“Action is a word that can imply ‘work’ to some people, but inspired action will not feel like work at all. The difference between inspired action and action is this: Inspired action is when you are acting to receive. If you are in action to try and make it happen, you have slipped backwards. Inspired action is effortless, and it feels wonderful because you are on the frequency of receiving.” ~Rhonda Byrne, The Secret

So, you’re trying to use the law of attraction to manifest the life you really want, but you don’t seem to be manifesting much of anything outside of a really big headache. You might wonder what you’re doing wrong. You might blow it off as “not for you” or somehow outside your personal abilities. You might decide it’s a little too “woo woo” and not worth your time – and you might be saying to yourself, “I can’t believe Einstein believe in the LOA…I thought he was a scientist!”

But don’t give up just yet – the law of attraction is always working. Yes, you might still need to get your vibrations on track, but you might be missing a really important component in your manifesting process.

Why the law of attraction isn’t working for you

The Law of Attraction confuses a lot of people. Because we tend to focus on the idea of our vibrations being the key, many of us think the LOA is some kind of shortcut to getting what you want without doing anything to earn it. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

The fact is that a lot of our dreams are within our reach, and while having the right kinds of vibrations or energy to attract something into our lives, very often, we have to put in a little elbow grease. That is, we need to put the work in. And yet typically, when we first decide to make positive changes in our lives, we tend to underestimate the amount of effort it will take.

In fact, while your vibrations are an incredibly big part of it, making things happen often also requires concrete action on your part. I like to call it “inspired action.” It’s easy to visualize (dream and imagine) a better life, but we also need to give form to our thoughts with decisive, inspired action. And that’s where most of us get stuck.

The Thing About Inspired Action

Here’s the thing about inspired action. Like Rhonda Byrne said in The Secret, it shouldn’t FEEL like work. Even if it actually IS work, it will feel joyful to you – almost like playing or like you’re being driven by a force outside of yourself. The “force outside myself” thing is part of what drives me in my work, seconded closely by several other passions of mine: helping people, writing, creating content and more.

So, when someone accuses me of sitting around and playing on my computer for a living, they’re only half right.

Building the Life You Want Using the Law of Attraction

Let’s look at this from a different perspective. Imagine that you wanted to build a house, and think about the process that needs to be put into place. You’d need to conceive the idea, buy land, draw up plans, order materials, hire professionals to do the tasks you can’t, and finally, begin building the house. Obviously, right?

Of course. But what if you got as far as purchasing the materials and then sat there waiting for them to magically form themselves into a house?

Well, my friend, you’d be waiting a long time!

We need to use the same process to “build” the lives we want. We need to be clear on what we want (conceive the idea), draw up plans (set goals), and then take action to form our desires in the physical.

What most of us do, however, is say we want to change, but then act in ways that contradict that desire. There can be many reasons for this, such as the lure of old habits, fear, or low self-worth. Until we resolve the underlying issues, we will keep sabotaging our efforts to change.

Does this sound like you?

3 Step Plan to Make the Law of Attraction Work for You (How to Break Through)

If this describes you, and you’ve been struggling to make positive changes in your life and you just can’t seem to do it, here is a 3-step plan to help you break through any walls that may be holding you back.

1) Clear your path: Identify and remove blockages. What’s holding you back? What’s standing in your way? If you consistently avoid taking the actions that will bring about positive change in your life, there is likely something holding you back. It may be an old belief that you’re not worthy of a happy life, or fear that you won’t be able to handle the new circumstances, or just plain old resistance to change.

If you take some time to explore these feelings, you will be able to work through any limiting beliefs or fears. In fact, don’t be surprised if you discover something about yourself that you never knew existed. You can explore your feelings by either writing them out, or speaking them aloud. You might start off with a prompt such as, “I feel afraid of . . .” or “I feel safe with my life the way it is because . . .” Allow your answers to come freely, and work on changing any thoughts or beliefs that will continue to hold you back.

2) Form decisive action steps. Another reason you might resist change is feeling unsure about the actions you need to take to bring it about. If you make a list of very specific steps that you can take daily, you will have a clear roadmap to the outcome you are trying to create. Think about the outcome, and then decide exactly which actions will bring you closer to it. Write them down and review them several times a day to be sure you are on the right track.

3) Make the right decisions, again and again. Adapting to change requires consistent decision-making. When you decide to quit smoking, you don’t make that decision just once and be done with it. You need to make that decision over and over again as the cravings arise, until you no longer desire to smoke. If you decide to exercise every day, you will need to make that decision again each day, day after day, week after week – even if you don’t feel like exercising initially. The same process applies to any changes you are trying to make in your life. Moment to moment, you need to choose the actions that will result in what you are trying to create. In order to do this, you may need to develop a deeper level of awareness about your own actions, especially if you find yourself automatically gravitating toward unproductive actions.

Remember that changing your life is a process, and it takes consistent effort and focus. The good news is that once we begin the process, it gets easier every time we choose the right actions. Moment to moment, we do have the power to choose. If we take our time and enjoy the journey, we can’t fail. You with me?