I've been thinking a lot about the Law of Attraction. This concept became widely known and popular when the movie and book The Secret came out. While I love the book and the movie, I would like to take this post to explain the Law of Attraction in the way I have learned it and experienced it.
All that I have stated in my blog supports the concept of the Law of Attraction. A couple posts ago, I listed several quotes written by James Allen and all of them relate to the idea that what we think about and focus on determines what we get back in life. I like to also call this law the Law of Focus. Whatever we focus on is typically what we get. I heard a gentleman speak of this in regards to hang-gliding. He was a hang-glider himself and said there is a common problem amongst hang-gliders where they will focus on the obstacles in their way and then end up crashing into them. For example, if they focused on a rock that loomed in front of them, they would most likely hit it. If instead they would focus on the sky and their ability to soar high, they would miss that rock. So he posed the question, "What are you focusing on?" That's really what happens with the Law of Attraction. If we are focused on our past failures or painful experiences, our obstacles, our weaknesses, or our fear of the future and failing again, then our actions will lead us to fail. If we focus on success, on our belief that we are good enough and that we can succeed, then our actions will bring success. If we focus on a rock, then we'll hit it. If we focus on the sky, then we'll fly!
Favorite Quote #62:
If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right.
Recently, I watched the movie Meet the Robinsons with my kids. I had seen it before but it took on a whole new meaning this time. It is one of my new favorite movies! There is a great part where the old Goob, the evil villain in the show, goes back in time and accidentally runs into the young Goob while looking for someone else. Click here to see the interaction between the old and young Goob.
So sad! This little kid got treated unfairly. I find his experience symbolic of what happens in all of our lives. We get thrown curve balls in life all of the time and sometimes we fail to catch them. Goob didn't catch this one and he got beat up for it. But he has a choice here. He can choose to let it go as his coach advised him, or he can do what the old Goob suggests. Click here to see what the old Goob advises the young Goob to do.
Great advice huh? I don't know about you, but I totally want to have a life like Goob constantly seeking revenge, living in hate and anger and misery. Not really! But he was right. If we hold onto the negative past, letting it fester and boil inside of us, locking those feelings up and letting them fuel our actions, letting hate be our ally, then we will be capable of "wonderfully horrid things"! That is definitely the truth!
During another scene, the old Goob talks about this point in his young life when he made the choice to hang on to his hate and anger instead of letting it go. He considered himself a victim of Lewis' actions and decided to blame Lewis for his misfortune and misery. His purpose in life then became seeking revenge on Lewis. Click here to watch the clip of how Goob perceived his world when he was young because he chose to not let go.
Once again so sad! All the kids were trying to be kind and even invite him over to play, but because Goob believed he was a failure, unlikable and unworthy of friends, no matter what they said, he believed they all hated him.
Repeat of Favorite Quote #59:
We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are.
Repeat of Favorite Quote #54:
The only reason it's a part of your life is because you keep thinking about it.
Goob not only chose to hang on to his anger and hate, but he let it become is absolute focus. Because of that, hate and anger was the lens through which he saw the world. And as a bonus result, Goob actually became hate and anger himself. So let me ask the question again - what is our focus? Do we really want to focus on all the negative so that we give ourselves the same kind of future that Goob got? We may not think it will hurt us or affect us like young Goob probably thought, but fast forward to the old Goob and you can see how holding onto the negative past absolutely determined his negative future.
Let me just share with you my experience as I made the shift from thinking negatively to positively. You know about my story and my struggles for 22 years of my life. I was one of those people that constantly dwelt on my faults, weaknesses, and imperfections. I always had a guilty conscience because I never felt good enough or perfect enough. Because I focused on the negative about me and my life, my life presented me with more negative. I too, like Goob, thought I wasn't good enough, therefore no matter what good things people said to me, I didn't believe them. It was the lens through which I saw my world. When I embarked on this journey of letting go, I had no idea of what to expect. It was scary and frightening, but I was on my last leg. It was my last hope. My mentor taught me to focus on becoming aware of what was going on in my mind, particularly identifying and letting go of my negative thoughts and feelings while filling myself with the positive truth of who I really was. As I let go of more and more of the negative attachments and baggage that I had been holding onto, I made room for more and more positive. And that's when I became a magnet for more and more positive.
