Attraction & Goals

There’s been a little power struggle going on…

I’ve been doing a little internal wrestling lately regarding my faith in God and my power as a human being to evoke change and cause events. At first I thought they were to be mutually exclusive but I keep coming back to the faith & works combination. We must have faith PLUS do the works.

My friend Jess that I mentioned in the Etsy tips post asked about my goal setting and how I went about this. So, I am happy to oblige and share a bit more with you as I wrestle with faith & works in my own head.

We’ve all heard of a little book (and movie) called The Secret right? Well, I’ll tell you the secret… shhhh… Its the Law of Attraction. It does have merit. If you think positively about your life, things you want to accomplish, be, and create, you are surely going to bring those positive things into your life. Positive thoughts = positive actions = positive results. Get it?

Now, the book/movie hypes it all up and gets your attention with how you can “attract” material things as if the universe is just one big genie in a bottle. I think the example they use is if you “attract” a new BMW by focusing your attention on a new BMW, surely you’ll get a new BMW. Look past the hype. Just think, if you told your self first thing in the morning that it was going to be a great day and you were going to be productive, then you focused your attention on those positive thoughts - instead of thinking about how you really want to give the car that cut you off the finger - you are BOUND to have a great/productive day. Try it, what have you got to lose? The secret (no pun intended) is that you really need to focus on it. Don’t just sarcastically tell yourself its going to be a great day. Picture yourself crossing off that to do list, smiling when talking on the phone, waving to your neighbor, paying your co-worker a compliment. Basically you need to RESOLVE to have a good/productive day. It worked didn’t it?

Imagine if you applied that principal to bigger goals you have set for yourself. You want to quit adding to your debt, buy a house, get a job, find the love of your life. Go for it. Resolve to bring those good things into your life. Be warned - the same thing works for negativity too, if all you think about is debt, you’re gonna be in debt, plus you’ll probably get wrinkles so QUIT IT. Start thinking positively. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

So, when I said I set some goals for my Etsy shop, I didn’t just casually create some goals. I wrote them down, I focused on them and I attracted them into my life. I truly wanted to have 5 sales. I desired it. Strongly. I pictured the number 5 next to the word sales in my Etsy account. I do have a very photographic mind so that probably helps but do what you need to do to focus on your goal.

So as I got to thinking about this “Law of Attraction” stuff I wondered… am I going against my faith by evoking change in the universe? Doesn’t God already have it all laid out for us anyways? Why not just sit back and let God give us the hand he has already predestined us to be dealt? Well, yes, God has predestined our lives but he also instructs us to have faith. Doing a little research online I ran across this idea: Christianity recognizes the power of faith to bring about positive change, not merely as an internal motivator, but also as an external creative energy. (from here)

Check out these verses that instruct us to be strong in our faith.

Luke 17:6 –If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this tree, Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you.

Matthew 7:7 — Ask and ye shall receive.

Mark 11:23 – For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

So in all things be faithful, think positive and live your best life. There I have incorporated the trifecta -God, The Secret and Oprah into one life mantra. All kidding aside, try it.