What To Do When The Law of Attraction Doesn't Work for You We all know about the law of attraction. Whether we've heard it from someone or in a meme, it is very much in the public consciousness. But, do we really understand it and the work it requires though? What can we do when the law of attraction doesn't work?

As popularized by the 2006 film The Secret, the law of attraction has gained much popularity over the years.

Whether it's tales of celebrities writing checks payable to themselves in five years or top CEOs working diligently on their vision boards, we've become increasingly conversant with the notion of manifesting our dream life. But what do you do when the law of attraction doesn't work for you?

Related: Leveraging The Law Of Attraction To Win New Clients

Does that mean it's not real, or is it something you're doing wrong?

Well, if we look at what the folks in The Secret and other such texts were referencing, a lot of it was ancient wisdom. These ideas have been around for thousands of years. Certainly longer than the relatively recent glut of self-proclaimed experts.

People have been demonstrating the validity of the law of attraction for millennia; it had never quite reached the mainstream consciousness until the last decade.

Here's the thing, though: when something becomes widespread, it can sometimes become "popcorn."

What do I mean?

It's a bit like the various dieting fads that have come and gone over the years. Once something is so mainstream, it's like junk food. We think of it as something you can pop in the microwave and receive instant gratification. Somehow the "connective tissue" gets lost in all the conversational shorthand.

Whether by design or not, the popular consciousness around the law of attraction considers it an effort-free practice that yields instant results.

Related: What Is the Law of Attraction, and How Can I Use It to Reach My Goals?

Not so. Not so at all!

The law of attraction isn't about you "setting and forgetting" something. Nor is it witchcraft, where you say a few chants and money falls out of the sky.

It's about creating a conscious, vibrational connection with the desired outcome that orients you towards it in terms of your actions, habits and behaviors. Think of it as changing a compass heading: you still have to go on the journey to reach the destination.

This is likely why it hasn't worked for you in the past.

If you've seen it more as a "cheat code" that will require nothing more from you than a picture on your desk of the yacht you want to own, it's time to rethink.

This plays into a broader issue we all have with the notion of success these days. Thanks to 30-second clips on TikTok and the revolving door of Youtube "experts" with the latest way to make money from the comfort of your armchair, we've become accustomed to thinking that acquiring wealth is and should be easy.

All we have to do is hitch our wagon to the latest cryptocurrency or hyped Amazon product, and hey presto: effortless riches!

Right?

This devaluing of what it takes to become wealthy also shows our disdain for the wealthy. We've been conditioned to see them as "those with the broadest shoulders" who should be paying more to society. The banking crash of 2008 was the fault of "the rich" writ large (not a specific bunch of corrupt individuals on Wall Street), and thus, they should all be made to pay.

But at the same time, we exalt "influencers" as being the best among us, strewing their path with likes and retweets. We look for singular quotes that will sum up the human condition so that we don't have to do the long-form mental arithmetic to properly identify what we want and what we need to make that happen.

In short: we're lazy.

Worst of all, we're lazy-minded. We don't want to do all the mental and internal work necessary to go through the necessary change. It's hard work, but do you know why? It's because you are going against centuries of evolution and biological programming.

Whenever you seek to change something significant, you come up against your ancient "lizard brain." I'm not kidding. Starting a new business venture, a new hobby or trying to lose a significant amount of weight all trigger your fight or flight response.

Your subconscious mind (the one that pre-dates your intellectual one) doesn't understand reason, logic or even language. It's programmed through emotional energy and has one ultimate directive: keep you safe!

Being an older machine, the subconscious mind doesn't run on a very sophisticated programming language. It's DOS 1.0 compared to your conscious mind's iOS 16.1.2! And for your subconscious, keeping you safe means keeping things the same.

This is a problem when we want to create lasting change. We butt up against this invisible, emotional wall that keeps us from making progress.

You've probably encountered this at one time or another — the lack of will to push yourself through a particular phase. A "running out of steam" occurs once things get hard. Maybe you've still had the drive to persevere but have found a creeping sense of unworthiness or a series of self-sabotaging behaviors that have crept in.

Related: Lazy? Good, Use It to Your Advantage.

It's perfectly normal. In fact: it's human nature!

If you want the law of attraction to work for you, you will need to overcome this subconscious programming slowly. That's what it's all about anyway: slowly changing who you are about the universe so that you 'attract' a new, consciously chosen experience for yourself.

You must do it slowly not to overwhelm your subconscious and trigger that shutdown.

So my advice to you is simple. If you've been struggling to get the law of attraction to work, try and reframe the purpose of the practice altogether. The point is not to make money magically appear or the perfect partner to fall into your lap.

The point is to incrementally change you so that you are more aligned with these things present in your life and, therefore, a natural magnet for them, even if that's just because you'll say the right thing or give the right impression to a person in a position of influence.

It can be effortless to put out the wrong message to the universe. You might put down your achievements or shy away from speaking up about an aspiration you hold simply because you think others might laugh at you. But you're putting out an energy that is repelling your dreams, not bringing them to you.

Make sure you sit in authenticity with who you want to be. That's how you attract a new future.