The Law of Attraction works in either three or four phases, depending on your perspective. Regardless of how you approach the Law of Attraction, the last phase of its operation is you receiving what you have attracted. The key to this phase is that you receive the result with an attitude that empowers the delivery of the manifested result; otherwise, the manifested result might not make it to where you happen to be. The power which enables the receiving is gratitude.
What is Gratitude?
Gratitude consists of two emotions mixed together. The first emotional component of gratitude is a willing acceptance. You recognize that something has been manifested into your life, and you do not fight or resist the manifestation. You simply take the result and move on. The second emotional component of gratitude is appreciation. You are thankful that the result is part of your life. It is the second part which differentiates gratitude from resignation.
Let me give you an example. Say you planned to go the beach one day, yet when you woke up it was raining. The acceptance part of gratitude would say “Okay, it is raining. So be it. I will change my plans accordingly, and I will go to the beach another day.” Notice how the rain is accepted, but there is no reaction. This reaction could lead to gratitude or it could lead to a negative resignation. To have gratitude, you need to be thankful for the rain; you could then say “I really needed this rain for my garden; I appreciate the help given to my flowers.” This raises the first statement to a level of gratitude, rather than falling into negative acceptance.
Why is Gratitude Important?
The Universe is constantly manifesting, both for you and for others. If you are grateful for the things that come into your life, you are empowering the Universe to continue manifesting, which means that your manifestation will come that much faster. In essence, your gratitude is pushing the manifesting of the Universe to a higher level of activity, speeding up the appearance of results. A mere acceptance is not hindering the process, but there is no help being provided.
Gratitude is also preparing you to receive. Think of yourself as a flower bed; you could simply scatter the flower seeds and some flowers will grow. But if you till the ground, loosening the dirt, when you scatter the seeds you will get many more flowers. In the same way, if you simply accept what you get, you will continue to get results. But if you are grateful for what you get, you will get many more desired results because your spirit is better prepared.
Becoming Grateful
Like many other activities involving the Laws of Success, you need to start with what you currently have. To develop the attitude of gratitude, be grateful for what you have right now, no matter how small it is. In the book “The Magic”, it says to list 10 things every day that you are grateful for. By practicing gratitude on a daily basis, you enhance your ability to feel gratitude, and you can develop your ability to be grateful. Gratitude is definitely an emotion that grows from practice. The stronger your ability to be grateful, the stronger the ability of the Universe to manifest your desires becomes.
John Steely has been teaching mathematics, study skills, and habits of success for over 25 years. The material of this article was based upon the Law of Attraction Explained course offered on his website.