How Does The Law Of Attraction Work? A Success Tool For Skeptics

Are you curious about how does the Law of Attraction work exactly? Are you asking yourself, is it even real?

If you tend to be a more rational person who appreciates science, evidence, and critical thinking, it can be really difficult to relate to a lot of the people who teach on the Law of Attraction.

Many of the “gurus” can seem a little “woo woo” to more practical and “everyday” people. And it can quite frankly just be a turn-off to the whole idea for many people.

I personally believe this topic is highly relevant and actually very important in the nursing career space.

Why? Because I didn’t just poof out of nowhere and end up a BSN nursing student. And already with my first hospital RN position in place for when I graduate in less than a year? It is super exciting and I absolutely credit my success to the foundational teachings of the Law of Attraction.

So, is the Law of Attraction real and worth talking about? Or is it just a new-age spiritual trend?

Let’s discuss in this article what the Law of Attraction is. Is there any scientific basis to it? Additionally, let’s talk about how you can use it if you don’t buy into the “spirituality” component of it.

The Law of Attraction In Simplest Terms

So, how does the law of attraction work exactly? Here is what you must understand first.

Like Attracts Like

Explained in the fewest words possible, the Law of Attraction can be defined as “like attracts like”.

2 Simplest Law of Attraction Examples:

If you think negative thoughts, negative experiences will manifest.

If you think positive thoughts, positive experiences will manifest.

Limitations and Things to Consider

Some people understand the Law of Attraction so incorrectly that if something absolutely awful happens in their life that was outside of their control, they believe they manifested it somehow.

This is a dangerous mindset for obvious reasons.

We live in a realm of “duality”. An excellent symbol for this is the yin and yang. It is an important balance and it exists for important reasons that only the “Universe”, if you will, knows and understands.

If a loved one passes away, or you get in an awful accident that was outside of your control, you did NOT bring that on yourself. Unfortunately, this Earthly experience is full of challenges, heartache, pain, and struggle. However, the Earthly experience is also full of opportunity, excitement, fun, adventure and love.

The Law of Attraction is really just a tool to help us harness more of the positive aspects of life that we actually WANT to experience. Within reason, and within rational possibility.

How To Use The Law of Attraction Scientifically and Rationally

“We Become What We Think About” – Earl Nightingale

This quote by Earl Nightingale in his lecture called, The Strangest Secret, single-handedly changed the course of my life and my daily mindset forever.

I realized I was living the exact life that I thought I deserved. That was a life of financial struggle, being obese, and believing I wasn’t smart enough to be a competitive nursing student applicant. I was so on autopilot in my life that I didn’t even realize that my life was just a reflection of my limiting beliefs.

When I listened to this lecture by Earl Nightingale, everything clicked for me. It is essentially a lecture on The Law of Attraction but presented in practical and rational language. The Law of Attraction is more of a buzzword phrase in the 21st Century, but the concept is as old as time.

Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Matthew 7:7
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

These are examples of “The Law of Attraction” essentially being taught even in the Bible. Now many fundamentalists will say that those are incorrect interpretations, but it is pretty clear to me, and most people, what they were telling people.

Newtons Laws of Motion

I believe the best “scientific evidence” for the Law of Attraction is Newton’s Laws of Motion. Read more here on NASA’s website. So, how does the Law of Attraction work? Physics.

Law #1: An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

This is where a lot of the Law of Attraction clickbait, yeah I said it, can get really irritating.

Many will present it that all you need to do is focus on what you want. That all you need to do is think about it, and really feel the excitement of it, and poof it will appear. That is never going to work in a million years if that person remains at rest.

Also, remember, life happens! The Law of Attraction is not about creating a little personal heaven on Earth where nothing bad or inconvenient ever happens to you. You can be trucking along toward your goal, and you can, and will, still get thrown “off course” by some outside force acting upon you.

So with this law, I like to think of your desire as being the gas pedal that puts you into motion. This is the FIRST step necessary in the Law of Attraction. And you need to be mindful and expecting of the inconveniences and challenges of normal life. They are not an excuse or reason to give up and quit.

