Yoda and the Law of Attraction
So, I turned on the TV the other day, and they were showing my favorite Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back.
You know, the one with all the sister-kissing, Han-freezing, hand-chopping craziness.
Anyhoo, it was at the part where our hero, Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker, is learning about controlling the Force from his master, Yoda.
Luke’s spaceship has sunken into the swamps of Dagobah, and Yoda asks Luke to use the power of the Force to get it out of the muck. Luke says, “I’ll give it a try,” and then Yoda says his most-quoted line:
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
I like Yoda’s style.
But my favorite Yoda-ism is later after Luke is unable to raise his ship. Yoda sighs, and then concentrates all his mental power on lifting the submerged X-wing and placing it safely on the shore. It’s really an amazing feat.
Luke stumbles over to his master and says incredulously, “I don’t—I don’t believe it!”
“That is why you fail,” says Yoda.
Yoda’s talking about the law of attraction. The law of attraction states that like attracts like. This means that if you think positive thoughts, you’ll attract positive outcomes; whereas, negative thoughts can lead to negative results.
Luke’s young and inexperienced, and he truly believes that he is incapable of moving the ship. Because he doesn’t believe in himself, he sets himself up for failure.
Think about how many times in your life you have doubted yourself.
You might think you’ll never get that promotion, never lose weight, never travel the world. Or maybe you think you’re a loser, or you deserve it when your husband hits you, or you aren’t cut out to be a mother.
I cannot stress this enough—your thoughts are immensely powerful, and you become what you think.
Starting right now, I want you to shift your thinking to a more positive frame of mind. Tell yourself that you’re great at something, even if it’s not entirely true.
It’s OK to “fake it ‘til you make it” for a while. Eventually, positive thinking will become second nature, and you won’t have to try so hard.
Really, life is too short for you to spend it doubting yourself. Imagine the amazing things you could do if you attract all the positivity in the universe to you.
In the comments below, tell me something positive about yourself.
Seriously, do it. Don’t make me get all Yoda on your ass.
How has the law of attraction worked for you?
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So the “Do or not do” quote is the one that gets all the attention, but the “That is why you fail” quote is THE most awesome. I think people are afraid to believe because they don’t want to appear cocky or delusional. But when you look around, the most successful people are the ones that present an aura of “Yes, I can and will do this!”
Believe and Receive! (frequently used by parents regarding Santa Claus, but also applies to the Universe)
Love it! It’s all about taking responsibility for our thoughts and actions. Thanks for commenting!
I like to think of it as the Law of Resonance. I've been working it since I was a kid. I love it. And I started really playing with it and maxing it out about 3 years ago when I learned that "life is supposed to be fun!"
Thanks for such a sweet reminder, especially using the beautiful Yoda as yr example. I wish I cld be more like him. My life is often more like that of jar jar binks … Oh maybe I’d better change that into something more positive … Princess Leia!
I agree, I agree. When I face my fears, they disappear. And the more I do it, the braver I get. We can all conquer the things holding us back.
This can’t be more true. Here’s a story for your archives (a confirmation of your wisdom, really):
I wasn’t always a microbiology major – I actually started college thinking I’d graduate a historian. Long story short, I changed my mind to science. As part of the major changing process I had to meet with an advisor to discuss the why, the what, and the how. I expected a supportive fellow to tell me that I could succeed no matter what but instead I got an utter troll – this guy had the nerve to tell me I’d likely change my major again because there’s no way I could reign in the organic chemistry part of the curriculum. I was PISSED. I didn’t say anything to this joker but from that day on I made myself believe (regardless of how true it really was) that I LOVED chemistry and biochemistry and that I was MADE for it. Was it always true? No. But did positive thinking help me succeed? Hell yes.
I got an A in chemistry every semester that I had it (10 classes in total) and I went on to teach organic chemistry for 2 years at my university as an undergrad. And you know what – I ended up loving it.
So readers of Sweet and Sage, if you get nothing else out of this blog get this: positive thinking is the ultimate key to success. It’s the secrete handshake you need to know to get through life on your own terms.
P.S – Thanks for checking on me Sage! The test isn’t until July 26, after which I will promptly return to blogging 🙂 Last two weeks to clear the hurdle!
I agree- so, so true. I’ll get in my funks when I’m being negative & it only makes things worse. It’s getting easier to pull myself out of them now, thankfully. The mind is such a powerful thing! Love the Star Wars comparison, too. So perfect!
Maybe I’m a bad nerd, but the only Star Wars movie I’ve ever seen is the one everyone hates (I forgot which one, but I didn’t really care for it either). I’m more of a Trekker than a Star Wars fan.
However I think there’s some definite merit to Yoda and his teachings! I decided one day I was sick of negativity. I still struggle with it, but I definitely try to find the positivity in everyday rather than letting toxic thoughts rule me.
I actually hate going to college classes these days because so many people are like “Eff this, I hate this, I want to do as little work as possible” but I go in with “I want to learn and learn right, not just get it done”.. Unfortunately as a Psych major we rely on a lot of group work and group discussion for many classes so it’s extra difficult attempting to do a good job when everyone else could care less and wants to be negative.
I’ve gotten a lot of weird backlash for my positive attitude and even had the odd classmate try to be aggressive/bitchy towards me for not accepting negative comments and going against the general class attitude of slacking off.
Yes! This is so true! I’ve been struggling with this for a while now and trying to force myself into a more positive mindset. I feel like I need a re-set, or a fresh start. I’m working on it 🙂 I try to be positive about my work schedule and sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. I just need to work on the sometimes it doesn’t part of that 🙂
Hmmm, I’m a good cook and I’m kind of a bad ass 😉
About 5 years ago, I had a really, really terrible job. To just get through the days, I would pretend that it was actually the best job in the world. It was hard at first, but it got easier. People started to notice my positive attitude, and the job improved a lot.
Being a bad ass is definitely a positive trait. 🙂
You are spot on with this one, positive thinking leads to positive outcomes in your life. I faked it for so long when I was marathon training the first time and then one long run I just knew I was ok, felt comfortable and had a fantastic run. Fantastic enough, I ran three more marathons after that first one! Something positive about myself: I love my smile and I’m a great listener.
Yes! That’s a great example of using positive thinking to do something good for yourself. I haven’t run a marathon, but I do use positive thinking to get me to the gym. “I love exercise so much!”
And you do have a nice smile. 🙂