Thoughts Have Power: 3 Steps to Changing Your Life

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform summary of "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. Shortform has the world's best summaries of books you should be reading.

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Do you have the ability to change your life? Do your thoughts have power, and how can they change your life?

In The Secret, Rhonda Byrne says that your thoughts have power. So much power in fact, that you can use them to harness the power of the universe to get the things you want in life. Keep reading to find out the steps to harnessing the power of your thoughts.

Your Thoughts Have Power

The process of bringing what you want to your life is called the Creative Process. The Creative Process is a three-step guideline for using your thoughts to create the life you want and shows how your thoughts have power. Think of the Creative Process as super-sizing your ability to harness the Law of Attraction. Although the law is always working, following these steps will make sure it’s working exactly how you want it to.

Step 1: Ask for What You Want

The act of asking for what you want helps you become clear about what you want. Your thoughts have power, but being clear in your own mind is required for the universe to get a clear signal. If you are not clear, you will send out mixed frequencies. If the universe picks up mixed frequencies, you will attract mixed results. Being specific and clear about your desires sends specific and clear signals into the universe.

For example, if you simply say, “I want a different life,” the universe doesn’t have much to go on. A different life could mean winning the lottery, but it could also mean losing your home or job.
If you ask for what you want to be different, such as “I want a job that allows me to use my artistic talents,” the universe will conspire to bring you that job.

When you ask for something, you are making a clear choice. You have placed your order with the universe, and trust that it’s heard you. Think of the act of asking like ordering from a menu or catalog. Your thoughts have power, and can make it happen.

You wouldn’t order spaghetti and meatballs from a restaurant server, then wonder if he heard your order. You order it and trust the kitchen to make it and the server to bring it to you when it’s ready.

Asking isn’t always about wanting something in particular. Sometimes asking is simply the act of seeking an answer. If you have to make a difficult decision and don’t know what to think or what to do, ask.

For example, if you are deciding which of your friends to make your maid of honor, you might say, “I wish there was an easy way to decide who to choose.” The universe will conspire to send you the answer. It may come in a phone call that gives you some insight. Or it could be that one of your friends suddenly becomes unavailable.
The only thing you have to do is ask. The universe will take care of the rest.

Step 2: Believe Your Thoughts Have Power

Know that your thoughts have power. You must believe that what you’ve asked for will be yours. The moment you have asked, believe and know your answer is coming. What you want already exists in the unseen, and the universe has started to conspire to bring it to the seen. Have complete faith. The universe is a mirror reflecting your dominant thoughts, so believing you already have what you’ve asked for reflects back as you having received it.

Take the spaghetti and meatballs order. Just like you wouldn’t order it twice, you also aren’t doubting whether you will receive your meal. You kick back with your dinner guest and relax. You believe and know that spaghetti and meatballs will soon be placed in front of you.
If you believe you will receive what you’ve asked the universe for, you can relax and wait for it to show up.

The trick is to not focus on not having it yet. If you focus on the fact that you don’t have it, you will attract the experience of not having it. The frequency your thoughts are emitting is not having it. So, the only pictures that frequency can send back are of you without what you want. Since your thoughts have power, you can trust that the universe is getting the message.

If what you’ve asked for doesn’t appear right away, don’t worry that the universe didn’t hear or understand you. Trust that the universe has heard you, and what you want is in your future.

For example, if you purchase tickets for a cruise around the world that doesn’t leave for four months, you still feel secure in knowing you will be on that ship in four months’ time.
Feel that sense of security with the Law of Attraction. If you’ve been clear, there can be no question of your future.

The how is not your concern. How you will receive what you want, meaning what you will need to do and how it will be brought to you, is something the universe will figure out.

Most of us have never allowed ourselves to want what we want because we can’t see how we will get it.
Let the universe take care of the how. All you need to do is ask and believe you will receive.

If you have trouble having faith that you will receive what you ask for, pretend to believe. When we’re children, we make believe all the time. We imagine we are astronauts or rock stars. We imagine giants who protect us or that our stuffed animals talk to us. We felt free to let our minds go crazy with whatever fantasy we want. As adults, our pragmatism gets in the way. The logistics get in the way. We lose faith that our thoughts have power.

Make believing as an adult can help you begin believing that what you’ve asked for can really be yours.

For example, if you want a new Porsche, make believe that you are driving the Porsche down a winding road. Daydream about seeing yourself driving the car. Do this until the daydream begins to feel like a possibility.
If you can see yourself with what you have asked for, you will start believing you have received it.

Step 3: Receive What You’ve Asked For

Even before you have received, the act of feeling as though you have received communicates powerfully with the universe. Feel all the sensations that come with receiving what you’ve asked for. When you get what you want, you feel happy. Why would you want something that doesn’t make you happy? You wouldn’t. Ask once, believe you have received, and be happy about receiving. Recognize that your thoughts have power, and show gratitude.

When you are happy about receiving what you want, you are sending out the frequency of receiving. The frequency of receiving is the frequency by which all good things are brought to you. Get on this frequency, and attract back what you’ve asked for.

For example, if you ask for a new toaster because the old one burns the toast, feel the sensation of making toast in your new toaster and how good your perfectly toasted toast tastes. That picture must be made real.

When you experience the sensation of having received, the universe has no choice but to comply.

Remember that your thoughts have power. Channeling them into action and manifesting them into the things you want in your life is challenging, but with practice and patience, you can achieve anything.

Thoughts Have Power: 3 Steps to Changing Your Life