Wayne Dyer once said something that has resonated with me for years. “Once you realize that what you think about expands in your life, you get really careful about what you think about.”
Dyer said that you often get what you really want in your life. But what you really, really DON’T want, you also often get. Why? It’s because those are the two things you often give most of your attention to. Many people spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about what they don’t want in their life…so they tend to attract it.
You attract what you think about.
I was reminded of this recently at a conference when Dean Graziosi talked about a river guide and his “magic pointing finger.” Dean was with a church group and the river rapids looked rough. The parents were concerned, but the veteran river guide said there was no reason to worry. He had his “magic pointing finger.”
For the first year or so of him guiding trips down the river, he would see trouble ahead and try to help. He would point and say “Don’t go toward those rocks.” Then, the group would inevitably head directly toward the rocks! He would see a low branch and say “watch out for that branch,” only to see the group go right for it.
That’s when he realized he was focusing on the wrong thing.
Now he uses his magic pointing finger to point out what he WANTS them to do…not what he wants to avoid. He still sees the dangers, but he points to the safe part of the river and says “paddle to the opening!” And that’s exactly what they do! He used his “magic pointing finger” to focus the group on what they DID want…not what they didn’t.
And that’s exactly what we all should do.
There are plenty of obstacles, challenges, and stresses in the world today. There are plenty of “rocks ahead.” But while we need to know that those dangers are there, we need to take our focus off of them long enough to use our own “magic pointing finger” to drive us toward what we do want in our lives.
As Wayne Dyer said, “what you think about in your life expands.”
What are you thinking about?
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