Millions upon millions of books have been sold in the marketing frenzy that fooled people into believing there was a secret way of “thinking” yourself into success. Millions of books sold, but how many of those people actually attracted and realized their new fortunes by simply “intending?”

While it can be spiritually and emotionally intoxicating to think so, free-yourself from the ineffective belief that your intent alone can create material results. Embrace your spirituality, but don’t turn your back on your humanity. Apply reason and rationality to the ideas marketing companies try to sell you. Remember, they are targeting you for an emotional response. Emotional responses get you to buy their products. Think before you act. The material world works around material laws; not mystical ones.

For example, let’s say you’re making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You have the bread, the jelly, and when you go to the cupboard to get the peanut butter, you find that you have none. What will get you peanut butter? Will prayer alone do it? Will meditation alone do it? Will putting together a vision board do it? Will repeating affirmations do it? Of course not! While all of those things are fantastic for spiritual and emotional health, the ONLY thing that will get peanut butter into your cupboard and on your sandwich is your action!

Even though magical thinking can be intoxicating and inspire amazing dreams, don’t forget that it is in finding a balance between your spirituality and your humanity, the subjective and the objective, that you will generate the results you desire. It is when you have an intent (in this case, the need for peanut butter) and you align it with your actions (actually going to get it) that you will have success in the material world.

© Steve Maraboli

From the book, “Unapologetically You”