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Jump to section What's the law of attraction? How does the law of attraction work? What are the 7 laws of attraction? How to use the law of attraction to reach your goals Reasons why the law of attraction might not work It’s not magic: it’s attraction and action You are your thoughts. Treat others as you wish to be treated. Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right. All three phrases have one thing in common: the way we think and behave affects our life’s outcome. Now, achieving our goals takes more than even the most heartfelt determination. Still, an optimistic mindset matters, and we should take the power of positive thinking seriously. Your thoughts have an impact on your life. Your mindset shapes your thoughts, behaviors, and actions. Behaviors tend to influence who enters our lives and who stays, as a resource or a liability. Your thoughts and behaviors also shape your feelings about yourself and the world.
Fuelling your mind with self-criticism doesn't help your well-being or encourage flourishing, happy relationships. And it certainly doesn’t help you manifest something better.
On some days, it's hard to look on the bright side. No one should expect to always feel or be positive, but a positive attitude helps. So does a growth mindset. Changing how you feel about yourself and the world can change the way people think about and treat you. That can have tangible outcomes.
Harnessing the law of attraction is what might help you affect positive changes today and improve your quality of life.
What's the law of attraction?
The law of attraction argues that positive thoughts and actions reap positive rewards and vice versa for negative ones. This is one of the 12 universal laws of hermetic philosophy and was made famous in Rhonda Byrne’s book “The Secret.”
At the core of this philosophy is positivity. Positive thinking is linked to better physical health, longer life, and even a lower risk of heart disease. Research shows that developing a growth mindset has mental health benefits, too. It’s a powerful tool that can reduce anxiety and depression while helping manage stress.
We can use positive self-talk, visualization techniques, and bias adjustments to feel more optimistic about our current situation and embrace change for a better future.
This improved emotional state keeps us on track to build more skills, ultimately leading to greater success. And we'll even see increased mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion.
A positive attitude doesn’t mean promoting toxic positivity. Adopting an unrealistically optimistic attitude can be as damaging as an unyielding negative outlook. There’s space to acknowledge your reality and recognize that the real world doesn’t always work in your favor.
Bad things happen, and you’ll experience setbacks. But you’ll rise above these obstacles more easily when embracing a positive outlook — and the law of attraction encourages you to do just that.
How does the law of attraction work?
How the law of attraction works can differ depending on who you talk to, but it has several foundational behaviors. The first is a mindset, and the second is action. Some theories claim that you create a pull between you and what you desire in life when you focus intently.
Whether looking for financial abundance or wanting to improve our relationships, we create that metaphorical pull through growth and action, not wishful thinking. We must bring our whole selves to everything we do, both professionally and personally.
Our mental fitness demands us to set goals, create a routine, and go on a journey of self-discovery.That’s where the growth mindset comes in.
Your outlook on the world shapes many aspects of your life. Actively looking for the positive side of an issue helps you grow your self-esteem and confidence to become a better leader. You can throw away toxic traits and limiting beliefs to be brave and open to new opportunities.
That positive energy is infectious, too. Being open-minded and focusing on positive emotions attracts others who feel the same way.
It helps founders of start-up enterprises adopt an entrepreneurial mindset that helps them develop professionally. This mindset is part of what makes entrepreneurs so attractive and compelling to be around.
You don’t need to establish a futuristic enterprise to enjoy the perks of this type of personal energy. It benefits everyone by helping us connect with people who share the same passion and goal of being authentic.
What are the 7 laws of attraction?
There are seven sub-laws within the law of attraction. While we don’t subscribe to any of these being natural laws, there are some worthwhile nuggets. See what you can find here in the seven laws of attraction:
1. Magnetism
This sub-law explains that like attracts like. Negative thoughts attract one another, but positive thinking does the same.
If all we do is remain pessimistic, negative experiences will continue to come our way. But if we seek out the positive aspects of life, our perspective will focus more on finding uplifting opportunities and experiences, which results in improving our well-being.
2. Manifestation
This sub-law advises us to focus our attention and energy on the present to change it.
Fretting over the past or worrying about the future doesn’t ignite change. But if we put in the work now, we’ll create a better future and make our dreams come true.
