The problem with the law of attraction

Personally, I am a big fan of the concept explained in the secret by Rhonda Byrnes, as well as a somewhat believer in the law of attraction. However, I feel that like many things, it has been taken out of context. 

What is the law of attraction?
“Simply put, the Law of Attraction is the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on. It is believed that regardless of age, nationality or religious belief, we are all susceptible to the laws which govern the Universe, including the Law of Attraction. It is the Law of Attraction which uses the power of the mind to translate whatever is in our thoughts and materialize them into reality. In basic terms, all thoughts turn into things eventually.” (Thelawofattraction.com)

“You reap what you sow.” But to actually reap, you can’t sit on your ass visualizing what you sow, you actually have to put in the work.

I believe that for the law of attraction to actually work you have to be pro-active. Waiting for opportunities to come your way, and being mad that they don’t isn’t very productive. Creating your own opportunities and then visualizing that you’ll complete the task ahead might be helpful. Yet, remembering the distinction between visualizing and fantasizing is dire.

Fantasize
verb
       1. indulge in daydreaming about something desired.

Visualize
verb
       1. to recall or form mental images or pictures.

You cannot think your way to financial freedom, or better health, but you can visualize completing the steps required in order to reach your goal to increase success. Life is all about balance, and this goes for the law of attraction as well. Visualization is great when combined with pro-activity, but alone, both of these things have a reduced value.

Context and balance, and being able to see the bigger picture is in my opinion “the secret.”

I myself like to think that whatever you put out in the world will come back to you x3. For example, if you are spreading positivity, it will come back to you x3. This rule of three can be helpful in understanding where many fail. If all you ever do is imagining what you want, more imagination is what you’ll get. While if you visualize and actually do what you are visualizing you’ll get more of that back.

Visualization as per the law of attraction can truly be a helpful tool in gaining the life you want, the problem is that books and movies like “the secret” are isolating this idea which results in removing it from its context.

Whether you are a visualizer or a doer you have something to learn from the other. Don’t reduce yourself to the singular, strive to be it all.