Peal wrote about it in The Power of
Positive Thinking.
James Allen wrote, "All that a man achieves and all
that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts."
And Earl Nightingale said, "We become what we think
about."
Each author was talking about the Law of Attraction.
In short, the idea that we attract into our lives what we think about. The more
passionate our feelings, the greater likelihood of our thoughts becoming
reality.
These age-old concepts were the basis for The Secret, the best-selling book from a ew years back (and several others that
"expanded" on the process).
So does it really work? Can our conscious thoughts actually
control what happens to us? The answer is somewhat ironic. If you don't think
so, then the answer is no. On the other hand, if you believe your experiences
are the result of your thoughts, then the answer is—to a subjective degree—
yes.
The reason it works is simple. We consciously direct our
focus upon things we think about. For example, if you're thinking about buying
a particular brand of car, you suddenly begin to notice that type of car every
time you're on the road.
Much of the Law of Attraction has to do with redirecting our
focus. Most of us run through our day
with thousands of different and usually unrelated thoughts popping in and out
of our minds. But when we focus our attention on something specific, we bring
enormous mental effort to getting things done. The result? Our actions become
directed toward the target of our thoughts.
It’s simply the way our brains work. And to really bring
power to the process, we need to make careful choices about our thoughts. The
ideal situation is to choose our thoughts selectively, consciously, to make
sure our mind works on the things that will make a difference in our lives.
In short, the stuff of our dreams has always been out there,
we just need to tune in to what we want, recognize it, and make it our own.
Want to try it? Here are some suggestions:
Make of list of the things you want to change. While
this usually includes the things that frustrate, upset, and disappoint, remember
to include new skills you want to learn, places you want to go, people you want
to meet.
Make a second list of everything in your life that is
good, positive, uplifting, and beneficial. Really try to find the hidden
good that is often the result of the unexpected or what might have initially
seemed to be a bad situation. Review this list every day and add to it when you
recognize new positive situations or people in your life.
Be grateful. Realize how fortunate many of life's
circumstances have been. This is a big part of maintaining a positive attitude,
which is essential to attracting the people and situations you need to bring
about the new changes you desire.
Focus on what you want (rather become directed toward
what you don't want). This is the most difficult part of the law of attraction.
We tend to focus on our problems, the things that irritate and disappoint us. But
the more we think about the negative, the less time we have to focus on what we
do want, and produce the effort to bring it into existence. There have been
lots of studies verifying the advantages of visualization— creating mental
images of what you desire, how your world would look, how you would act and,
most important, how you feel about these images. Try to make them as real as
possible by adding a new sense each time you visualize. For example, what do
you hear? What colors do you see? And for a really tough one, try to feel the
texture of objects. When you can do that, you are controlling your thoughts.
Work on yourself first, the planet second. Trying to
change global warming or eliminating world hunger may be honorable and worthy
goals, but unless you have honed your own personal skills and abilities to be
the best you can be, you're going to be ill-prepared to face the political,
financial, and social challenges inherent to larger projects. Get your own
house in order, then focus on those issues that are important and meaningful to
you.
Finally, remember that while attitude is important, it's
taking action—doing something—that actually makes a difference in life.
(c) 2025 Jill Reid/The Jill Reid Group