I'm just going to list off several of the positive things that started happening in my life at this point. I just want you to understand and grasp how powerful the act of letting go is. When you change your focus to positive, you attract positive then a positive way of life becomes the majority of your life.
1- A gal moved into my neighborhood with whom I instantly connected and we became BFF's. It was as if we were kindred spirits from our pre-earth life reuniting once again. I had never quite felt that way about a friend before. It soon proved that she came into my life for more reasons than just being a BFF.
2- This BFF was amazingly good at organizing, simplifying and letting go of unnecessary "stuff". I had been feeling a need to physically "clean out" my exterior life because I had been "cleaning out" my interior life. I particularly needed help in regards to my clothes closet, but it overwhelmed me too much to do it by myself. God sent me this BFF to help me with this. My closet was stuffed with clothes that I never wore and clothes that I didn't even like. I bought clothes because they looked somewhat decent on, what I considered, a very fat and very ugly body. I had also hung onto clothes in smaller sizes from long ago in the hopes that I would fit into them again. Can you just feel the weight and burden on my shoulders from holding onto all those clothes? So she helped me get rid of all the unnecessary "stuff" in my closet. She asked me, "Do you love this?" about every piece of clothing. Most of the time I said no. She encouraged me to just give the clothes to DI (charity) and let them go. I had a very difficult time letting the clothes go realizing how much money I had spent collecting them all. But I pressed through and I did it. I realized I would bless others more by giving it away than by holding onto it or even selling it. I gave away 10 bags of clothes to DI that night. And I felt so free!!!
3- I have heard before that if you want new clothes, then clean out and get rid of the ones you have. That's exactly what happened. As I physically let go of all the unused, unwanted, unneeded clothes in my closet, I made room for clothes I wanted and loved. I physically let go of the negative and made room for the positive. This happened in such a cool way! This same BFF happened to have a friend who was an Image Consultant in clothing and makeup. I mentioned this to my husband. When my birthday rolled around, he surprised me with a shopping spree with this gal to go get a new wardrobe and to have a makeup consultation. What a fun night that was! This talented woman came to my house and checked out my closet. With absolutely no judgement, she looked at the few remaining clothes I had held onto and made one comment. She said that I wore too much material. My clothes were all baggy and oversized. And because I wore big baggy clothes, I looked bigger than I actually was. We then went to the mall and she started picking out clothes that she thought would work for me. What I discovered shocked me! I found out I was wearing a whole size too big. I had worn baggy shirts, skirts, shorts and pants, but I looked good in skinny jeans and pencil skirts. I discovered a whole new style that I never thought my body could do. I felt like a new person that night! In addition, this gal taught me how to do my makeup in a way that accentuated my features. She gave me physical tools through the clothes and makeup I wore that enabled me to feel better about myself.
4- During this time, I was led to a doctor that helped me figure out my hormone issues and I got balanced. She also had me take an allergy test which helped me identify the food I was allergic to. I had the power and the ability to not eat those foods because I had let go of my attachments to food. My digestive issues improved. I started to lose weight. I had more energy and slept better. I just felt so much better physically.
5- My BFF once again helped me by encouraging me to try a workout that she had been doing for some time. I was hooked the first time I tried it and I have been doing it for over a year now. By finding an exercise I love to do, I have stuck with it and continue to do it on a regular basis. This has benefitted me physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. Recently, an opportunity opened up for me to become an instructor of this workout method. I never thought I would ever be a workout instructor, but here I am. I am excited about this new opportunity because I love the method and because it has helped me transform my body. (If you are interested, the workout is called Karve. It's a ballet bar method and the studio is in Lindon, UT. It originated in Arizona so it's obviously there as well.)
6- Because I felt better about myself physically due to a wardrobe and makeup makeover, because this doctor helped me balance my hormones and discover the foods I was allergic to, because I found a workout that I loved and was dedicated to, I lost 30 lbs. I let go of the negative emotionally and mentally FIRST which then enabled me to let go of the negative, excess baggage in my body and in my world. My dream of feeling good and confident about myself was coming true.
7- All of these things together resulted in increased self-confidence. I became more passionate about my purpose because I believed in myself more and I spoke freely to others about my story and how I had found peace and happiness. I started getting asked to speak to different groups and have since spoken at many firesides, youth camps, workshops and other events. I love to teach and speak so my dream to be a motivational and inspirational speaker was coming true.