Law #2: The acceleration of an object depends on the mass of the object and the amount of force applied.

This is a great answer to the question of how does the law of attraction work?

To create BIG change in your life, you need BIG desire. This can be related back to “like attracts like” in the Law of Attraction.

What is the “mass” or how “strong” is your desire? How fast this is going to come to fruition is going to depend on the acceleration you put toward that desire.

If you remain at rest, it will be a long, long time if ever that you achieve your desire. However, if you let the “mass” of that desire accelerate you, you will get there much faster.

Law #3: Whenever one object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite on the first.

This is my favorite law, but it is also a somewhat scary law. Essentially, every single thing you do, or don’t do, WILL cause a reaction.

Many people when using the Law of Attraction are worried that nothing is going to happen. It is impossible! Every single thing you do, there will be an equal or opposite reaction.

So, to receive you have to GIVE. You have to provide the value you wish to receive.

For example, when you are employed by a company, you signed a contract. You have agreed to come in, perform specific work, with specific expected outcomes, and they give you a paycheck in return for the value you provided. You don’t just get the paycheck for simply existing.

Use your desires to visualize what you want, decide you are going to go for it, and take action on the necessary steps required to achieve that desire.

How Does The Law of Attraction Work For Skeptics?

Hopefully, you feel a little better about giving this a try after reading Newton’s Laws and understanding that this isn’t “magic”. You don’t need to turn into a hippy, start meditating, and shunning modern science for this to work.

So how does the law of attraction work for skeptics then? Here is a simple formula to get you started to test this out. If you are a skeptic you likely enjoy science experiments and putting things to the test.

1. Set Just One Goal To Start

Instead of jumping in head first with all kinds of “dream life” scenarios, take it one step at a time. While it is fun to think about our dream life, if you are a skeptic, you probably want some data to track your progress.

So start with one moderate sized goal. I say moderate instead of small because it is too easy to lose interest with a small goal.

Our slogan here at Midlife Nursing is to visualize, decide and take action. These are the steps to creating a goal and creating changes in your life experience.

Some moderate-sized goal examples:

New job
New car (not a Lamborghini please)
New business
Pay off a debt
Increased sales (set a specific goal amount)
More money (again, be specific)
Weight loss (specific goal amount)

These are some really good moderate goals to start with. They are big enough to impact your life, but not so out of the norm that you will feel defeated before you even start.

2. Take Action On Your Goal

Remember Newton’s Law #1. An object at rest remains at rest. So, you must move!

The actions you take will depend on what your goal specifically is. Here are some examples of taking action toward your goal.

Actions to get a new job:

Polish up your resume
Focus on building up your work experience at your current job (might require you put a few more months in so you can benefit from that on your resume)
Take relevant college classes if applicable
Get any desirable certifications for your trade

Actions to lose weight:

Track your calories and decrease them (healthy goal please)
Eat low-calorie density foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins)
Exercise (any type you enjoy)
Drink lot’s of water and cut out liquid calories

When it comes to answering the question of how does the law of attraction work, taking action is KEY.

I know everyone wants a quick, “magic” fix, but that is not how the laws of our world work. The Law of Attraction is no exception. Remember, as Earl Nightingale discovered, you become what you think about. Period.

3. Track Your Progress With Data

You should keep track of your progress in a notebook, or on a spreadsheet. The important thing is that you are keeping track of your progress regularly.

Journaling is also a great way to track your progress when it comes to working with the Law of Attraction toward a specific desire. Why? Because sometimes we miss the little “blessings” or opportunities that happen in our day as a result of our hard work and intentions.

Was there a conversation that organically arose with someone? Something as small as this can present big opportunities down the line. So many people don’t notice things like this when it comes to things being “meant to be” and “falling into place”.

Sometimes just sitting in the quiet, and really reflecting on your day can help you realize little things that happened, and can encourage you in your pursuits.

