Generation X is the moniker applied to those born after the Baby Boomers and preceding the Millennials. This series features the musings of a proud member of this generation.

Part Six: Think Lucky Thoughts

“If it wasn’t for bad luck, you know I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” “Born Under a Bad Sign”, Albert King

We all know that the Wheel of Fortune doesn’t discriminate or select which type of luck you’re going to get when it will happen, and for how long. You have to deal with whatever comes your way. All of us are at its mercy.

What would you think if you were told that your thoughts may play a part in your luck?

Long supported and practiced by those in the New Age Spirituality and Pagan movements, the Law of Attraction is a concept that states that whatever thoughts or beliefs you project attract and manifest the same results, whether those thoughts are positive or negative. For example, if everything you think or believe is of a negative nature, what you will get back is that negativity. If everything around you is negative, your thoughts will constantly be negative, which will keep perpetuating itself over and over. Like attracts like. Books like Rhonda Byrne’s “The Secret” break down this concept and try to teach you how to change your thinking, which is claimed to be for the better. 

Let’s get deep for a minute. Everyone has felt envy towards someone else’s success or good fortune.

Now, if you feel that bad luck or tragic events seem to be all that comes into your life,  you may feel that you can’t shift your focus. Maybe things aren’t progressing in the manner that you desire, no matter how hard you try. You struggle to put on a brave front, yet a mere attempt to be optimistic in the face of great frustration or strain may be the most you can do for the time being.

How can you work on this? What’s often heralded in “The Secret” and other tomes about the Law of Attraction is the usage of visualization. They suggest that you picture yourself already doing what you want to be doing or already having the things you desire. There are plenty of steps broken down in this book about the LOA which I’ve found to be quite beneficial.  Even if you don’t buy into this notion or think of it as nonsense, you never know, it might change your outlook.

Another method that’s been suggested in other sources concerning the LOA is to write things down. If you want a new, exciting job, write down the most important things you want this new job to have. Want to manifest a loving relationship? Jot down every quality you want a potential partner to have, how you and your partner would interact or what kinds of things you would enjoy together. Itching to find an affordable home? Scribble down the neighborhood, the number of bathrooms, and amenities. Putting these thoughts on paper for your own eyes as well as visualizing what you want gives it that tangibility. It said to put those thoughts out into the universe so that they can be created and manifested into something concrete.

As much as I personally try to adhere to the Law of Attraction, I think a difficulty that is often faced lies in achieving quick results. When you want something badly enough, that’s all that you think about. You just want it right away.  I’ll admit I get pissed off if I’m putting my entire self into some type of effort and I’m not getting the results I want (or that I think I need).  Adhering to my own personal beliefs, I try to step back and remind myself that it’s the universe’s master plan and that it will manifest when it’s meant to manifest. If it’s meant to be, it will be. For example, I spent several years pursuing a certain career and drove myself quite crazy that I wasn’t getting there. I thought that there was honestly something wrong with me and trying to get into that career field became a major focus in my life. I joined various groups, where I met some wonderful people and got plenty of insight and advice, but it was after attending a particular event that I changed my course, yet again. That event made me realize my true calling, where I knew I was meant to be all along.  I may have made another detour, but I was put back on track, with some wonderful results thus far.

One thing I’ve taken away from this is that it’s all about adopting a new attitude and mind frame. I know it’s easier said than done, but optimism is key. Get those negative thoughts out of your system. You can whine, complain, throw things across the room if you have to, but don’t sit idly by. You want something to happen, so try your hardest to make it happen. Try your best to be positive. It may be frustrating. It may get on your nerves. You may want to give up, but no one ever suffered from a lack of trying. Keep on going. Keep on believing. Keep persevering.

Good luck to you.

BIO: Katy Kostakis’ loquacious nature and a lifelong love of performing led to her training for a broadcast career, yet her distinctive voice and style, with its conversational and highly descriptive tone, helped her to find her calling in written media. That love of words has produced a vast body of work, including lifestyle and entertainment articles, film reviews, columns, and commentary, and content and concepts for marketing and advertising collateral. When she isn’t working, writing, or talking everyone’s ears off, Katy enjoys ‘80s, rock, techno, and industrial music, the films of Alfred Hitchcock, art museums, Renaissance and Medieval history, Britcoms, and knows Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow will co-rule the Seven Kingdoms.. To view her work, please visit her website at katykostakis.com and follow her on Twitter: @KatyKostakis.