Ever heard of the term “positive affirmation”? I have to admit, from the beginning I have always been skeptical of this idea; however, after some faith and experimenting, I’ve found that there’s some truth to it. The secret to achieve goals you’ve set is right here for you.

Let me begin with my own story: firstly, I purchased Rhonda Byrne’s “The Magic,” which is a 28-day program to teach you how to bring your dreams into your life and make them a reality. One of the activities involves creating a “Thank You Board” which is kind of like a dream board.

Essentially you post pictures of the things that you are ALREADY thankful for. Yes, you heard that right. They don’t even have to be things that you have! For example, I put up a picture of what I wanted my first apartment to look like. Low and behold, a couple years later when I got married and leased an apartment with my husband, the apartment looked nearly identical to the picture, AND it was the cheapest apartment in our area.

Sometimes you have to be careful of what you are already thankful for because unfortunately the apartment had a mold/dust problem and I had to sleep in the front room with our front door open for months because I had allergies to the point I couldn’t breathe. I was very happy to move out!

I also had on my board a graduation cap (I graduated) a wedding ring (I met my true love and got married) and a picture with my family (we’re still close despite living so far apart!) In essence, I’ve been blessed with those things I was already grateful for.

Why Does This Happen?

There are two possibilities here: either the board and your grateful attitude draw these good things into your life through some magical focus or energy, or you naturally look for these things in your life because there is a daily reminder on your wall that keeps your focus where it needs to be. I’d venture to say that both make an impact. 

Remember: these aren’t things you’re “wishing” for, they are things you are thankful for. If you are religious, then by all means you can apply this way of thinking to your prayers. You are thankful for the things that you do have, but also thankful for the things you don’t have! If you aren’t religious, it definitely doesn’t hurt to send out some positive gracious vibes to The Universe.

If anything, the most important part is that within days of “The Magic” program you have a new realization about how wonderful the world is and how grateful you are for everything you have.

We’re going to cover 5 steps to making your dreams a reality in a healthy way!

Step One: Develop a Clear Vision

This is your vision board. This is where you ask yourself the questions. The who, what, when, where, why, and how of you future.

• WHO?
  • Who would you like to associate with?
  • Also, who would you like to meet?
  • Who do you want to still have involved in your life?
• WHAT?
  • What are some objects you might like to own?
  • Because of that, what would you like your income to be? (For this you could print a check with an amount you’d like to see at a specific date from “The Universe.”)
  • What are some key words you would like to apply to your life? Maybe you would like to feel hope, peace, or consistency. Possibly fun, adventure, and travel.
  • What job would you like?
• WHEN?
  • When would you like these things to be accomplished? Set a time limit. Your board should apply to the next year, or maybe 5 years. My husband and I did a dream board as a couple and decided to apply it to the next three years. We did this because after three years he would be graduating from law school, and we would have a whole new situation on our hands with new dreams.
• WHERE?
  • Where would you like to be living?
  • What would you like your house to look like?
  • Where would you like to travel to or visit?
• WHY?
  • Make sure when choosing things to add to your board that your why factor is always for good reasons. Make sure you are always searching for good things for yourself. Instead of, “I want my manager fired,” it could be, “I’d like a promotion.” It could also be, “I’d like to switch careers.” It is easier to be grateful for positive things than negative things.
• HOW?
  • This is the question that The Universe covers. You don’t know exactly how you are going to get the things you dream about, but The Universe knows and can help you accomplish these things. Maybe you will receive a prompting to be in a certain place at a certain time, or maybe you will have an idea come to you that inspires you.

For instruction on how to make an empowering vision board check out Jack Canfield’s website where he helps you maximize your potential.

Step Two: Say Thank You

An attitude of gratefulness will always win out. This is why the holiday season is such an enjoyable time. During Thanksgiving we are grateful for all of the things that we have and that grateful attitude is reflected in our neighbors, coworkers, and family. We tend to think about others during this season, more than ourselves. 

Especially come Christmas, the focus is always outward and we are thankful for all of the gifts we are given. The idea is always to think outwards. We may work hard requesting specific gifts, but it is always someone else that gives us the gift in the end. That is The Universe (or God) at work. 

Every day take some time to look at your vision board and feel grateful for everything on it. Ponder on it. Keep that mood with you throughout the day, it will improve every day leading up to your dreams, as well as make those dreams gravitate to you.

Step Three: Visualize

This is a weird one. I’m not going to lie. Visualizing is a strange practice, but very necessary in the practice of obtaining the things we are already so thankful for. According to psychological studies, if an athlete thinks through the motions of their sport in their head then the same nerves fire off, and your mind is essentially practicing something perfectly that your body is not doing.

You can practice the reality before it exists. In the movie, “The Secret,” they show a man visualizing himself in his dream car. He sits in a chair, closes his eyes, puts his hands on the wheel, and presses down on the gas; all the while he imagines what it would feel like to drive in the car of his.

Your nerves fire off and your mind and body get into the mindset of owning this car. Driving this car. Yes, it is weird to play make-believe, but it is essential to pulling those dreams from the board, and out into real life.

Step Four: Make a Plan

Now, it is all good and well that you’ve visualized, but the The Universe can’t make these things pop up without a little push. Now comes the planning stage. Let’s say I had a vision to make an extra $50,000 dollars this year. This means that I need to come up with a $50,000 idea. Once you have an idea, and you put it into action, The Universe can help make all of the pieces fall into place. 

This is essentially what happened to Jack Canfield, author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” If you watch The Secret he gives wonderful insight to how the Law of Attraction worked by giving him inspiration to act on, which brings us to our next step.

Step Five: Act

People seem to think that the Law of Attraction is silly because the idea of visualizing the money you want, then having it fall from the sky, is ridiculous. And yes, it is ridiculous, because that is not how the Law of Attraction works. Think about the word Attraction. Let me help you a little bit.

AttrACTION. 

The Law of Attraction works because an individual acts on the prompting and inspiration obtained from focusing on their objectives. It is a sort of magic, in and of itself, but not the magic of genies, or wizards in fairy tale stories. When inspiration comes knocking at the door, make a move, don’t let the opportunity slip away.

Conclusion : Achieve Goals

If you follow these five steps with a will, then you will find a way to achieve the objectives you set for yourself. The Law of Attraction, put simply, is a method of acting and not a method of receiving. With the right attitude and a healthy amount of work, anyone can make their dreams a reality.

I challenge you to create your own “Thank You Board” and comment below some of the items that you might feature there!