The art of reaching your goals: Self-knowledge vs. the Law of Attraction

After last week’s casual meeting, through a Q&A video about self-knowledge, it’s now time to go back to a more serious content form. You know by now that I love using this blog to deconstruct self-knowledge and psychology trends, especially the most controversial ones. We have already talked about self-development, personality types and astrology. This week, it’s time to tackle the “Law of Attraction” (LOA). I’m pretty sure you’ve come across this term in the past. But how much do you know about the way it really works? And more importantly, do you already know whether or not it can be used on your self-knowledge journey?

WHAT IS THE LAW OF ATTRACTION?

I usually would say “let’s start with a very simple definition”. However, with the LOA, even if the definition is pretty simple, what’s hard to find is an objective and trustworthy source to copy it from. A simple look on Google will illustrate what I mean. Regardless, let’s use Wikipedia just for this one time, as it seems to be the most objective available source on the subject. Wikipedia defines the LOA as:

“The belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person’s life.”

So indeed, it is pretty easy in theory: you want something, you focus on it and you attract it. But where does it come from and how does it truly work?

ORIGINS AND FUNCTIONING OF THE THEORY

It seems that the LOA takes root in the New Thought movement in the 19^th century. This movement is composed of:

“religious communities that share an idealistic theology, an optimistic worldview, and an emphasis on religious rituals that focus on personal well-being, health, and material success.” (Source: Encyclopedia.com)

You maybe start to understand one of the problems with the LOA. Its name sounds very scientific, yet it comes from a religious movement. Quite contradictory, isn’t it?

The way the LOA is supposed to work, is by mixing quantum physics with philosophy. On one hand, what quantum physics supposedly tell us, is that that nothing is fixed, that there are no limitations and that everything is vibrating Energy. In this sense, putting our energy towards one goal, should allow to reach it. On the other hand, from a philosophical point of view, LOA believers claim that since reality only exists in the mind of the one who perceives it, it is possible for everyone to shape their own reality.

While these are the basis of the theory, you should know that the LOA is commonly referred to as a “pseudoscience”, and that it is not possible to either prove or disprove it up to this day. Some argue that testimonies show the LOA works, but how is it possible to prove these are not simple coincidences?

You might wonder, if the LOA comes from pseudoscience, why is it so popular? Well, it seems like it started trending back in 2007, when the 2006 movie “The Secret” was broadcasted on TV in the USA. This Australian-American documentary film consists in a series of interviews of professionals in the fields of quantum physics, psychology, theology and even finance or medicine, designed to demonstrate the legitimacy of the LOA. This movie generated a lot of media coverage, that was able to popularize the topic globally ever since.

Why are people so interested in it? Well, this is only a personal thought, but most likely because humans are attracted to things they cannot explain. And when moreover those are designed to help us achieve our dreams, it only makes it more attractive.

HOW SHOULD IT BE USED?

As it is not really the objective of this article, I’m not going to give you many details about how LOA specialists advise you to apply it in your everyday life. If the LOA is something that resonates within you, then please go read more about it and feel free to add it to your routine. But for now, here is a sneak-peak:

WHAT DOES SELF-KNOWLEDGE HAVE TO DO WITH IT?

Just like for astrology, I am not going to advise you to believe in it or not to believe in it. It’s important for everyone to construct their own beliefs and to build their personal self-knowledge toolbox. I just want to share with you some insights on how the LOA can serve your self-knowledge, and why it doesn’t really matter whether or not it can be proven scientifically.

If you apply the LOA in your life, what you will basically do is setting yourself a goal, visualize it and focus on it in order to achieve it. What this can help you with, is self-confidence. It is impossible to use the LOA and doubt yourself. By trusting the LOA, you believe you are capable of everything, as long as you put your energy into it. And when we are talking about energy, it doesn’t have to only be your mindset, it can also be your time, efforts and hard work. The LOA doesn’t have to be a scientific process to work. By giving you enough confidence and motivation, it already serves its purpose.

Now, I doubt that the LOA can serve your self-knowledge, but I will tell you in the other way around, how your self-knowledge can help you reaching your goals. By knowing yourself, you are able to set goals that are adjusted to you, to what you can and cannot do, and to what is truly good for you. Having reasonable and personalized goals, makes it way easier to reach them. And so maybe the magic behind the LOA doesn’t actually resides in quantum physics, but rather, in knowing which goals to set in order to “attract” them.

I hope this article helped you understanding the concept of the LOA better and answered some of the questions you might have had on the topic.

If I had to summarize this post, I would tell you that whichever tool you use to motivate yourself to get what you want – the LOA or anything else – what matters most is to set yourself the right goals, and find the right ways to reach them, based on you and your personal set of needs and limits.

Please let me know in the comments below: how do you motivate yourself in your everyday life? Have you ever used the LOA? If you have ever failed something in the past, do you think it came from a non-fitted goal or way to reach it?

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And until then, take care!