When you allow negative messages to invade your mind, you are creating self-fulfilling prophecies that will slow you down and turn success into failure. You react or respond to life based not on each situation you face, but on your perception of each situation. Your perception of circumstances is created in your mind. Are you a person who tends to see the glass of milk as half empty or half full?

Why does it really matter? Negativism attracts negative things. Your life is fulfilling the predictions you embrace. Will they be the negative messages, or will you choose to live out the positive ones and be happy, successful, and free? It is an intentional decision to ignore or overwrite negative messages, and a deliberate stance to take on life half full. It is not easy, but with strength and a positive attitude, you can do it. If you are not strong enough, draw strength from God and become strong enough. Learn what messages are guiding your journey, and intentionally encourage yourself with a positive mindset. The life you dream to create depends on it.

A self-fulfilling prophecy is where a belief (often false) is accepted as truth, and in stating it, becomes true. One classic example of this is portrayed on most television sitcoms and appears in many novels. The typical scenario, which I recently viewed on an old series (in black and white, to indicate how old), shows the main character receiving a chain letter. For those who have never had a “friend” send you one, it is a letter that requires you to send it on to a few more of your friends, and often to send money to someone. The letter states that bad luck will befall anyone who does not participate.

In the show, the main character receives this letter, and throws it in the trash, despite wondering if it could be true. He then begins the self-fulfilling prophecy. Rather than continue the relaxing and productive day he was enjoying, he now expects to see bad luck happen in every experience. He looks around for danger while walking, so much so that he trips over something by his feet. He is so defensive at every comment since he expects bad news, that he attracts a bad reaction from those he greets. He is so scared and suspicious that he appears rude in conversations, and consequently offends those he cares about the most.

Suddenly, he realizes the prophecy from the letter was true. It was, however, not the letter, but his perception of the letter that created this mess. He believed its false claim, and in doing so, created its prediction. Whatever you think about creates what you experience. In this respect, we are all living out self-fulfilling prophecies, because whatever your perception of reality, whatever thoughts you accept as true, will lead you. You attract negative things by focusing on the negative– that is part of the law of attraction.

I believe the law of attraction is sometimes taken to the extreme. As I understand it, there are those who suggest a deadly car accident can be avoided if you only think positively and therefore “attract” only positive things. While you can certainly control how much you focus on the road, how distracted you are when in a rush, and whether you are choosing a safe road to take, you can never “attract” a drunk driver to hit you from nowhere. This message creates false comfort. It would be nice to believe that bad things could never happen if you just think them out of existence, or pray them out of your life circle, but life does not work that way. You can live in that bubble of safety for a while, but eventually you will be shaken out of it, and wonder where your feet will land. Instead, keep your feet on solid ground. Know who you are, how to handle the storms of change and adversity, and attract the good and create the positive wherever you do have control. You can be at peace in the uncertainty knowing you have the tools necessary to handle life’s tides, and you know where to turn for strength.

The law of attraction has some great applications to life, and when viewed in balance, its roots can be found in the Bible. In Romans 12:2 it says “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind” and Proverbs 23:7 says that “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (NIV). You were created with a mind and a will to determine what you embrace and what you eliminate from your thoughts. A child repeatedly told horrible things usually internalizes the messages as true. At some point, that child will grow up and learn there are other messages available. You must decide what to believe.

Where do you find the positive messages, and do you still hang on to the negative ones? Notice the term is “self”-fulfilling prophecy. Whose prophecy are you really fulfilling, are you believing false messages about yourself and creating your own misery? As an adult, you are responsible for the message that drives you. Are you around those who constantly berate you? Tell them to stop. Do you accept statements from others as true, or talk to yourself in a condescending manner? Confident people may more easily dismiss harsh insults from those distant contacts, but when uttered from close loved ones, it becomes even more difficult to keep from accepting them as truth. The hardest to fight of all is when you tell it to yourself. Are you your own worst critic?

Maybe these sound familiar: you are stupid, you will never amount to anything, you can’t make it, how could you have even thought you could succeed, you should have known better, why did you even try, what an embarrassment you are, you are ugly, worthless, unintelligent, incapable, and a failure. These cut deep wounds in your spirit, and it takes intent to replace them with positive truths.

Most people have a set of these to fight. In overcoming my eating disorder many years ago, I had to replace all the negative messages I bombarded myself with constantly, and I now live free of this mental harassment. I care about myself enough to treat me as a friend. Do you? I had to really learn about my purpose in life and how much love God has for me to make this life-altering change. I had friends who reinforced this, and I still know who to talk with when I need encouragement. Do you have time with God, time with positive friends, a place to go to help you change your perspective on a situation? Where do you draw your strength, and where do you find the positive messages? You can achieve your goals in business, you can get your degree, you can have a loving relationship, you can change your life, if you only believe it. Positive thoughts fuel success.

A positive outlook makes the difference between a quitter and a success. The determined intend success and keep going despite obstacles. Successful people believe in themselves and their dreams, and persevere. They dwell on positive thoughts, and attract the truth they believe. If you are determined, you find a way to make it happen because you believe that you CAN. If you believe that you cannot, you will not. There is always a way. It may be difficult, it may be different than you had originally planned, you may have to adapt to the unfamiliar, but if you are focused and think positively, you can achieve your goals. Do you believe it? Decide you can do it, and attract success. You create your dream future. Start today.

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