The Audacity of Focus
Regardless of where you stood on the American presidential election, it is a great example of how the Law of Attraction works.
The majority of Obama supporters were envisioning him in the White House. They needed to do so in order to get him elected. Ironically, the McCain supporters we heard from and about were ALSO picturing Obama in the White House, visibly frightened by the ramifications of such an event. It doesn’t matter. The more anyone pictured Obama in the White House, the more likely it became that he would actually take up residency on January 20, 2009. That’s the way the Law of Attraction works—you get more of what you focus on. Therefore, those McCain supporters who persisted in pushing against the image of an Obama Presidency actually helped him to attract enough votes to win.
One wonders what might have happened if the majority of McCain supporters were envisioning the senator from Arizona in the White House instead of focusing their attention on Obama. At the very least, it would have been a much closer election.
Law of Attraction is why I prefer the bumper sticker Envision Peace to the one that admonishes End War. One has us focus on peace, the other on war and I’m reasonably sure that there are few of us who actually want more war.
It’s like that old parlor trick some people use to illustrate a point. They issue the following instruction: “Don’t think of a pink elephant.” You immediately picture a pink elephant. The more you resist something, the more it persists. If you try really hard NOT to think about a pink elephant, the image only gets bigger and more vivid.
If you’re not attracting what you want into your life, it is important that you consider how you think about it. When you say, “I want more money,” is it because you have a picture in your mind of the bills piling up? Guess what you’ll attract more of?
When you say, “I want my boss to respect me,” does a virtual movie reel appear in your mind of all the examples of the times when he did not treat you with respect?
When you say, “I wish life were easier” (or simpler or not so hectic), what are you focused on that causes you to express such a wish? Isn’t it a long list of things that make you long for something better?
How many of us try and lose weight while we focus on the part of our body that is the most dramatic example of why we want to do so?
Professional athletes and successful business people know that the secret to winning is to keep your focus on the prize. When you focus on the struggle or the obstacles in your way, you only further delay achievement of your goal. Again, consider the Obama campaign. He kept his eye on the goal even when all the “experts” insisted it could not be achieved. Think about it, did you really believe it could happen? And yet it did!
Barack Obama kept his eye on the goal and he kept his supporters focused, as well. Whenever they veered away and started pushing against his opponent, he would bring them back to focusing on the goal. It is that kind of focus that wins elections and it is that kind of focus that will help you to achieve whatever you want in life.
My fervent desire is that Obama and those he surrounds himself with over the next four years use the gift and power of focus to get the country on a positive track again. No matter who you voted for, I invite you to use your power of focus to envision an America that is the land of opportunity for everyone. Envision a United States that is a good global citizen, one that partners with our allies and is respected even by those who disagree with us.
Barack Obama and his supporters achieved what many thought was impossible. Imagine what we can do by following their example.
