I’ve written posts that explains the Law of Attraction in the past, but it was before this blog was actually read by anyone. So, I thought that a brand new fresh post about the Law of Attraction and why it might not be working for you was now due.
Are your Positive Affirmations Working for you?
Back in the days when I was introduced to the Law of Attraction I was told to have a positive “self talk” (also called affirmations), and to repeat my it over and over again. Up to hundreds time a day. So I started writing down positive “affirmations” repeating them out loud all throughout the day anytime I was alone.
I did that for months!
The problem was that like most people who have tried that, it didn’t work for me. Was I doing something wrong? Was I told a lie and that stuff just didn’t work? Does it work only for some people?
Those were some of the many questions I had about the Law of Attraction. I felt like I was missing something, but I did know what.
What I didn’t want to believe, however, was that the Law of Attraction didn’t work. I knew the Law of Attraction is in action 27/7 no matter what. So, the reason it didn’t work “the way I wanted” meant that I just didn’t have all the data I needed to make it so.
So, let’s see why you might be having a hard time to attract what you want.
Why Affirmations Alone don’t Work?
Affirmations, positive self talks, whatever you may want to call them, are not all there is in the process of attracting what you want in life. You could repeat day and night “I am a millionaire” for a year straight and still be broke. As a matter of fact, if all you did is just repeat this like a broken record with nothing else, you most likely will not become a millionaire any time soon.
Why is that so?
Because, affirmations alone, without the belief behind them are worthless. This is what a lot of personal development teachers wouldn’t tell you a few years ago. They were missing on the most important piece of information, and sadly, because of this, you would think that it was YOUR fault.
When you just speak out affirmations without the belief and emotions that come with it, You might as well try to water your flower garden holding a hose without water coming through it. When you repeat affirmations with no real belief about what you are “affirming”, nothing happens and you won’t be able to attract what you want.
The reason why this is so is that your level of vibrations stays the same as what you believe, not as what you’re repeating/affirming. And the reason you don’t believe has probably something to do with the nature of the affirmation.
Start with Affirmations you Can Believe in
When you’re getting acquainted with the Law of Attraction, using positive affirmations and self talks to speak out what you want to be and have is definitely a great thing to do, but as you start you need to choose affirmations that can actually believe. This is a huge detail that a lot of law of attraction books and tutorials just leave out.
Remember this; if you don’t believe what you are saying, it’s NOT working. Period.
This is what I mean…
Consciously you’re saying “I am wealthy”, “I am successful”, “I am a millionaire”, “I drive a luxury car”, etc… but really subconsciously you’re saying – no way. As you may or may not know when it comes to the Law of Attraction is what the subconscious mind believes that counts.
You are saying that you are wealthy with your mouth, but you subconscious mind says you’re broke.
The vibrations that you are sending out are low vibrations that are in accordance with what you truly believe subconsciously, which is, no way, I’m broke! This is why you’re saying that the Law of Attraction is not working; when as a matter of fact, it’s working just fine. It’s giving you what you’ve been asking for subconsciously, because the subconscious mind ALWAYS wins. You are “saying” I’m rich, but you are really “vibrating” I’m poor.
How To Make your Positive Affirmations Work for you?
Let’s say that you are making $25,000 a year right now and in you are saying “I am a millionaire” or even “I am making $100,000 a year”! You are saying this consciously, but subconsciously you do not believe a word of what you’re saying. Not just yet, anyway.
Your subconscious mind holds all the beliefs that you have accumulated since you were a small child. Now, let’s say that you have grown up in a family that never made even close to that kind of money, and you haven’t ever made even close to that that kind of money yourself either as an adult. What do you think would be your subconscious belief about money?
Your subconscious belief about money would be that you are always going to make just about what you have been making all your life even before you were an adult and made your own money.
Let’s say that your parents were making like $35,000 a year and you are making $40,000 a year, that’s what is deeply embedded in your subconscious mind. Thinking that you can shift this with simple affirmations like “I’m making $250,000 a year” would be a long shot, because your subconscious mind is saying “that’s impossible”.
Because your subconscious mind is saying “that’s impossible”, you are not vibrating at the frequency that says $250,000 a year; you are vibrating at $40,000 a year. Do you understand the difference?
