As a believer in the power of thoughts and intentions, I also recognize the pitfalls of accepting responsibility for the energy one attracts to their life. If being a negative person will draw more negativity to your life, and being a positive-focused person will attract the good stuff...what happens when you think, act, and project positivity...and still wind up attracting lots of not-so-good-stuff? The pitfall is you can feel guilty, perhaps view things as your own fault..."I must not have been thinking positive enough" or "I must be doing something wrong for this to have happened."

I've certainly have been in this place, and have found peace in acknowledging that sometimes bad stuff just happens. It has nothing to do with the way you are thinking, or what you are deserving of. Plenty of bad things happen to good people. I can give you the rationale I've used a million times to explain the bad stuff: "everything happens for a reason" and "there are lessons in all experiences, good and bad." And both of these explanations are probably true. But the key to all this is to remember that positive thinking is as important in how you deal with stuff, as it is in attracting it.

In other words, thinking positive absolutely will impact the kind of people and experiences you draw to your life. But no matter how positive a thinker you are, stuff you don't want to atract may happen anyway. The true test arises when you are deep in the swamp, feeling stuck and life is not going the way you had intended. This is when drawing on the knowledge that the power of positive can move you through this circumstance more easily and quickly than if you allow yourself to focus on the negative, wallow, and perpetuate the situation.

Positive thinking becomes:

• Acceptance ("OK, this is what it is and I have to deal with it")
• Gratitude ("This sucks, but I know it can be so much worse...plus I am so grateful for all the blessings I do have...")
• Faith ("I know I can and will get through this"...and if you are a believer, thanking God for guiding you through can be a huge help
• Creating a vision for where you want to be (the outcome you desire)

Positive thinking may not enable you to create perfection in your life...let's face it, life just isn't perfect all the time. But what it can and will do, is light the way for resolution to greater things...and eventually draw more positive experiences and energy.  ~ Andrea Chervenak