3. Right action
Some negative aspects of our lives can be removed or changed. Toxic workplaces, unhealthy relationships, or unsatisfying careers can prevent us from living meaningful lives.
By removing these negatives, we can fill the empty space with things that help us be more purposeful with our lives. Having a clear idea of your purpose and personal values will help guide you to the replacements most likely to improve and enrich your life.
4. Delicate balance
Some days are great — but they can’t all be. You might fail or experience a setback every once in a while. Here's the thing: that's part of life. It's good to acknowledge our failures because they're an opportunity to learn. Just as we celebrate our wins, we need to recognize our losses.
5. Unwavering desires
This sub-law is all about staying focused on the goals and desires that will improve our lives. Clear, purposeful goals help us gain better health, succeed in our careers, and have healthy relationships.
Throughout the stages of our lives, we can experience many changes. But we need to know how we feel about our values and desires to stay grounded. And while our values or desires might evolve over our lives, having a clear sense of self will help us remain steadfast in accomplishing our most important goals.
6. Harmony
The harmony that we have around us can influence our energy. Tapping into the energy surrounding us helps us maintain a positive outlook while working toward our goals.
When we have people around us that share the same mentality toward achieving goals, it only benefits us. They're a source of encouragement, support, and inspiration.
7. Universal influence
This is integral to the law of attraction. What we put out into the world we get back. How we treat others has a direct impact on our lives. If you disrespect someone, you fuel them with reasons to do the same.
And if you’re positive and hard-working, people will want to live and work alongside you and you’ll enjoy better community-building and a more enjoyable, friendly workplace.
Remember: offering a helping hand goes a long way to generating positive returns, even if you don't think it directly benefits your life. Consider putting into the world what you hope to get out of it by helping others.
How to use the law of attraction to reach your goals
We can’t promise that manifestation will help you reach your goals. But some of the tenets of the law of attraction can’t hurt to try. Positive thinking is a powerful tool that can help you improve areas of your own life, either personal or professional, but it’s not the whole deal.
An intentional, continuous, and effective effort will ultimately pave the way to our goals. Here are seven ways to use the law of attraction to achieve your goals:
Understand burnout and how to recover from it
Incorporate more positive affirmations and self-talk into your inner dialogue
Look for the positives, no matter how big or small, in every situation you're in
Practice visualization by keeping a manifestation journal or creating a vision board
Spend some time in self-reflection, looking for coincidences and patterns
Learn how to identify when you start thinking negative thoughts
- Practice journaling your ideas, values, and plans
Reasons why the law of attraction might not work
The law of attraction isn't a fool-proof way of achieving your goals and living your dream life. It’s not magic. If, despite your efforts, you find that it isn't working out as you'd hoped, take some time to reflect on your actions.
Think about your behavior and how you're applying the law of attraction to your life. Here are a few reasons the law of attraction might not be working for you at the moment:
You lack objectives and/or a purpose
You aren’t sure what goals you want to achieve
You’re feeling unmotivated and unable to put in the hard work
Your self-esteem and self-confidence are low
You're experiencing a lot of mental fatigue and stress, so you lack the necessary energy
Thinking positively but procrastinating won’t bring us anywhere. But now you know that an optimistic viewpoint can inspire and drive you to work harder to reach your goals.
The right attitude is one thing, but our behavior, discipline, and clear objectives will reward us with opportunity and change. So does a little luck or serendipity. Finally, perseverance will keep us going when nothing else is working our way.
It’s not magic: it’s attraction and action
Like many other aspects of your life, your dreams only work if you do. It's one thing to have a positive outlook on life, but that can only smooth the path. It isn't what takes you places. And that's not what the law of attraction is.
Manifesting your desires is all about the combination of action, planning, and positive thinking. The sustained efforts you put into yourself now will benefit you in the future.
Start taking the first steps today toward manifesting your goals and one day, you'll see for yourself what your positive and action-filled behavior has attracted for you.
Understand Yourself Better: Big 5 Personality Test
Understand Yourself Better: Big 5 Personality Test
Well-being
Published February 22, 2023