Someone that makes $250,000 a year is NOT vibrating at the same frequency as someone who makes $40,000. Everything about their vibrations is different!
In order to attract $250,000 you need to bridge that gap emotionally. Your belief and emotions need to go there, so to speak. How does it really feel to make 250,000 a year compare to $40,000 a year? This is the question you need to be asking to yourself.
This is why many people who have watched the movie or read the book “The Secret” are saying that it’s not working. It’s not that it’s not working, but it certainly is not working for them.
The reason why is because they are coming from a too far away place and have not understood the concept beneath all attraction according the law which is that the BELIEF needs to be there first or be introduced little by little.
Subconsciously, you don’t believe your affirmations, therefore, you are not vibrating at the energy level that you would need to in order to manifest what you what you want in your physical world.
How to Introduce the Belief into your Affirmations?
Did you ever noticed that everything in the universe happens little by little?
We grow up little by little, we start speaking little by little, we start crawling on all four before we can stand up and start taking our first step, and we learn how to read little by little as well.
It’s the same thing with the Law of Attraction and your subconscious mind. You have to prepare your subconscious mind to bigger and better things little by little as well.
To take our money example again, if you are making only $40,000 a year don’t start with an affirmation that says “I’m a millionaire”, start at a number that your subconscious mind could believe in. When you start to feel that you truly believe that new concept, you can then move forward and increase your amount.
At the same time, as your belief system changes, you will start noticing some positive changes in your physical world as well. This will give you even more confidence and more positive beliefs. The whole thing will start to snowball.
Then, and only then, will you notice that your affirmations will work and you will start attracting what you want in life.
This is how you will be able to finally make the Law of Attraction work for you!
So, your turn now. Do you have a deep understanding of the Law of Attraction or were you missing the point until now? Let us know in the comment area.
Hi Sylviane,
That was so well explained, and I think it made the understanding of the Law of Attraction much more easier for all of us 🙂
I so agree with all that you said – if there is no belief – nothing really works. Whether it’s the LOA or even any work you do, or even any relationship that you want to maintain – if you don’t have the belief or positive feeling that it will work – it just won’t no matter how hard you might try it.
I liked the example you gave of the dollars, and that’s what actually happens. We tend to compare how much we earn with others, or our parents, and often feel we can never make that much, or we set limits or underestimate ourselves, which as you mentioned is what our subconscious starts believing, which stops us from really earning more than that. It happens with me sometimes, and now I know where I need to work on things 🙂
I guess making small goals and gradually raising the level so that our subconscious mind begins believing in it is what the key is – hope I’m right!
Thanks for sharing this with us. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Harleena Singh invites you to read..Does Online Social Networking Friendship Really Work
Hi Harleena,
Yes, you got it just right. We take a step by step approach we gradually feed our subconscious mind with whatever amount (example of money) we want to reach. this gives the subconscious mind some time to adapt and we gradually erase the old recording with the new.
This is the best way to make sure that we are using the law of attraction in a way that it will work for us.
Thank you for coming Harleena 🙂
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..The Law of Attraction – Are You Missing The Point?
Hi Sylviane,
Now that is the way the Law of Attraction has to be explained. So many people think they could make a giant leap when saying affirmations. But what they don’t understand is that it takes quite a few steps to get there.
Keeping it real: Just like you explained by the amounts of money you grew up with and are used to, if you say “I am a millionaire” it probably won’t work. Raise the amounts little at a time and it will.
I love using affirmations, but keeping them real. If I’m making x amount of dollars a month, I say I making a little more than x amount a month, and it comes true. Then I take it to the next level. Step by step is such a great way to do it.
I just love the way you explained this to reinforce people that LOA works! One cannot jump into saying unrealistic affirmations. Plus, while you are saying an affirmation it is also good to visualize that every day.
I did so recently and I found the “perfect” home that I would like to move into. One flaw: It has a built in pool! That I don’t want because I do not want to maintain a pool. I was visualizing water. Back to the drawing board and get more specific.
But this is what happens when we do the LOA. Some things pop up perfectly, and some we realize we need to tweak.
Again, many thanks for showing people the reality of the LOA.
