Entre ratas te veas: The Science Behind Your Poor Choices
Have you ever looked around and thought, “Why am I surrounded by rats?”
You know — people who take, drain, betray, or simply make you question your own intelligence for keeping them around.
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why do I, a good person, keep attracting this kind of energy?” — you’re not alone. I’ve asked myself that same question, through many stages, many times.
And then one day I wondered: What if the real problem isn’t them, but the part of us that keeps choosing them?
And here’s the thing we often forget: the Law of Attraction, as powerful as it is, isn’t the whole picture. There’s fine print in the contract with the Universe that we rarely read.
The Universe Doesn’t Work by Whim — It Works by Law
Yes, the Law of Attraction is real and powerful. But it’s just one of many universal principles that shape our reality.
Hermetic philosophy teaches seven core principles — timeless laws that explain how the Universe operates beyond wishful thinking or “manifesting.” They remind us that consciousness is creative, but choice is magnetic.
(If you’d like to go deeper into these ideas, I wrote about them here.)
You Attract… But You Also Choose
We love to talk about attracting, visualizing, manifesting — and yes, those things matter. But the truth is: you don’t just attract; you choose.
Free will isn’t a poetic slogan from a religious book. It’s an energetic fact. We are infinite beings constantly standing at a crossroads between two possibilities:
- To be conscious.
- To choose.
And often, that’s where we get lost.
We meditate, pray, align our energy, repeat sacred codes, even go on spiritual pilgrimages — only to keep choosing the same people, the same patterns, the same painful stories.
The Illusion of Victimhood
At times, we find ourselves surrounded by people who make us feel unseen, quietly wondering why we keep showing up in places that shrink us. We ask for inclusion, understanding, a little space to breathe — but all we get back are echoes of rejection. And then it hits us: we’ve been living in a snake pit, mistaking the tension of survival for the warmth of connection.
But we kept going back. Complaining about it, but doing nothing different.
And here’s a truth that might sting a little: complaining changes nothing. You’re still choosing the same.
There’s a famous quote that defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. And well… many of us are walking proof.
If this feels familiar, I invite you to read this article on self-esteem and personal power — it dives deeper into how our energy choices mirror our sense of worth.
The Cost of Poor Choices
I’ve had clients I knew weren’t aligned. They acted worse than rats — disrespectful, draining, chaotic — yet I kept offering more services, convincing myself I “needed” to.
They brought stress, loss, and exhaustion.
So… who chose to keep losing?
Let’s give you a second to guess.
That’s right — I did.
And I know I’m not alone in this. We all do it, until we don’t.
Different stories, same pattern — awareness without choice is still captivity.
As Tiny Buddha beautifully puts it, awareness without action changes nothing.
Choosing Better Is Self-Love in Action
Choosing what’s best for you — leaving the “rats,” the chaos, the emotional junk behind — is not arrogance. It’s self-love in its truest form. It’s a commitment to your own energy and a declaration that says: I will no longer participate in what diminishes me.
It’s not self-love if you have to shrink to stay.
You can’t hold on to toxicity and expect to manifest your highest self.
It simply doesn’t coexist.
If you’re serious about manifestation, your choices must reflect your vision. As Psychology Today notes, emotional boundaries are essential for psychological growth — they tell the universe what you’re ready to receive.
I explore this more deeply in this article about self-love and emotional healing.
Real change doesn’t start with being aware — it starts with making a new choice despite the fear.
The Science (and Psychology) Behind Poor Choices
Even science agrees — poor choices aren’t random. As Harvard Business Review explains, decision-making is deeply influenced by emotional bias and stress responses. When your nervous system is dysregulated — meaning you’re operating in survival mode — your brain prioritizes safety over wisdom.
This means you’ll often choose what’s familiar instead of what’s healthy. You’ll stay in toxic relationships, keep the same job, or repeat the same argument because your subconscious associates those scenarios with predictability, even if they’re painful.
As Dr. Joe Dispenza teaches, the body becomes addicted to the chemicals of past emotions. You’re not just repeating a pattern — you’re chemically reliving it.
And that’s where awareness meets science: to make different choices, your nervous system needs safety, not shame. Healing isn’t about “fixing yourself”; it’s about regulating your energy so your brain can trust that it’s safe to choose differently.
If this resonates with you, read this article about nervous system regulation and healing — it expands on how your internal narrative creates your external world.
Why People Make Bad Decisions (and Keep Making Them)
As Verywell Mind points out, bad decision-making is often the result of emotional overload and limited cognitive resources. When you’re stressed, your brain literally narrows its field of vision — making it harder to see long-term consequences.
We don’t make bad decisions because we’re broken. We make them because our bodies are trying to protect us from discomfort — even if that protection keeps us stuck.
And as Medium’s Mind Café explains, awareness without embodiment is useless. You can know something is wrong and still repeat it — until you emotionally integrate the lesson.
Poor choices aren’t failures; they’re feedback. But only if you dare to listen.
When “Poor Choices” Go Beyond Behavior
We often associate “poor choices” with actions — overspending, staying, leaving, saying yes when we meant no. But poor choices are also mental and emotional.
You detox your body but keep poisoning your mind with the same stories.
The words you use shape the energy you live in. So yes — even “a poor choice of words” can trigger conflict, damage relationships, and lower your vibration.
As Absolute Advocacy explains, communication patterns often reveal underlying trauma responses — we speak from our wounds instead of our wisdom.
Choosing your words consciously is an act of healing. It’s reclaiming your inner authority over the stories you tell and the energy you emit.
The Ripple Effect of Choice
Every decision you make — from what you eat to who you love — echoes far beyond the moment. The Hermetic Principle of Cause and Effect reminds us: nothing happens by chance.
That’s the same truth behind the Butterfly Effect: even the smallest conscious action can transform your life — and the lives of others.
If you want a different life, stop expecting your old choices to build it for you.
Final Thoughts: Self-Love Is the Science of Better Choices
So, if you find yourself surrounded by rats — pause.
Not to judge them, but to ask: What part of me keeps opening the door?
Because every “rat” in your story is a teacher. They reveal where you still need boundaries, where you still betray yourself, and where you’re being invited to evolve.
Self-love is not a bubble bath — it’s a decision. A radical one.
And when you start choosing from love, not fear — your entire ecosystem changes.
You stop attracting rats. You start attracting mirrors.
Love yourself enough to choose better.
Your freedom starts the moment you stop calling your patterns destiny or luck.