Understanding The Universal Law Of Cause And Effect, Apply It, Change Your Life
By James Ezema
Do you know that success, by whatever definition, is not an accident?
Good things, no matter the perspective of what good is, does not just occur! Life is governed by many laws or rules. One of such laws is called the law of cause and effect. It is a universal law. It applies in all situations and aspects of life irrespective of tribe, religion or political affiliation.
What does this law say?
“Universal causation is the proposition that everything in the universe has a cause and is thus an effect of that cause.”
In other words, “The universal law of cause and effect states that for every effect there is a definite cause, likewise for every cause, there is a definite effect.”
This simply means that nothing just happens without it being made to happen! Therefore, if a given event occurs, then this is the result of a previous or related event; it’s not an accident!
This is why an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century, Ralph Waldo Emerson, said that “You become what you think about all day long.”
Even your thoughts are causes that produce effects that shape your life because every thought we experience creates a chemical reaction in the brain which then triggers an emotion.
So, as we engage with this thought, it creates a new circuit that sends a signal to the body and we react a certain way. The more we repeat this pattern, the more it seeps into our mind and becomes a habit.
That is why Buddha declared that, “The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
It means that if, for instance, you are thinking fear, you will eventually limit the actions you take to change your world through the negative energies you emit!
Fear of the unknown is one of the reasons people miss great opportunities.
If we don’t take steps towards achieving whatever goals we set in life, nothing happens; we remain where we are, not making reasonable progress, if we can make progress at all.
We will may discuss the concept of luck some other day, but I see the luckiest person in life as one who is fully prepared before an opportunity shows up! For instance, if you didn’t study medicine in school and a job opening is available in your father’s hospital, how can your dad employ you to work as a doctor in his hospital? You’re not prepared for the opportunity!
The same applies to leadership or success in politics. When preparation meets opportunity, the result is success!
Back to our topic, “the law of cause and effect is a universal law which specifically states that every single action in the universe produces a reaction no matter what. Every single effect within our world, upon our earth has a cause, an original starting point.”
So, for every cause, there is an effect and if we do nothing, nothing happens! This is because we live in a highly complex system where pure chance cannot exist such that if anything happens, someone either thought about it or someone did something that caused it to happen!
Put differently still, the universal law of cause and effect states that for every effect there is a definite cause, likewise for every cause, there is a definite effect.
It emphasises that life isn’t built upon accidents, chance or luck because we consciously and unconsciously choose what we experience and how we feel on a daily basis.
How do you engage the universal law of cause and effect?
In the words of the Founder at Modern Manifestation, LLC, The University of Texas, United States, Bre Brown, the actions you take now are creating a future effect on your life. The beautiful thing about this law is that it emphasises the amount of control we can assume over our lives — the ability to recreate our reality. What you sow, you shall reap.
To make significant change in your life, think through what actions you could take to set yourself up for success. What does significant change look like and what steps could help you get there?
The Law of Cause and Effect requires that we take ownership over our lives — the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of it. Thankfully, we have the power to create more of the good. Who you are is a cause and the life you have is the effect; said differently, your reality is a reflection of the person you’re being, your beliefs. Like the Law of Correspondence, a lot of people claim that the Law of Cause and Effect is closely tied to karma, but not in the sense of “good or bad”, but in the sense of who you’re being.
Bre Brown added that the causes you initiate, impact what you will get in return. If you put out more abundant causes into the world (joy, appreciation, love, generosity), that is what you will receive in return.
According to Adam Sicinski, your thoughts, behaviours, and actions create specific effects that manifest and create your life as you know it. If you are not happy with the effects you have created, then you must change the causes that created them in the first place…Change your actions, and you change your life… Transform your thoughts, and you will create a brand new destiny. There is no better way to conclude than the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson who said “Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause·”
Michael J. Fox crowned it, by insisting that “Everything is cause and effect. If you don’t move, nothing will move with you, and nothing will move toward you.”
I work, I achieve because I have learnt to do something daily, no matter how little, towards achieving individual or collective goals in life.
A Nigeria of our dream is achievable only if we stop waiting for someone else to change Nigeria.
Let’s do something today to change our immediate environment and achieve success in our organisation or workplace. That’s how to achieve success! Nothing just happens!
