Attracting What You Want

Reflection

“Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.” With that single sentence, James Allen dismantles shallow ideas about attraction. Wanting something — a new level of provision, deeper relationships, spiritual depth — is easy. You can want it while thinking like a victim, speaking like a pessimist, and living like nothing will ever change. The deeper law Allen points to is that life tends to echo the character you are actually cultivating, not the slogans you repeat.

This is not about blaming yourself for every hardship. It is about recognizing that your dominant beliefs, expectations, and choices form a kind of atmosphere around you. Opportunities that harmonize with that atmosphere find it easier to stay. If you quietly expect disappointment, you will overlook open doors or mistrust them when they appear. If you quietly believe that God is with you and working through you, you will step through doors others barely notice.

The hopeful news is that you are not stuck with the person you have been. By God’s grace, you can begin to become someone who naturally moves in the direction you say you desire. As honesty, generosity, diligence, and faith take root in your inner life, the “field” around you shifts. You stop chasing appearances and begin building substance — and over time, what you once strained for begins to appear as a byproduct of who you are becoming.

And that’s worth thinking about.

— Vic Johnson