"Choices have consequences" is another popular and likely related saying. Everything happens for a reason, and that reason is (most of the time) the result of a choice you made.

People tend to forget that not-choosing is ultimately also a choice. Not-choosing where to go on vacation soon enough results in the consequence that you don't get to go anywhere because all the flights are already fully booked.

There's really nothing "magical" or woo-woo about it; we attract what we focus on. It's like that simple example of shopping for a new car. If we decide we're going to get a yellow VW, there suddenly seems to be a lot more yellow VWs on the road. ARE there more yellow VWs on the road? Of course not! They just happen to have been moved from background noise to the forefront of our minds.

Of course, before we can really "use" this to our benefit, we have to sit and identify what we truly want. Otherwise we will — as in your example — attract people and things we'd really rather NOT have!

=^..^=