8- I felt inspired to start this blog and it has been an amazing tool for me to get my thoughts written down in an organized way. My dream is to compile all of these thoughts into a book. My mentor introduced me to an accomplished mentor, author, and film-maker named Woody Woodward. Through Woody, I had the opportunity to author a chapter in a book that was just published entitled Achieve - Conversations with Top Achievers. This was a huge step for me in fulfilling my dream of writing my own book. Having a chapter in a book is a great way to get my foot in that door.
9- My marriage and family life is filled with so much more love, peace and joy. That doesn't mean my marriage and family life is perfect. There are still struggles, but my ability to deal with life with more patience, love, and calmness has greatly increased. I have become more of the mother and wife that I have always wanted to be.
10- I had a desire and felt a need to serve God more. My passion has always been teaching. I was soon called to a teaching position in my ward (church) that was daunting, but has since proved incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. I have learned and grown so much. I have absolutely loved my role as a teacher and have been so grateful for God's trust in me to teach His children.
11- Because of my desire to be a tool in the Lord's hand in helping others, He has brought several people to my door who I am now mentoring, helping them along their path of letting go of the negative, embracing and acting on the positive, and creating the peace and joy in their lives that they have been searching for.
Do you see how all of this came about? It came because my focus was on letting go of the negative and embracing the positive. My focus was on living in the moment by making the choices in the moment that would help me create my peace and happiness. I didn't focus on the "what-ifs" or even on my dreams. I was no longer saying to myself "As soon as I reach my dreams I'll be happy." Instead I asked myself, "Am I happy right now? What can I do to be happy right now? How can I be happier in this moment?" And usually the answer to those questions was to do something connected to fulfilling my purpose, to be what God created me to be. Because of this focus, all of my dreams started coming true.
Favorite Quote #62:
You don't surrender your dreams. You surrender the one thing you'll never have and you never will. CONTROL! Accept that you don't control what will happen to you. That you may or may not and that you're something exceptional either way.
Peaceful Warrior
When I made those momentary choices, I put God first. Instead of going about my day doing a bunch of random things that didn't matter, I asked God what He would have me do, how I could fulfill His purpose for my life. My life soon became filled with meaning because I was being proactive about life instead of reactive. Like I mentioned in my last post, I acted on purpose, with a purpose, for a purpose. Even laundry, dishes, and cooking meals became more enjoyable because they were part of my purpose. I believe with God all things are possible, so when I started making His will the priority in my life, everything else fell into place and my dreams started to become reality.
Favorite Quote #63:
If you put God first in your life, everything else will either fall into place or fall out of importance in your life.
Let me illustrate this for you in a diagram.
Many of us spend our energy, money and time trying to get the things we need and want. We think that if we don't work like crazy and do all we can to get those things that they won't come to us. Obviously we do have to work hard for the things we need and want, but we often go about it in a way that completely drains us of our money, energy, time and resources. There is a more productive, beneficial, energy-saving way of going about it. There is an order in receiving the things we want and achieving the dreams we dream of. The arrows in this next diagram show us the way.
Instead of leaving God out of the equation, He needs to be the focal point of the equation. When we put Him first, when our focus is on being what He needs us to be and doing what He needs us to do, then the money, resources and people will come to us which will enable us to achieve the dreams we dream of.
This is exactly what happened to me. It is truth my friends! This is how the Law of Attraction works. If you want your dreams to be realized, put God's will for you first in your life. Focus on the truth of who you really are. Be who He created you to be. Do what He created you to do. You are not giving up your self-identity, personality or individuality by doing this. On the contrary!! God doesn't want to take away who you uniquely are. That would completely go against His whole purpose for creating you the way He did for the reasons He did. He wants to empower you to be the greatest, most incredible version of you possible. And I promise you, as soon as you experience that incredible version of you, you will never go back. You will never want to be anything else but what God has designed you to be. The joy and peace He rewards you with by doing His will and being who He created you to be can't be topped by any worldly joy or pleasure.
So go be your best and brightest self! Become a magnet for your dreams by putting God first! There is no greater joy! There is no greater reward!
Have an incredibly wonderful, beautiful, merry holiday season! May your dreams come true as you are true to you!!!
be.YOU.tiful!!!