My Personal Results Using the Law of Attraction:

I Got Into My First Choice Nursing School Program

When I was first introduced to the concepts of the Law of Attraction, I was a mediocre college student who was too scared to take the entrance exam I needed to get into the associate’s degree RN program. I was just kind of floating around in “I want to be a nurse” and “when I’m a nurse” land. It felt so impossible and so far away, it just kind of stunted my growth for a while.

Well, without boring you with all the details of the in between, fast forward to today, and I am a 4.0 GPA nursing student in my first choice bachelor’s degree RN program. I will graduate in May of 2023 and I already have my first RN job lined up. So I am essentially already interning in an incredible hospital unit as a Senior nursing student. Wow!

If you told me this would be my life today back then, I never would have believed you. This may not sound like a dream life for everyone, but that is also an important point to make. Not all of us want to retire at 20 and live on the beach for the rest of our lives. Not all of us want to make millions of dollars playing video games online.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with dreams and desires like those mentioned above. But it is important to note that when using the Law of Attraction, it doesn’t have to be for this big grandiose fantasy. It is okay to desire to be a manager of a bank, to be a nurse, to be a teacher. These are valid dreams and careers that can provide comfortable lives and futures.

I’ve Lost Weight

I was obese when I was first introduced to The Law of Attraction. You might not know this, but you can use these concepts to achieve better health too.

So how does the Law of Attraction work for weight loss? Well, we can go back to Newton’s Law again for a great example.

An object at rest remains at rest. I had a desire to lose weight, so I got moving.

When things came in my way (cravings, birthdays, trips, etc.) and pushed me off course, I just adjusted and got back on the course. The harder I worked (calorie tracking and exercise) the faster my results were. And every action I took, had a result. Good or bad.

I am now at a healthier, and more comfortable weight. And, I am no longer obese on the BMI scale. Something I was not able to achieve for almost a decade after having my daughter.

I Have Achieved a Comfortable Level of Financial Security

When I first was introduced to the Law of Attraction, like many of us, my husband and I were living paycheck to paycheck. We couldn’t go out to nice dinners. We had to strictly budget to prevent our bank account from overdrafts for years and years.

To add insult to injury, we had an overpriced 1,000 sqft home with an HOA bill that just kept rising against our will. Our bills were so out of control that we didn’t even know how I would go to nursing school because we heavily relied on my income when I was working in Dialysis.

Again, without boring you with all the in-betweens, things look very different for us today.

We now have a 2,000+ sqft home, we comfortably pay our bills, we have money to go to nice dinners, to go on trips, and I am in nursing school and we don’t need any additional income from me. I was also able to get my dream “mommy car” and I am not even an RN yet! It all just really blows me away.

Understanding the science behind the Law of Attraction helps me to understand, from a rational and practical perspective, why my life is what it is today.

So, Can You Now Answer The Question, How Does The Law of Attraction Work?

In Conclusion:

Visualize what you want for your future, be specific.
Decide that you are going to go for it. And commit!
Take action toward that life, and/or material thing that you want.

You need to BE the person who has the life that you desire!

Meaning, if that is to be a successful businessman or woman with a sky-rise apartment, BE who you think that person is. Act like that person.

So now you need to figure out, how would that person act in their daily life? Would they be lazy on the couch most days? Probably not. They would likely work very hard. They would likely know exactly what they want their life to look like and would live a lifestyle to match. So, they would then offer a service, or product, in which they have knowledge and expertise in. A product or service that gives just as much value to others, as it brings for themselves.

To answer, how does the law of attraction work? We don’t attract what we simply just wish for, we attract what we ARE.

If you need further inspiration to go after your dreams, read this article we wrote here on 7 celebrities who never gave up on their dreams and what they knew they were worth.

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Jackie J.

Jackie graduated with her BSN through the Texas A&M system in May 2023. She maintained a 4.0 GPA, while working as a patient care technician, through the entire program. She has worked in healthcare for the past seven years as a hemodialysis technician, CNA and patient care technician. She is also a licensed esthetician and a loving wife and mother. Jackie has a passion for helping others get the most out of their nursing journey.