Despite having become a huge multimillion-dollar business, the truth is that the Law of Attraction doesn’t work. Not only does it not work, it actually makes your life worse. If you’ve tried it and it didn’t work, find out here why. And if you haven’t tried it yet, before you do, read this.
On a very basic level, of course, you generally move towards getting what you want, so you have to want it first. Dreaming and wanting certainly are first steps in achieving anything. But the ridiculous notion that your intense dreaming and wanting are the main factors in success is ludicrous, far from anyone’s practical experience and not backed by a shred of scientific evidence.
But wait, hardcore Law of Attraction types will say. “You got it wrong. It’s not just wanting.” Oh yes, sorry. There are other steps. According to the hack selling the idea, these may differ, but they include such pearls of wisdom as 1) feeling the goal and 2) a personal favorite of mine: overcoming your own resistance to your dreams. These are great because since it’s impossible to quantify and demonstrate whether you have “felt” the goal and even worse “overcome your hidden resistance” to it, there is no question of getting your money back when the course, book or seminar on the subject leaves you frustrated and worse off than before. Then finally they agree you have to actually do something about achieving your goals, which everybody already knew and hardly constitutes a secret.
The Law of Attractions fails on three crucial points: 1) it’s not enough to want something, you have to deserve it, 2) time scales may operate on very different levels than you previously thought and 3) the whole concept of focusing on your future desires is, itself, the very source of all your misery and a surefire way of being anxious and frustrated.
The reason why the Law of Attraction doesn’t work can be explained when we study the Law of Karma. The concept of the Law of Karma is that in fact everything that you experience, every single aspect of your material life is a result of your actions in the past. So, in that sense, your actions and thoughts did “attract” everything in your life. However, it’s not based on mere desire, but the combination of desire with merit – mostly merit. Everything you have in your life is there to help you become a better person. Every challenge, every facility – a chance to grow and improve. Nothing happens by chance.
Another important point we learn from the Law of Karma is that we are immortal beings. Our timescales operate on multi-life scales, not months or even just a few years. Whether you can own fancy cars in this life, be the next YouTube sensation or any other fanciful dream – or not – was decided way long ago. Wishing for it today won’t change this reality any more than wishing it was Christmas in April. You’ll just have to wait until December. While wishing hard for some material situation may bring effect, it might take a lifetime or more before you get to experience it. This lifetime has already been bought and paid for. You wished all kinds of things in the past and, voilà, here’s the result – your life now. Any further request will be duly noted and brought to you in some unknown time in the future, in a version suitable to your karmic merits.
Lastly, and here’s the real problem – totally verifiable and undeniable –, the whole concept of wishing for things in the future is just plain mistaken. The idea that a fancy car, prestigious job, millions of dollars, fancy houses or a yacht will result in a joyous life is infantile, bordering on insane. This is the root of all our suffering (check out my video where I explain this here). This is not just some spiritual baloney – it’s scientific fact. Research after research has confirmed that above middle-class levels of economic success, there is zero gain in happiness in getting more money and that true satisfaction has little to do with external goals and the accumulation of things. Endlessly seeking out more toys and more adjustments in the future result only in anxiety, fear, frustration and depression. The secret is to change inside, to change how you live your life, not the things surrounding you. Change how you live now to achieve true lasting joy, harmony and peace. This is confirmed by both ancient wisdom and the result of thousands of scientific studies.
If you want to learn more about what this means and how to go about it, check out my new book “The 3T Path – Self-improvement and Self-realization in Yoga”, available at www.3Tpath.com.
Watch here my video on the of the Law of Karma, why the Law of Attraction doesn’t work and why it’s better to live the here and now.
What they’re saying about my book:
“The 3T Path: Self-Improvement and Self-Realization in Yoga is one of the most thorough, honest, and straightforward books I have ever read.” – Jill Baker, giving a five-star review of the book on Amazon.com.