April 24, 2022.
Whether you believe in a force that permeates the universe or not, this experience made it very clear to me that we can create reality from our thoughts. Unfortunately, the process works the same with negative thoughts as it does with positive ones. Have you ever heard the quote “what you focus on expands?” Here is my experience with negative manifestation.
The Negative Manifestation
During my last year of college, I made a mental list of all the places I wanted to live, and I also made a list of all the places I would never want to live. Guess which city was at the top of my not list? New York! And guess where I live now? New York! You are probably wondering how that happened. As I was applying for jobs and looking at opportunities, I was consciously thinking, “I do not want to live in these places.” I was also thinking about where I wanted to live but I was giving too much mental real estate to what I did not want. As a result, I would sometimes find myself looking at places in New York, for example, even though I knew I did not want to live there. Your thoughts affect your actions, and your actions produce your reality. And so, I found myself applying for jobs in the city and I got a good opportunity that I could not pass on, which is why I ended up here. In hindsight, had I not been focusing too much on the fact that I did not want to live here, I would not have applied. I probably would have put more effort in opportunities in places that I wanted to live. You may have also heard Simon Sinek’s speech, “The brain cannot comprehend the negative,” in which he explains that if you think of something you do not want, the brain will not register the negative part of the sentence and will produce the rest. It makes sense why I applied to jobs after I told myself I do not want to live in these places. My brain did not register the negative and because I was focusing on it, it expanded until it became my reality.
The lesson I learned through reflection
You are probably wondering why I did not want to live in New York and whether I am miserable now given I live here. The answer to that is, I thought I would not enjoy living in a big city as much, so I wanted a more relaxed city. I love being around parks and lakes and so I was looking for that. That being said, I enjoy living in New York; it’s crazy, vibrant, and I can walk around anywhere. They have a good number of parks, not so many accessible lakes. I have had the chance to try many new experiences given how walkable it is. If I lived somewhere where I had to drive all the time, I would have mostly focused on things I already know I like. This is one of those experiences I learned I liked after trying. Looking back, maybe I should not have been quick to make a list of places I would never want to live without trying.
Question of the day:
- Are there any negative thoughts or things that I do not want that I am focusing on? What can I focus on instead?
Comment your thoughts and share with a friend who might benefit from reading this!