Donna
Donna Merrill invites you to read..30 Day Challenge
Hi Donna,
Yes, visualization along with the affirmation s are a MUST in my book. You said it right, and the house you’ve attracted is a proof of that. And the more specific we are the better the results will be.
As a life coach I know says, there is no reason you couldn’t attract $100 000 in one day, but ONLY if you truly believe it! Most people just don’t.
This made me thing about what we discussed yesterday about breast cancer. If someone “feels” that they may be developing breast cancer and that it can be detected with a mammogram, well, that’s what they truly believed, and that means that they may develop cancer the minute they don’t check for it. Subconsciously they’re health is linked to that mammogram.
As for my, however, my beliefs on that are different, and I do not believe or trust in mammograms or doctors to keep me healthy and alive. But, and that’s a BIG BUT…. if someone does believe that they need doctors and tests to keep healthy and alive, then they probably do. So, I would advise them to actually keep doing what they do, unless, they are TRULY able to change their WHOLE mind set on the matter. Most people aren’t able to.
Donna, I could write a book on this. OH, well, I’ve forgot I am 🙂
Thanks for your visit.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..The Law of Attraction – Are You Missing The Point?
This makes total sense to me Sylviane and makes me realize why some of the Law of Attraction quotes I have seen online sound like a load of rubbish. You can’t take one giant leap but have to do it step by step.
I totally believe in affirmations. I used them successfully at a time in my life was at its lowest point physically and emotionally. I kept it simple but I learned to recognize even my smallest, fleeting negative thoughts and used to counteract every one with something positive.
Today I have more confidence and belief in myself than I ever did – I used to have very little.
Sue Bride invites you to read..How To Use the New Look Facebook
Hi Sue,
I miss you, and it’s always nice to see you. I’ve got to go visit you as well, and way more often 🙂
You see, that’s why you feel those affirmations are rubbish. For most people they are just too much “at this point”. Someone who makes $40,000 a year can’t possibly have the same affirmations as a millionaire does, can they?
A first grader can’t possible know as much as a High school student does, can he?
It’s the exact same thing with affirmations. Keep them to your level and graduate them little by little. And then it will work.
Thanks for your input, Sue.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..The Law of Attraction – Are You Missing The Point?
This was a great explanation on the law of attraction. it’s true that if you’re not on the same frequency of what you want, then you’re not going to get it. You always have to start with something you believe in first and work your way towards what you want.
I like Donna post on 30 day challenges. I believe this is a great way to “feel” your way to what you really want. it challenges and stretches your mind enough to accept the opportunities to lead you to where you want to go.
I believe the biggest issue with a lot of people is that they reject a lot of opportunity because of fear. I’m one that’s done this many of times and I recognize now enough to catch a hold of myself and focus on the benefits more. Thanks for sharing this great post Sylviane!
sherman smith invites you to read..Do You Complain A Lot?
Hi Sherman,
Yes, you are right. The reasons why so many people don’t move forward is greatly due to fear. I don’t need to go far to see this. Fear of failure has always been a big stumbling block in my family, and it’s the truth when I say that I was the one with the least fear. Somehow I’ve always been this way, but it’s not to say I’ve never had fears.
Nowdays, I know that whatever I want to attract I need to put myself in the right “mood” so to speak to be in the right energy.
Thanks for coming and for your input.
Hi Sylviane,
This is a great explanation to the Law Of Attraction. I think it made the understanding of the Law of Attraction much easier for me.
I do believe in affirmations but as you said they have to be realistic and matching our level of belief in our subconscious. Just understanding this better now, I need to tweak my affirmations and raise the bar step by step. LOL.
Thanks Sylviane for sharing this great post. You rock my friend.
Be Blessed,
Neamat
Neamat Tawadrous invites you to read..10 Steps On How To Bounce Back When Life Knocks You Down!
Hi Neamat,
I’m so glad you can see better how affirmations work with this post. Yes, if you lower you affirmations a bit (so to speak) and grow with them, it will work much better for you.
Saying I’m a millionaire when one doesn’t have 100,000 dollars in the bank yet, it’s a far fetch affirmation, because our subconscious just won’t accept that for the moment. It will, though, but it will in time as we grow.
