"Cogito. Ergo, Sum." is a Latin phrase originally coined by the French philosopher René Descartes in his Discourse on Method in 1637. It was translated then into French as, "je pense donc je suis" and is often translated into English as the familiar, "I think, therefore I am." I know you have heard that one! But, what does it mean? How does it apply outside of a philosophy text and into the real world?
Well, it is now nearly 400 years later. And though we say things differently, the same human experiences apply. Today, we call that sort of thinking "The Law of Attraction." The Law of Attraction is defined by Urban Dictionary as, "the belief that positive thoughts are magnets for positive life experiences, and negative thoughts are magnets for negative life experiences." I know, you're probably calling bull right now. How can what I think make a difference when it's what I do that produces results? Stay with me. It will make sense.
Think of it this way. If you had something that you needed to do, and you consistently thought, "I can't do this." Eventually, you will find a way not to even attempt to do it. An example would be, thinking, "after work, I have no time to workout." When the reality is that you have plenty of time to work out, you just fill that time up with other things such as checking social media or watching television. This happens, not because you do not want to workout, it happens because you have tricked yourself into believing that you have no time. What does the Universe do when you trick yourself into believing such things? It gives you a million reasons not to! One of my mentors in business explains it this way: He says that our thoughts become our words, and our words become our actions. What follows after that is a "byproduct" of whatever it is we have thought.
Now, to make the Law of Attraction work in your favor is easy to explain. You can accomplish this by identifying the things in your life that you are unhappy with, and shifting the way you think about those things. If you do this, you will start to see positive results in your life because you are actively challenging yourself to change. Take money for example, a lot of people have a negative feeling about money. If all you think about money is, "I don't have enough, I will never get out of debt." etc. You'll most likely stay in that position. However, if you start to think of money as a tool to get what you need and want in life, and then think about positive ways you can make more of it you will see that your relationship with money changes. On top of that, you will also see that financial abundance can come from looking at money in a positive light. This works with almost anything in life.
A personal example of shifting and seeing positive results involves my Christian faith. I previously believed that no matter what, Jesus loves me; but he's never going to help me. I will never be worthy enough to be saved. Scripture told me that I was wrong of course, but that didn't change my outlook. So, I drifted farther and farther away from my faith. The longer I stayed away, the more tenuous it became and I even became resentful of God! Until, despite everything, I realized that I needed Him. I needed his help and guidance on my path to self-discovery and to change my life. So, I decided to go back to church. My reward, was receiving the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues for the very first time on that first Sunday back. Less than a month later, I let go of the belief that I was unworthy and joyfully was baptized. In hindsight, I realize that changing my thinking of my own self-worth is what caused me to take physical action towards humbling myself in front of Almighty God. Me? A creature who is far from righteous, was and is good enough for Him. All because I opened myself up to the idea. I understand that many reading this may be of different spiritual belief, or none at all. And that is fine, I am not writing this to try to convert you. I am writing this to show something that I believe to be very positive in my life coming about all because I chose to think differently.
Henry Ford once said, "whether you think you can, or think you can't you are right." This quote directly relates to the Law of Attraction. When you release negative energy, fear and doubt into the Universe, that is what you will get back. It may represent itself in how others see you, how you see yourself, and even your level of success in life - or lack thereof.
Instead of saying to yourself, "I am not cut out for this," try instead, "I am learning this, and I am getting better daily."
Will you feel some mental pushback when you start? Absolutely. But, that is normal and healthy! It takes time to alter your subconscious and rewire your thinking. It does not happen overnight, and it must be practiced daily. It must be something that you choose. Whatever it takes, for however long it takes. Each time you stop, you will have no choice but to start all over again, if your thinking has not permanently changed yet.
All of this is quite new to me, and I am just a fledgling on this path but, I decided to give it a shot. Trusted mentors of mine have offered the advice, and I took it because they have been where I am. If I want to achieve even a fraction of the success that these people have, I am willing to change. I trust and admire them, and my thought is that it won't hurt. If the only thing that comes of it is that I feel better, well that's about as good of a change as I can imagine. Who knows what positive things could come into your life?
I am imploring you to give this topic more study. Don't take my word for it. Learn about the Law of Attraction on your own! (I can offer some book recommendations, if needed! Just email me at reclaimingmyselfblog@gmail.com.)
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