Thoughts on Wants & Attachment

I've spent a lot of time in my life attached to certain outcomes. Of course we all want what we deem the best possible outcome in any situation. It could be as huge as a life milestone or as small as the next moment's desire.  What struck me today, and has struck me many times before, is that wanting and being attached to what we want are totally different things -- causing totally different outcomes.

Somewhere along the lines of the last 33 years I bought into a notion that "wanting hard enough" or "trying hard enough" was the way to go.  I don't even know if I so much thought that's what wins the race, but I certainly have practiced my fair share of being attached to outcomes versus simply being in tune with my goals and wants.  Most life coaches will tell you that attachment breeds unhappiness. We do better to let things unfold inside of our intentions in order to achieve a happy and successful life.

Following the guidance of The Law of Attraction we could be tempted to think that attaching ourselves strongly to our wants is the way to achieve our desires.  Yet when you take a look at what happens when we are attached to a specific name, form, or outcome - we become locked into those specifics, unable to see or experience other things that may actually result in fulfilling the same want. The reality is that we do not have any control of our environment. Believing attachment will get you what you want is a belief that we have such control. What we can control is what we think about. We fool ourselves into thinking it will be so if we focus hard enough.  We enlighten ourselves if we honor and allow what we want to simply happen as it may. 

A tough lesson.  Sometimes counter-intuitive. Though always good news when you remember this principle.

Even in the simple act of walking the dog sometimes I notice a change in how he pulls on the leash so hard the more I try to control him.  When I relax and quit trying to impose my will upon the dog, he becomes much easier to manage.