The Law of Attraction: Are You a True Believer?
By Robyn Logan
I don’t know about you, but I have always felt slightly cynical about the “Law of Attraction”. I understand that everything is energy and I like the idea that what you put your energy and focus on, you get more of (whether wanted or unwanted). I can see how these principles work on a daily basis with the people and things I attract. And we all know people who seem to attract the very thing they complain about all the time. So it is not the actual “principle” I am cynical about, it is more the liberal lashings of it that I see some people applying to their lives. To me life is not always so simple that I can merely announce and visualize what I want - and then I get it.
Or so I thought…..
Last week I revised my cynicism around the Law of Attraction when I saw it work first hand with my six-year-old son, Ryder. Here is an account of this Universal Law in action.
Four months ago we went on a family holiday to a beach resort. Walking along the Marina one night Ryder pointed to a stunning yacht and announced, “I’m going to buy a boat like that when I get older”. Now many things went through my mind. I could have laughed and said “In your dreams”, or I could have explained that only rich people own yachts. But I didn’t! Instead I said, “Well Ryder that would be great, you can buy a yacht like that one day. Now that particular boat is probably worth about 3.5 million, so you will have to work very hard to achieve that, but I know you can do it and I can even help you”. He seemed happy and we then walked on.
Ryder's Dream Boat
For the next 2 or 3 months, the story of the boat grew and grew. Pretty soon I was overhearing his school friends talking about his boat as if it already existed: “Ryder, on your boat, is there a swimming pool?” (Of course Ryder’s answer was yes!) Now it’s one thing to have a dream, and yet another to set a small boy up for disappointment. Even if he did manage to buy such a boat, it wasn’t going to happen in the next few months, and certainly not from selling lemons at the park, which is what he now wanted to do every Saturday “for the boat”. So I decided to work with him on a more realistic goal. I talked to him about the idea of perhaps buying a smaller boat to start with and then working up to the big boat with the swimming pool. He seemed to be OK with that and I even heard him telling one of his friends he was going to get a smaller one first.
Less than 2 weeks after that conversation, we were visiting a friend’s elderly parents when an extraordinary thing happened. These people live on a lake with a view to die for. We were sitting there having lunch, (the kids being particularly well behaved) when Ryder asked, “John, is that your boat outside?” He was referring to a 6 person fishing boat sitting under cover in their back yard. “Yes, it is Ryder”, was John’s response. “You know when I grow up I’m going to buy a boat like that”, Ryder beamed back. And much to my surprise, John replied, “Well, you know what Ryder, if your Mum says it’s OK, you can have that boat!” Well you have never seen a small boy’s eyes stretch so wide, as he pleaded, “Can I Mummy, Can I?”
The rest is history as they say; Ryder now has a boat, less than 6 months after his initial announcement. As I reflect on this amazing story, one thing is clear. Ryder’s belief that he would get a boat was stronger than anything I have seen. It was a belief that only a 6 year old can hold. It didn’t occur to him to question his vision, or to think he was stupid for believing he could have a boat, or to think he was unworthy of such a dream. No, unlike us adults who battle with these negative thoughts daily, his was a firm and unrelenting belief that he would, one day, own a boat.
I think we can all learn from this story. What is your own vision? Do you really, truly believe it? If not, try for a moment to think like a six year old. And believe it, it will happen!