In the previous post, I gave an introduction to The Law of Attraction – what it is and how it relates to intention and manifestation.
For today’s entry, I’m offering a spin-off of Steven Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (which I’m currently re-reading on audio). I wanted to offer a step-by-step guide for putting The Law of Attraction into action in your daily life. While listening to Covey talk about the 7 key habits for effectiveness, it dawned on me that there are some important relationships between being “effective” and being “attractive.”
Covey’s book is one of my favorites in the personal development genre because the author focuses so much on changing character – really looking at who we are in terms of what we believe about ourselves and other people. Yet Covey’s viewpoint is geared mostly towards really pushing for change in your life. He argues that we should “be proactive” and “put first things first” to make things happen. Don’t get me wrong: I do think these are good ways to bring about change.
But when looking again at Covey’s suggestions for “effectiveness,” I couldn’t help but see how his ideas - with some adjusting - fit quite well within paradigm of “attraction.” I began to realize that habits for effective people appealed more to conscious effort. The more I come to understand the true meaning behind The Law of Attraction, the more it seems to have far more to do with unconscious alignment or harmony with natural forces. I’m not suggesting that attraction and effectiveness are opposites. I think there are key similarities. My approach here is simply to offer a new interpretation of Covey’s classic model in terms of The Law of Attraction.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Attractive People
1. Meditate
While Covey’s list begins with action, I’m beginning mine with nonaction. Meditation is the cornerstone of attraction because it aids in silencing the ego-mind and tuning into a wider range of consciousness.
To harmonize with The Law of Attraction, you can use meditation in a variety of ways:
- Quiet the mind to let go of disruptive & negative thought-patterns
- Focus on a particular intention you wish to manifest
- Tune into the present moment and accept your reality
I’ve practiced meditation for several years now, but only recently started integrating these last two methods. These meditations provide an ideal way to communicate with your unconscious mind, especially if used regularly. Most intentions seem to require unconscious manifestations (which explains why you can’t intend most things right now).
Even by simply practicing meditation to still the mind, you will see results. The more reign your ego has in your life, the harder it may be to get the things you *really* want. (How do you even know what you *really* want if your ego is always getting in the way?)
2. Visualize.
My second habit here matches up nicely with Covey’s “Begin with the end in mind.” Through creative visualization, you can actually bring the end (your intention) into the present moment with your mind.
Next to meditation, visualization is an indispensable life-changing tool. Think about it: when there’s something you want in your life that you don’t have the problem simply lies in your current intention-manifestation model. If you want a new car but you’re not manifesting one, there’s something wrong with your intention. In short, you and the new car are not properly aligned.
When you visualize yourself in the new car, driving the new car, and loving the new car, you send a clear message to your unconscious that positively reinforces the intention.
There’s also a simple psychological benefit here. Many of us want, wish, and desire day-after-day only to find that what we manifest doesn’t actually deliver happiness. When you practice visualization, you begin to get very clear about what it is you want. Every day you’ll probably find the intentions adjusting somewhat as you continue “seeing” the manifestation. I love the new car example, because creative visualization really is a chance to “test drive” your intentions.
3. Put your reality first.
When Steven Covey says “Put First Things First,” he really means make your life important. My spin on this is to put your entire subjective reality first. By doing this, it becomes quite easy to prioritize since your priorities are the only ones that matter.
This isn’t supposed to be a joke. I don’t mean treat everybody in a lousy way and just defer to “Hey, this is my reality, right?” Well, actually you are right. But if you’re treating everyone else like dirt, you’re essentially treating yourself like dirt. After all, you’re creating the negative world which will ultimately begin to make you feel unhappy.
Putting your reality first is a really difficult habit to integrate initially. Blaming, complaining, and finger-pointing are habits deeply ingrained in our culture. But it’s truly remarkable how much the world changes when you change the way you see it. I know this is a cliché self-help maxim, but there’s no better way to express it. Why let other people create your reality for you? Step up to the plate of life and start creating your own world. Make this a daily habit and I guarantee you’ll find waking up in the morning a joyous event!
4. Embrace abundance.
I’m a huge fan of Covey’s Win-Win paradigm. The first time I really acknowledged the possibility of win-win arrangements in life, I began to realize the true meaning of cooperation, interdependence, and abundance.
When I started looking at The Law of Attraction and considering its viability, I had to reconsider my own ideas about competition and success. Like a lot of people, I was harboring really negative win-lose ideas about money, health, and general happiness. We tend to categorize people into the Haves and the Have-Nots. Each of these groups then develops its own attitudes about the other thereby reinforcing the division.
When you start thinking win-win, you become invested in everyone’s success, not just your own. More often than not, when other people find success it truly benefits you even in subtle ways.
5. Believe in attraction.
If you really want The Law of Attraction to work in your life, you have to start attracting it. That is, you have to start by attracting the law in the first place.
However you view reality, that is exactly how reality will manifest into your world. It takes much effort and time to make a Copernican revolution happen, even just in your own mind but the results are staggering.
My suggestion for this habit is to put it into action everyday by suspending your disbelief. Try one month of altering your way of seeing and see how it works. Then, keep applying it every day from there on.
6. Integrate all elements.
With time, I believe habit 6 will happen naturally. But in the beginning, some effort is required. Meditation, visualization, attraction, and abundance will all integrate into your reality paradigm in a manner Covey calls “synergy.”
Essentially, synergy is what The Law of Attraction is all about – lining up your consciousness with the universe and creating harmony between them.
7. Expand consciousness.
Covey’s final recommendation for effectiveness is “Sharpen the Saw” – continue to develop, learn, grow, enhance. Of course, the same applies to intention-manifestation.
Specific approaches to expanding your consciousness will depend upon you. Lucid dreaming might be a good way to work on transforming your vision of everyday life. Exercising and/or changing your diet could help enhance awareness levels. So on and so forth. Anything that moves you beyond the standard ego cockpit experience and into a wider, deeper, higher, more focused level of mind.
Tags: law of attraction | intention manifestation | attraction
