Another Take on Getting What You Want

Here’s #17 in the the daily blog commitment. A blog every weekday for one month.

Are you tired of visualizing something you want – and then being frustrated when it doesn’t show up with a sparkly bow?

I know it’s happened for me plenty—even though I know better.

In fact this use of the Law of Attraction sets my teeth on edge.

There’s this idea (made popular by the movie The Secret and some other LOA teachings) that all we have to do is close our eyes and visualize that million dollar bank account… and before long it will simply materialize.

Well, anyone who’s tried that knows there’s got to be a little more to the picture. And there is. Lots more.  Law of Attraction IS a real thing, like gravity. And engaging with it consciously takes practice. But that’s another blog post.

Today is a quick riff on just ONE way to engage the energy of conscious creation.

It’s funny – we all have a tendency to focus on all the things we DON’T have when we imagine what we want in life. But what about all those things that we ‘want’, but we already HAVE?

Here’s something new to try. It’s pretty basic, and it’s related to the often-touted gratitude practice… with a slightly new twist. When I discovered this it was like a light bulb going off in my busy little brain!

I invite you to try it out.

Write yourself out a “Want List”—but here’s the twist. When you write out your list, include those things that you really want, and you already have!

Maybe it’s a fridge full of yummy food. Maybe it’s a view of trees from your bedroom window. Hell, it’s definitely running water right there in your home!

So often, we forget to notice the things we definitely want, and that we’ve already manifested in our lives. From the simple to the sublime.

So, write out your list.

Start with five luscious and lovable things that currently already exist in your life.

Then, add five things that you’d love to add into your experience. Go big! Don’t be afraid.

Because there’s power in longing and in desire.

But sometimes we push that power away.

After all – isn’t it better to be ‘pleasantly surprised’, rather than unpleasantly disappointed?

Well… maybe not!

I used to live by that motto. I’d deliberately try to NOT focus on my dreams and longings—because I didn’t think I could bear the disappointment of not getting them. So, I pretended I didn’t really want anything.

Now I get it that I was actually shooting myself in the foot – and pushing away the very things I long for and desire with all my heart.

When you write out the things you want to bring in, spend some time imagining the feeling you’ll have when they become a 3-dimensional reality in your life. Add in the sensory details and let yourself vividly imagine the FEELING you’ll have when this reality is present.

Really loll in the experience of wanting these things, and savor the good feelings of knowing they are here for you. 

So… Three important steps:

1. Notice those wanted items that already exist in your life. Savor the good feelings of having what you want.

2. Focus on how you will feel when your other wanted item arrives – be it romance, a child, or a fatter bank account. When your mind begins to wander into that dark alley of ‘the absence of this thing,’ use your will to shift back into the feeling you will have when it’s here. If that feels impossible, turn your focus to those delightful thing you ALREADY HAVE, and feel into that.

3. Release the desire. Spend 5-10 minutes reveling in the delight of that experience as if it were here now. Then turn your attention back to the things/people/events/experiences that are here right now. The good ones if possible.

Are you willing to give this a try? Share one or two things from your list in the comments!