Thanks for being here and for your input.
Sometimes you just have to continually visualize that dream even when it seems impossible. Thanks for the tips.
Jennifer Cunningham invites you to read..Does Twitter or Facebook Create More Traffic to the Website?
Hi Jennifer,
Yes, that too. Now with visualization that’s a bit different, you can visualized the most incredible things, and that will definitely help create them in time, but for affirmations to work better it’s better to believe them instantly, for this they need to be more believable NOW,and less far fetch.
For example, if you’re making 50,000 right now, and you’re affirmation is I’m making a million dollars in a year from now, that’s going to be tough on your subconscious to believe that, so it would be much better if you lower the bar to a more believable amount. See what I mean?
Welcome here by the way and thanks for coming 🙂
A very good explanation. It’s true that we need to break massive goals into tiny goals.
We need to take action, too. It’s one thing to say ‘I make $100,000 a year’ but if we don’t take action towards making that sort iof money, it’s not going to happen.
Shan
Hi Shan and welcome here,
For sure if all we do is saying things, and not taking any type of action that’s going to be a bit tough, right?
What the right affirmations and visualization do, though, is taking us to the right actions. Now when the right action presents itself we’re better taking it or it might be gone forever.
Thanks for your input.
I remember Sylviane when this was being explained to me and I didn’t understand what vibration meant. Don’t laugh, it’s true! If someone had just said, “how you feel” or “are you excited about it” I would have gotten it quicker. The belief part is what stuck with me more so once you believe the vibration level rises.
I went through a program about a month or so ago that is suppose to teach you how to get rid of your limiting beliefs. So I went through it and did the exercises only to realize that I had gotten rid of all of those. I’ve come so much further then I ever thought.
I think one of the things that’s helped me the most with this is more on a religious point but this is just me and how I understand it. We are all God’s children and he wants the best for us. He also wants you to ask him for what you really want. No I just want a house big enough for me and my dog or I just want a 50 cent raise. No, he wants you to ask for what you dream about. Then you have to have faith that he can do anything. No one else can but him so once you ask for what you really really really want and 100% believe he’ll five it to you, your vibration will rise in a heartbeat. If you doubt it then you’re more or less saying I don’t believe in God and I don’t believe it is everything.
Sorry, didn’t want to get on a lesson but over everything that has helped me understand how to really believe in anything. Even if you want to be a millionaire just stop obsessing over how it could possibly happen and just know that if you truly believe it then it will come to you. Stop asking when, where and how! That’s not up to us. Thank goodness for that or we’d never get anywhere right!
Thanks for this great post Sylviane and I love what you share here. Love love love it.
Have a great weekend now.
~Adrienne
Adrienne invites you to read..Why You Should Spring Clean Your Blog
Hi Adrienne,
I know when people use term “vibrations”, people can be confused. I know once I was talking about vibrations on this blog, and one of my readers though I meant to say “vibes” but I wasn’t.
Vibration is your “mood” basically, as you now understand it very well. When you lip for joy your vibrations are very high, when you cry in despair they are very low. If you could measure them like we can measure heart beat that’s what we would be able to see.
You are right. God wants the best for us, but if we ask in faith that is the best way to get it. For those who are Christians, Jesus talked about the Law of Attraction all the time, they just don’t understand it. “If you tell to this mountain to go from here to their it will” he said, but he said that you had to have “faith”.
That’s why payer healing DO WORK, when there is enough faith in them. Prayers said with no faith don’t work. All of that is one and the same. It’s the Law of Attraction. You’ve got it, Adrienne!
As a matter of fact, for those who are Christian and believe in the Bible I’m going to do a Bible verse explanation-type-post to show that it’s the Law of Attraction explained there. For those who believe in other holy books and religions it’s the exact same things, as a matter of fact 🙂
Thanks for coming Adrienne and have a great week end!
Hi Sylviane,
This is an excellent overview of The Law of Attraction. I’ve tried affirmations in the past and they didn’t work because of the gap between what I wanted and what my subconscious mind knows! The gaps have to be filled in, so the best way is step by step, then moving forward to the next level.
