Confirmation Bias and the Law of Attraction Are the Same Thing

Photo by Lloyd Newman on Unsplash

The BIG THOUGHT in this LITTLE POST: The things you focus on have a tendency to be made manifest, and the reasons why (whether confirmation bias or the law of attraction) don't matter.

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Let's begin with some definitions to make sure we're all on the same page here:

CONFIRMATION BIAS

"Confirmation bias... is the tendency to search for, interpret, favour, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. (1) Research has shown that confirmation bias is strong and widespread and that it occurs in several contexts. In the context of decision making, once an individual makes a decision, they will look for information that supports it. (2)"

IN A NUTSHELL: We tend to notice the things which confirm our thoughts.

THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

"The law of attraction is the...spiritual belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person's life. The belief is based on the idea that... like energy can attract like energy, thereby allowing people to improve their health, wealth, or personal relationships. There is no empirical scientific evidence supporting the law of attraction, and it is widely considered to be pseudoscience or religion couched in scientific language. (3)"

IN A NUTSHELL: Our thoughts create our experience.

Same, same, but different...but same, same.

And now, on with the show.

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Have you ever noticed how if you meet someone from - let's say Austin - you suddenly start to hear all kinds of references to that city?

Whereas before, you'd never given that particular place a second thought, you now hear mentions of it on a regular basis.

Or how about if you have the belief that "Every check-out line I get into, something always happens to delay the check-out process" and then sure enough, every time you get in line, the cashier needs to count money or change the printer roll, thereby slowing you down.

Why does this happen?

Is it because of confirmation bias - the tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms one's beliefs - or because of the law of attraction - the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into one's life?

One is based in science and the other in woo-woo fairy dust, but both are basically saying the same thing: whatever you focus your mind on is what you will consistently get. It's what will materialize in your world.

You can argue until the cows - or in this case fairies - come home - but ultimately it doesn't matter why there's a funny tendency for the things you put your mind on to happen - only that they do and that therefore you should put your mind on good stuff.

How about a little fairy dust? Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

We live in a society that says: “I'll BELIEVE it when I SEE it!”

But here’s how CONFIRMATION BIAS / LAW OF ATTRACTION actually works: “I'll SEE it when I BELIEVE it!”

Until you focus your mind on what you want, you won't have it.

For a long time when I was single, I felt envious of couples in love. I wished that I too could find what they had.

And then at some point I stopped feeling envy and just started noticing and appreciating LOVE.

Whenever I saw happy couples, I would smile and think "Good for them! Ain't love grand?!" And within a year of changing my mindset I met my now fiancé.

I focused on noticing love; on feeling happy and thinking positive thoughts about it instead of feeling jealous and thinking negative thoughts.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Focus on what you want - not on what you don't want. 

I know this can be challenging; many of us in Western society are conditioned to focus on avoidance of the negative rather than on an active pursuit of the positive, so changing this way of thinking is a challenge.

One of the things that helped me make the shift was a daily gratitude list. 

Every morning I would write down a handful of things that I was grateful for - very small things sometimes, like a sunny day or my favourite salad dressing being on sale - and over time, my mind started seeing more things to be grateful for.

It seems to me that my life has gotten better and that more good things are coming into my life on a daily basis.

Is that because of CONFIRMATION BIAS?

Because I'm now expecting good things to come to me, those are the things I predominantly notice?

Or is it because of the LAW OF ATTRACTION?

Because I'm now thinking more positive thoughts, more positive things are coming to me?

Dude - who flippin' cares?!

The only thing that matters is that it works.

LAW OF ATTRACTION versus CONFIRMATION BIAS = 

Our thoughts create our experience. We tend to notice the things which confirm our thoughts.

CONFIRMATION BIAS versus LAW OF ATTRACTION = 

We tend to notice the things which confirm our thoughts. Our thoughts create our experience.

Six in one hand, half-a-dozen in the other.

What both are saying in a nutshell: Whatever you focus on and expect to get is what you'll get.

Your life experience is a direct result of the things you choose to focus on - what you focus on matters - so focus on the good stuff.

Photo by Madison Oren on Unsplash

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