Wanting vs. Having - The Law of Attraction

“What true patience is, is knowing that you want it and knowing that it's coming and actually enjoying the unfolding along the way. Understand that you never get it done. So you might as well be patient. You never get it done, because every time you want and receive, you also receive a new perspective from which to want. Life is a constant unfolding of new desires and then a constant alignment to those desires.” ~ Abraham-Hicks

The above quote was one of the daily quotes I received this week from Abraham-Hicks. For anyone who is familiar with the law of attraction or simply curious about what it is, I highly recommend signing up for these daily quotes! They always help me start my day off with the right mindset.

This quote in particular really resonated with me because there’s quite a difference between knowing about the law of attraction, and actually practicing it day in and day out. It’s one thing to know the steps of the law of attraction: you decide what you want, you ask for it by feeling your desire for it, and then you let go of it and allow the Universe to deliver it to you in the best way possible, much like you would place an order for your favorite meal in a restaurant! It takes a much deeper level of commitment, however, to consciously practice the law of attraction and use to create the results you want.

In order for the law of attraction to work, you have to feel the way NOW that you will feel once you have whatever it is you want (the new job, the new relationship, the new home, the hot body, etc.). You decide what you want, and then start thinking and feeling as if that thing was already in your life. Trust me, this is easier said than done! Especially if you look around and see no evidence whatsoever of what you’re trying to attract. But if you want to use the law of attraction consciously to create your ideal life, this is our job!

For many of us, when we think we’re focused on something, we’re actually focused on the lack of it. We might be thinking about money, for example, but we’re thinking about how we don’t have as much as we would like! When you think about money, are you basking in the feelings of having a million dollars or worrying about how you’re going to pay your rent this month? It doesn’t count if you think to yourself, “I’d really love to have more money,” and then your next thought is something along the lines of “I really hope they don’t turn off my electricity!”

The quote at the top of the page helped me realize how much time I spend in the feelings of “asking” for something, but not enough time in those feelings of receiving that thing into my life. Asking the Universe is easy, because all it requires is for you to notice something you want and feel a yearning or desire for it. Once you’ve expressed a desire, the Universe hears your request and immediately gets to work preparing whatever you’ve asked for. Our job then is to forget about it, know that it’s on its way, and enjoy our life as much as possible while we wait for that thing to arrive into our life! What usually happens, though, is the majority of us (myself included) have a hard time letting go and forgetting about it. Instead, we constantly wonder when that thing will arrive and ask what’s taking so darn long!

It’s the difference between wanting and having something. I was at a conference with Jack Canfield last year and he asked the question: “Would you rather want something, or actually have it?” You’d rather have it, of course! However, sometimes we get stuck in the feeling of wanting it (or not having it), which just leads to more of the same, i.e. not having what you really want.

Our job as deliberate creators is to feel things into existence in our lives. If we can feel it now, it has to come into our lives. It has to, because that’s what the law of attraction says… and it is law! Decide upon something you want to create in your life, get into the feeling place NOW of what it would be like to already have that thing in your life, and feel that way as often as possible. Especially when you start to notice you’re getting frustrated that it hasn’t arrived yet, immediately shift your focus and start feeling the way it will feel to have it!

What does this look like? For example, if you just started a coaching practice and are hoping to attract an abundance of new clients, your focus may be on the fact that your phone isn’t ringing and you have no new clients or leads on the horizon. If that’s the case, shift your focus to thinking and feeling what it would be like to have your phone ringing off the hook with new clients wanting to hire you, checking your inbox and seeing tons of emails from potential new clients, and even imagine a conversation with a friend about how well your coaching practice is going and how much fun you are having with it! This will feel extremely strange at first, you may even feel like you’re “lying”. But if you keep at this, you will soon start to see changes in your situation and then you will want to keep doing it!

So here’s your recipe for success: Ask for your desire, know that it’s on its way, and enjoy the ride! Whatever you’ve asked for will be here before you know it. You will have been having so much fun in the meantime, though, you won’t even notice you missed it!