I don’t want you to be disappointed when you get to the end of this story and realize that I don’t have all the answers. I haven’t (completely) manifested the life that I want although in the big picture, I can’t complain. My life is really great. And in the past few years I’ve made a few giant leaps – some of which worked out better than others so I feel like maybe I’m in a place where I can give a little advice (or a cautionary tale), yet I’m still bumbling around in the dark when it comes to some of my deeper fears.
So I’m writing this now as self-motivation. If I write it down, I’m committed. (I hope). And maybe we can do it together.
If there’s one thing I have learned the past few years, it’s that no manifestation is possible without action. We can’t just hope and wish and dream. Those things are good and are part of the process, but if you want to be a better version of yourself, if you’d like to live a better version of your life, you have to take action.
And it is all the little actions that ultimately lead to that BIG thing you want in life. If you’ve read all of the law of attraction advice, you’re told that you have to really feel and believe that you can have whatever you want. That’s true, I suppose. But if you don’t really feel or believe it right now, how do you get there?
By taking action. One little action, one day at a time towards your dream.
Each action builds on the other and the belief that it can be true slowly seeps into your heart and your mind until you CAN see it and DO believe it.
So why am I giving myself (and you) this little pep talk? Because I’m ready to tackle one of my biggest fears this year.
Working for myself.
I’ve had some starts and stops in this area. In fact, I worked for myself doing marketing consulting for a year two years ago and easily found clients and made more money than I have in any of the other past three years since relocating.
But the situation I created required me to travel non-stop and I decided I hated that. And instead of making some tweaks to what I had created, I (got scared) and went to work for one of my clients full time rather than lose them as a client when they wanted someone in-house.
And there has been nothing wrong with that decision. Except that it wasn’t what I really wanted to do and it’s taken another two years for me to admit that.
So here I am again, back in the same place I have found myself so many times before. But this time, it’s going to be different.
This time, I’m making a plan.
If it feels like I’m not at the point that I can quit my job tomorrow, it’s because I’m not. And this is a very tricky line to walk – continuing to make sure our basic needs are met (by collecting a paycheck from my day job) while knowing that it will never feel like the right time to quit.
Fear and faith will always be required to truly change our lives. Getting a different job would seem like a change, but it will just be more of the same thing (for me anyway). Because I want something different. So I’m not going to waste two more years simply kidding myself that some other job will somehow change my life.
This idea has been floating around in my head for awhile now, but I haven’t really known what to do about it. What action do I need to take? The universe, of course, helped me along as I was listening to my favorite podcast while getting ready for work this morning and delivered to me four important questions for changing my life:
- What needs to die (or be left behind) in order to have this life?
- Who can I ask for help? (this is an opportunity to form true bonds with your helping spirits)
- What will I need to have faith in? (and what will I need to ignore)
- What needs to be born for this to come true?
Who I am, right now, today, cannot manifest this dream. If I could, I would already be living it.
The real question I should be asking is: How do I transform into the person that can manifest the life I want?
This is not about changing to become someone I’m not. This is more about aligning with who I really am and what I want, deep down. This is about taking action.
And this was an epiphany for me.
Who IS this person that lives this life that I want? It’s like a case study to figure out your target customer when you’re working on a marketing campaign (which is what I already do, after all).
I’d like to think that when I have the freedom to design each day exactly how I want it (and not head off to an office to sit in a chair for 40 hours a week, whether I need to or not), that I will be sure to make time to exercise and make healthy meals and meditate every day and live my best life.
Umm, am I insane? If those aren’t my priorities now, why would they be later?
What do I do when I wake up on Saturday mornings right now? Run out for a latte or breakfast cooked by someone else, settle in on the couch to catch up on personal email and social media and maybe go to the grocery store or catch up with friends later in the day. And on weekday evenings? Netflix, wine, repeat.
So I’ve decided that I’m going to approach this logically. Who IS this person who lives the life I want and how do they spend their time? And then each day, I can ask myself: what should I do today to align my current life with the life I want to be living?
There may be some adjustments as I gain more clarity but at the moment, here is what I can tell you about this person’s life I’m manifesting. I’m happy to say that I’m already doing some of these fairly well.
Work: My revenue sources come from a few different areas, mostly because I like doing more than one thing. I help other spiritual entrepreneurs with their websites, social media, copywriting, and online marketing (Need some help? Let’s talk…)
I’m a shamanic practitioner working with my helping spirits to help people and the land to heal, but primarily the land. (Need some energetic help with a piece of property? Let’s talk…)
Personal: I spend quality time with my husband and my friends each week. I put my phone down and engage. I ask questions. I provide support when it’s needed and am not afraid to ask for it when I need it.
Health: I make this a priority, just as important as my personal and work life. I make plans to eat well and exercise each week. I get outside as often as possible.
Spiritual: I start each day with a meditation to set the tone for the day. I continue to practice working with my helping spirits to develop my ability to help myself and others. I seek out opportunities to learn from others, as guided, and listen to advice from my guides.
Okay, those are the basics. Wait, did I just create a vision board?! I might have, but that’s all part of the process.
I won’t bore you with the day to day details of what I think I need to do to make these things happen, but I plan to make a monthly, weekly, and daily to-do list based on these ideas until it feels like I am that person.
Now that I know what my future life looks like, I also need to revisit the four questions above so I know how to focus my time and effort instead of trying to do ALL THE THINGS and getting frustrated at my ability to accomplish any one thing.
So, what do you think? Is this a good approach to creating a new life? Have you successfully transitioned from the person who wanted a different life to a person actually living a different life?
Let me know in the comments and let’s do this manifesting thing together!