What are true beliefs are and what we focus on become reality. For any of this to work, we have to get to the source of our beliefs. That isn’t easy to do because as an adult, so many things have been engrained into our minds. For me, I may think I have a certain belief, but my subconscious proves me wrong. I have been working very hard on staying aware of my belief system. When I discover a belief that is keeping me from getting what I really want, it’s back to the drawing board. It’s difficult to pinpoint how I really feel about certain things. I may think I feel one way, but as you said your subconscious knows and it takes a lot of work to figure it out.
As to affirmations, you summarized why they don’t work very nicely. “Subconsciously, you don’t believe your affirmations, therefore, you are not vibrating at the energy level that you would need to in order to manifest what you what you want in your physical world.” They will work as long as you stay close to your core belief and go step by step. You shared something so important to people who are interested in the Law of Attraction. You probably saved your readers a lot of wasted hours trying to do something that won’t work!
Once again, an incredibly great article. Fun chat yesterday! Thanks Sylviane!
Raena Lynn
Raena Lynn invites you to read..Ecolutionary Gangster Gardeners
Hi Raena,
Yes, we had so much fun the other night chatting, and we sure talked about attracting and manifesting, didn’t we?
The Law of Attraction is pretty simple. The more you think, visualized and speak what you want with full belief that it’s yours, the faster it will come to you.
It works for good stuff, but it works for the bad stuff too, so we need to be very careful about what’s going on in our heads all day long.
When we keep attracting things we don’t want or like, that is the signal that we might be dealing with a “belief” issue, most likely located in our sub-mind, called subconscious mind.
The more we become AWARE the more will be revealed to us. Most people live their life without awareness so they just don’t pick up any clue, and therefore, don’t move forward.
Thanks for coming by, Raena and have a great week end!
Hi Sylviane
Very well written. I see we all get sucked up in we just have to keep repeating it, but as you say it doesn’t work that way. I think only when we can really realize that what we can do, can we really believe it will happen. There has to be a means (as in being rich) to understand the capacity of how and what we can do to become what we want. We have to also realize our success is not necessarily how other people measure it.
Banishing those limiting beliefs is so hard to do, but so necessary. I believe things will always work out. That action reduces stress and I can focus on what really matters to be what I want to be.
Mary
Mary Stephenson invites you to read..Who Goes There?
Hi Mary,
Well, sorry for such late reply, but it’s been hard to keep up with it all lately.
Believing that everything will always work out is a good thing. A lot of us really believe that, that’s the very reason it happens.
My mother always believed that she will get nice weather when she needed it (for a special occasion for example) and guess what? She always did! It was incredible, but I tell you that it might have been raining all night, and it will clear up in the morning when my mom needed nice weather. It happened EVERY TIME!
On the other hand she believed that a draft will make her sick, and guess what? It did, every time.
Our beliefs are darn strong and move mountains.
Thanks for your feedbacks, Mary
Hi Sylviane,
This is great and makes so much sense! Loved your money example! You’ve got to keep the amount believable and then increase it from there. You’re right, our mouth can say anything, but if our subconscious doesn’t believe it’s possible then we can repeat our affirmations all day long. That’s what’s not really brought across by the movie “The Secret.” Visualization is one thing, actually feeling it is another.
Thanks so much for bringing this across in your article above, Sylviane!
Have a great weekend!
Ilka
Ilka Flood invites you to read..Stop Being Afraid and Start Believing in Yourself!
Hi Ilka,
I’m glad that you enjoyed this article. I know that there are still many people that don’t make the connection between their affirmations and actually believing in them with all their might. That’s why it needed to be said.
Thanks for coming by.
Hi Sylviane, so glad you highlighted the reality of affirmations. As you rightly point out regardless of how many times you say I am a success, if when you open your eyes the first thing you see is the chaos and evidence of failure in your life then all too quickly that new positive mental state will evaporate.Instead as you point out, start by loving and protecting your current situation (abundance) then look at ways to build upon the successful traits that brought you to the fortunate position you are currently in. This is what should be in your daily pep talk.
Hey! It’s great to find likeminded people. It’s true that the law of attraction requires patience to learn and implement. Thanks for the inspiring words.
Evelin Mills invites you to read..Why the law of attraction might not work