Law of Attraction

System

The human brain can be conditioned to believe whatever you want it to believe.

If a person suffers from anxiety and negativity to the point where it stops them from doing something then this can work. Conditioning the brain to stop thinking negatively will improve an individuals confidence and lower anxiety which IMHO makes it completely plausible that such a strategy does lead to success.

OTOH I doubt Bill Gates would benefit from it much.

Cottage_Economy

There a couple of things i believe in.

One, whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.

Two, creative visualisation. I find visualising something i want or need makes me more likely to spot the opportunities that could lead to getting it. I don't believe i attract these things in a Law of Attraction way, more that i open up my mind and eyes to possibilities and see them when they arrive in front of me.

Cottage_Economy

Oh and taking action every day towards something you want.

It's all very well visualising but you have to get off your butt and work a plan of some kind to get it. The plan might not work out the way you have written down, you may get what you want in a different way to what you've planned, but you have to get some kind of plan of action going and get your backside off the sofa first. Then adapt the plan as you go along if you need to.

Mojisola

Cottage_Economy wrote: »

There a couple of things i believe in.

One, whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.

Two, creative visualisation. I find visualising something i want or need makes me more likely to spot the opportunities that could lead to getting it. I don't believe i attract these things in a Law of Attraction way, more that i open up my mind and eyes to possibilities and see them when they arrive in front of me.

Cottage_Economy wrote: »

Oh and taking action every day towards something you want.

It's all very well visualising but you have to get off your butt and work a plan of some kind to get it. The plan might not work out the way you have written down, you may get what you want in a different way to what you've planned, but you have to get some kind of plan of action going and get your backside off the sofa first. Then adapt the plan as you go along if you need to.

And used as a tool to focus your efforts and open your mind to new opportunities, it's very useful.

Mojisola

Cottage_Economy wrote: »

One, whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.

I'd qualify this a bit - I've got a long-standing health problem and no matter how much I think I can do certain things, I can't.

I can manage my life better - and be happier - by thinking positively about the things I can do but there are limits. I know some people who feel really guilty because others have told them that if they just really believed, they could achieve things that are beyond them.

determined_new_ms

I think it does work and for the reasons people have said. The times when I have really wanted something I have seen, thought about and felt it. I wanted a 1st at university, I wanted it real bad.So I worked real hard to get it, every day and I kept that goal in mind, told people I was going to get it and I did.

When I go for an interview and I visualise myself at the end of the meeting, smiling, feeling confident and relaxed and 9/10 that's how I feel.

These things make sense. If you want something real bad you'll work towards it.

I don't think it works for the lottery though!

egoode

I hate the term 'law of attraction' but I do understand why it can work but ultimately it still takes a lot of work. I only know about the 'law of attraction' from watching Oprah but it tied in with things I already did which was having goals, regularly reviewing progress on them and reviewing what goals I had.

Some people will have 1, 5 and 10 year plans this is similar to the 'law of attraction' as you are focusing on what you want in life and because of this everything you do in your life will help you get there by both conscious and unconscious actions. I can also be quite a cynical person but if there's something I really want in my life I will do everything I possibly can to ensure I get it, it sounds like your friend has done the same and you will probably find you've also done similar things in your life as well.

southerndave

I am just reading books about this myself and it is fascinating. I think the OP kind of answers their own question in the first post. Their friend was previously a negative person and reaped the rewards for that, but by changing their mindset a little they are now attracting better results in their lives. It doesn't really matter how or why this occurred but the stated fact is there is and has been a positive change in their friend - that has to be a) evidence and b) good, right?

Now I understand the scepticism and I am a naturally negative and cynical person. However, part of the LOA and similar methods I have been reading all suggest an element of faith or belief and I think this is key.

I don't think it is important to understand how or why this can work, just that if you think and believe it will, it will. Some of the more cynical replies especially along the lines of I imagine a bottle in my fridge and it wasn't there when I checked are a pretty sneering and ill-thought argument. To try a method like LOA or similar you must do it with an open mind and an element of belief - if you go into it with a closed mind and already accepted belief that it won't work, then it won't, it can't and you are merely proving your own negative.

Some LOA advocates would even say that a cynical person setting out to prove LOA doesn't work (because they don't believe it will) are actually proving it does by pre-determining the outcome of failure with their negative thoughts to start with!

The basic underpinnings of LOA and positive thinking, goal-setting, NLP, et al seem akin to many teachings of world religions both formal and informal, essentially that everything you need is within you and there are just different methods for accessing and controlling that power.

As the Beatles sang:

"Try to realize it's all within yourself
No-one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small,
And life flows ON within you and without you."

nickj_2

life is what you make it ,