If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won’t, you most assuredly won’t. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad. ~ Denis Waitley

Have you ever spent time envisioning the detailed picture of your perfect day and life? Do you imagine yourself living that vision? Have you made a promise to make your dreams come true?

If the answer is yes, good for you! If the answer is no, there’s still time. If the answer is yes, but … well, you may have a problem, and it’s this: If you don’t truly believe you can have, do or be whatever it is you’ve decided to reach for, there’s a good chance it won’t happen.

The pros say we have to be certain; we need to have an inner conviction that we can successfully achieve our goals.

To get what you want, you must internalize the absolute knowledge that you are equal to the task. Each and every victory is born in your heart, but it must be nurtured in your mind and supported by your thoughts every single day. The time must come when you believe unwaveringly that you can create the life you want.

That’s a tall order, isn’t it? Especially if the people around you aren’t on board. Well, guess what? Convincing others that you’re capable of greatness is not a requirement for success. YOU are the only one who must be sure.

Enter stage left: The Law of Attraction

Thanks to Rhonda Byrne and her book The Secret, we’ve all heard about the Law of Attraction – but do you understand how it’s supposed to work? “Like attracts like.” It means we attract similar stuff to us. We each draw people, things, circumstances and conditions that “match” or are compatible with our dominant state of mind.

Huh? Okay: At its core, everything in the universe is made from pure energy. All energy vibrates at a frequency, and these frequencies differ from one entity to the next. Basically, energy is drawn to other energy that is vibrating at a similar frequency.

To apply this concept to you: The premise of the Law of Attraction is that you attract energy toward you (in the form of people, thoughts and things) that is similar to the frequency you offer, and that frequency is determined by your dominant mental attitude – your strongest, habitual thoughts.

So you draw into your life whatever you think about the most. If your underlying belief is that you can achieve your goals and dreams, you will attract people, opportunities and experiences that reinforce that belief. And the opposite is true: If, most of the time, you question your ability to get where you want to go, you will attract circumstances that reinforce this dominant belief.

Quantum physics remains a mystery

Even the brightest minds in the field say that no one truly understands quantum physics. However, Law of Attraction (LOA) advocates use this science in an attempt to explain the Law in this simple way: Our entire world is created from electrons and other small particles. Scientists performing tests on this matter have discovered that when electrons are put in motion and “observed” by a scientist, they act in a certain way, but if the electrons were put in motion and not observed by anyone, they act in an entirely different way.

LOA devotees take this to mean that the observer is able to influence the behavior of the subatomic matter simply through thought and expectation. And they expand upon that by saying it also means that observation, thought, and emotion similarly affect our larger, personal physical worlds.

However, it doesn’t really matter if you subscribe to this theory or not.

Bottom line, chronic disbelievers and unhappy people typically dwell on and blame all the people, things and circumstances they believe stand in their way. And unhappy people tend to hang out with other unhappy people, because they’re the only ones who will listen to one another. If you see the downside of everything and everyone, your mind and eye are attuned to look for the downside. It doesn’t take a quantum physician to point out that you get more of what you expect and what you project.

Think of the Law of Attraction is the great facilitator; its sole purpose is to match energy. Your habitual thoughts will draw their perfect vibratory match, every time. So there. I’m down with the “like attracts like” theory.

Umm, where the heck am I going with this? Well, even though you may be collecting positive quotes and repeating your goals five times a day and reading motivational literature, if every minute in between these positive thoughts and actions your mind turns to doubt and you question your ability to succeed, your thoughts will attract like energy in the form of people and circumstances who will question your abilities, as well.

I’m betting you’ve already seen this in action in your life, right? I don’t know about you, but I’ve witnessed myself with a really bad attitude and I know the attraction power of THAT side of me. It’s a great argument for getting clear and getting a big dose of “I’m-going-for-it-itis.”

My personal doubting voice doesn’t tell me, “I will never be able to do that …” It sounds more like a slow, deep assessment of every single obstacle that’s in my way. Same difference; it amounts to a similar outcome – an ongoing, insurmountable questioning of my ability to overcome it all and achieve success.

That’s what is holding me back.

I’ve established a trigger to repeat whenever my mind climbs the mountain of tasks that stand between me and where I want to go. From now on, I’m going shake my fist and say …

“SO WHAT?”

Exercise/writing prompt:

What’s holding you back? What do you believe about your ability to get what you want? In his book Illusions, Richard Bach writes, “Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they’re yours.” Have you ever caught yourself insisting you can’t do, be or have something you want? Journaling about your doubts may help you determine where you’re feeling less than equal to what you want to accomplish. Try writing about these points and see if anything gets clear for you:

Are you questioning yourself? If so, what is holding you back?

What do you really believe about your chances of getting what you want?

Do you still hear voices from the past telling you that you’re not smart, not fast enough, not good enough, that you won’t amount to anything? Do the voices say not to trust anyone, not to take chances, that you can’t do it, that you’ll never rise beyond where you are in life?

List everything you were told. Every single word.

NOW write what you know in your heart is really true for you.

Will you choose to continue to give power to those untruths?

What do you need to learn or acquire to increase your confidence?

How can you replace negative thoughts with positive triggers and move forward?

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