You can’t just think good thoughts and expect that good things will fall into your lap. Just thinking positive thoughts doesn’t cut it as I clearly pointed out in Why Positive Thinking Doesn’t Work. What’s clear to me is that applying the Law of Attraction effectively comes from becoming clear on what you want and then making the mental shift to receive it by acting as if you already own it.
Here’s a 5 step process to help you manifest and use the Law of Attraction more effectively in your life:
Step 1: Decide What You Want
One of the best ways to decide what you want is by knowing what you don’t want. This in itself helps you create the contrast in your experience so you can put your attention on what you really do want.
It seems very simple but the honest truth is that too many people put their attention on what they don’t want as I explain in Why You Attract What You Don’t Want.
In my Workbook I point out that some people are afraid to make the wrong decision. They don’t want to look bad or think that they did something wrong and that’s why they can’t decide.
So instead of deciding they procrastinate. They put off the decision. The irony is that the more you put off your decision the longer it takes you to get clear on what you really DO want.
Just think about it. Let’s say you’ve never had a salami sandwich before, but today you decide to you’re going to have one. As you eat the salami sandwich you realize that you hate salami. It tastes absolutely awful.
You shrug this off and decide to try a ham sandwich instead (because you now know that you don’t like salami). The ham sandwich tastes great. You can’t believe how tasty it is and wish you would have known about this magical meat sooner.
The fact is that with every new experience you have you begin to experience contrast. Each time you taste a different type of sandwich you have a new experience – and each new experience gives you more contrast relative to your previous experience.
The more experiences you have the greater the contrast. The greater the contrast the faster you can pinpoint what you don’t want and get clearer on what you do want. Decision is the starting point.
Step 2: Write It Down
After you decide what you want it’s important to write it down. It’s like using a highlighter while taking notes. Written thoughts highlight an intention to your subconscious mind.
Writing out your goals and intentions also helps you gain clarity and focus as I point out in How to Believe in Your Dreams – 3 Steps.
When you write out your goals and intentions you want to give them a direction and a magnitude. This is the fastest way to Setting and Achieving Your Goals. The direction helps you stay focused and the magnitude helps you measure how you feel about what you want to accomplish.
Both are equally important when using the Law of Attraction.
Step 3: Identify Any Limiting Beliefs
Assuming you know what you want and it’s written down, your now ready to receive it. The process of receiving what you want comes through your action. The problem that surfaces is that at some point you will feel torn between acting and not acting.
In come your limiting beliefs. The only way to successfully own and achieve your dreams is to conquer your limiting beliefs. Sometimes just being aware of these limitations helps you overcome road blocks, but that’s not always the case.
There are literally thousands of these limiting beliefs and false mental scripts running in our subconscious minds. Some are more common than others, but here are what I think are the top three: 3 Limiting Beliefs That Restrict Your Ability to Manifest
Step 4: Let Go of Attachment
Attachment can come in many forms. Sometimes we need a new perspective or a way of looking at things to help us get moving again. More times than not, it’s because we’ve become attached to our outcome. As I explain in my video How to Detach From Your Desired Outcome sometimes the fastest way to get what you want is by letting it go.
When I was 16 I used to work at Wendy’s (the restaurant). At the end of the night I had to dump all the burger grease into a huge green bin by the parking lot. That was disgusting and because I was working in a greasy environment my face exploded with pimples. That didn’t help my self-esteem and it didn’t help me with girls either ;)
After working at Wendy’s for about a year I got fed up. It was greasy and the pay was mediocre. I was going to get up and quit, but felt really attached to the extra income. I didn’t want to lose this money.
Then something happened. It was during the week the Manager asked me to turn on the lights to the Wendy’s balloon as it got dark outside. You may have seen one of these balloons before. Here’s a picture,
So I did exactly what the Manager said to do. I turned on the lights for the Wendy’s balloon and went on with the rest of my evening routine.
