According to the universal law of cause and effect, there is a definite cause for every effect, and there is a definite effect for every cause.
In other words, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. What you put in, whether good or bad, is what you get out. This is also referred to as the law of karma.
It is important to recognize that your actions and decisions affect not only you but also those around you. Your thoughts, behaviors, and actions have specific consequences that manifest and shape your life as you know it. If you are dissatisfied with the results, you must change the causes that resulted in them.
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
lao tzu
The law of cause and effect - what does it mean?
Every thought, word, and deed is a cause that sets off a wave of energy throughout the universe. This, in turn, creates the effect, whether desirable or undesirable.
The law of cause and effect, (along with the law of energy) states the effect must be a physical manifestation. This is why good thoughts, positive words, emotions, and deeds are essential for a better life since they create good effects.
In other words, the law of cause and effect means that everything we currently have in our lives is an effect of a specific cause.
“The universal law of karma is that of action and reaction, cause and effect, sowing and reaping. In the course of natural righteousness, man, by his thoughts and actions, becomes the arbiter of his destiny.”
Paramahansa Yogananda
These causes are the decisions and actions we make on a daily basis. It makes no difference whether our decisions appear minor and insignificant, or whether they are significant and transformative in nature. Every decision and action we have taken has set events in motion, resulting in predictable and specific consequences that we are now experiencing in our lives.
This basically means that success in any endeavor is predictable and repeatable if we are aware of what we are doing. If you make the same decisions and take the same actions as someone who is successful, you will almost certainly achieve the success he/she has achieved.
The law of cause and effect highlights the idea that success can be modeled. All we have to do is figure out what successful people do, replicate it, and be able to achieve the same success that they have. But discovering what people do is only the first step. We must also determine their behaviors, values, habits, emotions, etc. In effect, if we want to become successful, you have to be like that person who is successful.
Karma is simply the law of cause and effect in action. All moments and occurrences are caused by other moments and occurrences that preceded them in an endless, causal chain.
Frederick Lenz