Manifesting with both feet on the ground

The law of attraction

The law of attraction is the idea that your thoughts draw to you what you think about: think positively and good things will come. The idea has roots in the New Thought movement in the United States in the 1800s and early 1900s, with writers such as Wallace Wattles and William Walker Atkinson.

It became world famous with the film and book “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne in 2006.

What research says

There is no scientific basis for thoughts on their own attracting events. That is also the criticism of “The Secret”: it promises more than it can deliver, and can make people believe they are to blame when things go wrong.

Psychologist Gabriele Oettingen found something surprising: people who only daydream about a good outcome often make less effort and reach their goal less often. What works better is combining the dream with an honest look at the obstacles, and a concrete plan.

Her method is called WOOP: wish, outcome, obstacle and plan. It has been tested in many studies, in health, school and work among others.

Universal energies, the way we use the words

Many people find that something happens when they put a wish into words: they notice opportunities they did not see before, meet the right people and dare more. We happily use words like “universal energies” as an image for this feeling, not as a physical claim.

Part of the explanation is known from psychology: when something matters to you, you notice it everywhere. It is called the frequency illusion, and it can actually help you seize your chances.