The next morning I got into work and the Manager was furious. He said that I forgot to raise the balloon before I turned on the lights. And because I didn’t raise it before turning on the lights, several football size holes were burnt into the balloon. I burnt down the balloon. This didn’t happen once, but three times. Eventually, the Manager cut back on my shifts. This was a real drag because I wasn’t making as much money so I quit.
The lesson?
Let go of what you don’t want so you can get clear and refocus on what you do want. I held onto this job because I was attached to the money. When I finally let go of my attachment I could finally refocus on new opportunities. Two weeks after I left Wendy’s I got a new job working at a local grocery store.
Step 5: Take Inspired Action
The key to inspired action is give up what you think should do and to begin focusing on how you want to feel. So when you take action it’s really about how you feel and how you approach those better feelings with your action.
It’s not about what you think you should do.
The truth is that this shift happens slowly. At first you may only take inspired action once per week. Then as you start to get a handle on this new way of acting, it’s starts to come to you more naturally. You’ll instinctively begin acting from this new place.
Some of the greatest insights I’ve had and shared with you have come from giving up on what I thought was “right” for me and shifting my focus to what makes me feel good. Adopting this mental shift has had a huge impact on my behavior, creativity and performance.
For a more detailed look at inspired action, be sure to see my previous post: 3 Steps to Help You Take Inspired Action.
These are 5 steps to effectively using the Law of Attraction. It’s more than just thinking positive thoughts – you’ve got to decide what you want, write it down, identify limiting beliefs, let go of attachment and take inspired action.
8 Comments
Sandi Silva
June 15, 2010Great article. You made some good points and I love the way you broke it into steps. Thanks!
Sandi Silva
Sandra Hendricks
June 23, 2010Hi Steve,
What a well written article! As I read the segment concerning your situation at Wendy’s, I had to wonder. When you roasted the balloon, did you actually get what you desired on a subconscious level? I mean you didn’t want the position, and you focused on that, correct? So in the end you received what you wanted, a different job. It is amazing the way our subconscious mind works everything out for us.
Regards,
Sandra
Steve
June 23, 2010Hey Sandra – yes, I totally got what I wanted (which was out of that job)
Good catch. You’re sharp!
Anil
July 8, 2010Hi! Steve, You explained the Law of attraction very well, but the second last point was not properly explained. The point is correct that “Let go off the attachment”. But explanation was not correct.
Allow me to help you understand that how does the Subconscious Mind work as per our desire.
1. Strong Desire: which is best explained in your above points.
2. Practice: Again and again reminding or practicing. Which i guess you missed out. Preferably it should be done at least for 3 weeks.
3. When: Missed above. The subconscious mind gives best result when practiced between 0200 hrs to 0400 hrs. As that is the time when the cosmic frequencies flows smoothly, because neither the sun now the moon rules the sky at that time.
4. Then the last point, that is; Letting it Go:
When the thought is always there in your conscious mind then it proves to be a hindrance for the Subconscious mind. Hence, In a day practice the law of Attraction only once. Then keep yourself busy throughout the day, that is because you wont be remembering the things in your conscious and the subconscious mind will have ample time to work on it.
Rest all you said was perfectly explained.
About me: To know about me, check my interest section in my profile.
Steve
July 8, 2010Hey Anil,
Appreciate your response on letting go. I also felt I didn’t explain it as well as I would have liked to, which is why I included an additional link on Detachment.
That being said, I enjoyed your explanation of the Law of Attraction being a daily practice for your conscious mind (that you let go of) so you can work on the rest of your daily activities. It’s similar to the explanation I gave in my video 3 Stages of Goal Achievement
P.S. Be sure to include your blog, Linkedin Profile, or other links in the url section when you comment here. That way others reading this will be able to click through to find out more about you :)
Mark
August 17, 2010Hi Steve,
I hear that a lot, taking inspired action towards your goal.
But what if you dont know which kind of action you can/must take?
Because with what i want, its hard to tell what action that i can take.
I hope you can open my eyes?
Mark,
Steve
August 21, 2010Hey Mark,
See: 3 Steps to Inspired Action
diane
April 16, 2013I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this
website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
Plz reply as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. kudos
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