LoA in the News

The Law of Attraction has been in the news a lot lately. What's it all about? It sounds like a personal development dream come true. The Law of Attraction is based on the idea that you create your reality by way of intention. If you make an intention for lots of money or romance or a new car or better health, and then fuel that intention with positive energy, you get what you intended. Can't get a much better promise of self improvement than that, can you? This is known as magical thinking. As with any delusional belief, it can be distorted so that any outcome is proof. Something good happens to you? It was the Law of Attraction at work! Something bad happens? Ohhhh, you must have been doing it wrong. Bad energy! It's a great way to scam gullible people into buying worthless junk. It certainly is true that you create your reality to a large extent, in that your thoughts and beliefs and attitudes shape your experience of reality. If your outlook is miserable, your experience of life is going to be pretty miserable. If your outlook is cheerful and positive, well guess what? That's what your experience of life will largely be. So go right ahead and "create positive intentions," which is sort of a New Agey way of saying "set goals." But then if all you do is sit around wishing for them to come true, you've got a long wait ahead, and a lot of disappointment. If you want to achieve your goals and actually improve your health or get more money or find romance, you better get off your butt and take action to move toward those goals. All the positive energy in the world isn't going to do you any good unless it is paired with positive action.