Author: groundedafrican

It’s March 2007 and I am chilling in a hotel room in Cairo overlooking the river Nile. Oprah comes on tv. It’s episode 2 of the launch of the book “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. I am fascinated. Is the law of attraction real?
I get back to South Africa and start looking for the book but it hasnt been launched here yet. Fast forward a few weeks. Finally it’s here and I buy a copy and can’t wait to get home to start reading it. Most of the examples feel very shallow and don’t always ring true but there is something about the underlying message that feels like a core truth to me. I am spellbound and devour the book in a weekend. I decide that there are at least 3 principles that I can and want to put into practice. 
Let me take a step back. At this point in my life I am alone and have been for about 7 years. My career has flatlined and I am frustrated about it. I harbour a deep seated anger towards the world for reasons that I couldn’t possibly tell you. I am more than ready for a change although I didn’t really know it. 
Right, back to “The Secret”…I take the time to look at where I am and what I have accomplished in my life thus far. It’s not much by some people’s standards but it’s actually more than others have. Better yet, I come to identify and acknowledge strengths that I never realised I had. I realised how blessed I am and I am so grateful for what I do have. I also acknowledge my anger and “open my hands” to let go of it so that something good can take it’s place. Lastly, I set myself a few material and spiritual goals and resolve to be more conscious of my thoughts and how I talk to myself. It is now around June of the same year. 
Each day I focus on being grateful and being positive. Low and behold, in Sept I find out I am pregnant. Completely unplanned of course which to some is a disaster but to me it was a wonderful surprise. Suddenly I will not be alone in this world anymore…I am to be blessed with motherhood.  To be honest though, when I put out there that I didn’t want to be alone anymore, the furthest thing from my mind was a baby.  If that’s not enough, a month later I am offered a promotion. 
At the time, I didn’t really make the connection. It was only a few months later that I realised how many blessings came into my life once I opened my hands and just put those 3 principles into practice. My pregnancy not only brought me a wonderful son but it also a reignition of long lost friendships. It was an amazing time in my life. 
For as long as I believed in power of the law of attraction in the back of my mind, my life went pretty smoothly. Now I look back and see that at some point I stopped focusing on my thoughts and my dreams and now I reap the consequences of it. The good news is that all is not lost. I am a big believer in Dr Phil’s life law that “you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge” so now that I am aware, I can do something about it.  
I’ve got to go. I will leave you with the a reminder of 3 of the most important lessons I learned from The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The first is to be grateful. The second is to open your hands and let go of thoughts, beliefs and emotions that are holding back. Nature arbors a vacuum so something will always flow in to take it’s place. Lastly, your thoughts create your world. 
Feel free to share your experiences with law of attraction in the comments section. I would love to hear from you. 
Chat soon.
Michelle

Hi. Welcome to my blog, Grounded African.

I decided to start a blog at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately I have been a chronic procrastinator all my life and have done it for many reasons. The chief reason…fear of failure.

“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms” – Zen Shin

I happened upon this saying on IG the other day and it galvanised me into action. I immediately went on to the WordPress website and created this blog. I felt exhilarated! I had taken the first step.

Fear kicked in again of course and I stopped there. Today I watched my son fight his fear of failure at his first karate grading for his yellow belt. He has been a nervous wreck for weeks. We had a conversation about 2 weeks ago in which I told him to not focus on possible failure but on success and to practice a lot so that success is inevitable. It eased some of his anxiety but, up until this morning,  he was still a little anxious.   I am proud to say that he was victorious and even achieved second place in his group. He was ecstatic! He has set the standard and has been an inspiration. I, therefore, will take my own advice and focus on success and give the fear of failure the boot.  After all “now” is always the best time to start. Btw, I am expecting you to hold me to that.

Oops I don’t think I have introduced myself. My name is Michelle Frankson. I am a mum of a soon to be tweenie and the girlfriend of a really gorgeous tattoo artist. By day I am a consumer researcher/sensory expert for a personal care company. At night, I am a student of psychology and now a blogger as well. I must warn you that I am a nerd of note with a dry sense of humour and a very curious mind.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts, experiences with you as I grow and evolve. I hope to inspire some of you in the process.

Thank you for reading my blog. Please free to leave comments and introduce yourself.

Bye for now

Grounded African