MMP Episode 55  How To Mentally Prepare For The Role Of Expectation During Manifesting

Welcome

One manifesting truth is that our mental world has a great deal to do with our outer world. Specifically, it's all about being able to project what's inside your mind into your life. If that freaks you out a little, don't let it. You know you're already manifesting right now. In fact, it's so natural to us that we manifest all the time without thinking about it. And as I like to say, the question is always going to be this: is what you want gonna to show up, or is it something that you don't want that's going to show up?

The key to having is to be able to enter into the state of what you want to be or to do or to have. But you may or may not know that the real trick is to be able to maintain it. Of course, the bigger question is how the heck do you do that? I can hear it now; there are probably a few people saying, yeah, Marc, that would be great if I had to think about things and work at it all day. But my message for you today is that that's probably a bad idea. I know this because I've tried that, and from my personal experience and from the experience of my clients and students after that, I can tell ya the more work you put into it, the more chance there is to make mistakes. Let me repeat that for anyone who doesn't quite believe me yet. You do not have to have a lot of time or make a lot of effort to manifest what you really want to have. And being able to reduce the amount of effort you have to put in is a skill. 

Some of the biggest mistakes I see people make surrounds putting too much effort into manifesting. What do I mean by that?

• Well, I know a lot of us, though excited to get something different, may spend hours enacting rituals or techniques that can leave you feeling exhausted and frustrated. Let me give you a PSA (public service announcement) here. The 55x5 ritual isn't for all of us. Not saying it doesn't work, but not everybody wants to take the time to do it. After thousands of people claiming eye strain and hand cramps from writing out the same thing over and over again, then regretting the time they put into it, I feel safe in saying that.
• Don't even get me started on how well-meaning people are willing to spend a ton of their hard-earned money on things from crystals to courses that may or may not help them because a person might not understand basic principles or have been misled about manifesting. Now don't get me wrong. I do offer lots of options for learning on my own website, but I assure you my collection of programs is curated. I've put everything together very intentionally so as not to overwhelm. And it's all based on what I know works, not a handful of guesses. I always put a lot of thought into pricing things fairly as well. No, I don't think you should have to get a bank loan to help you do something you already do. My focus with my programs is always to help you find ways to make it easier for you with your current mindset and experience. That always relates to putting in less effort. 
• I see so much thinking one particular thing will make a difference for you because it did for somebody else and then becoming hyper-focused on it. Everybody's different, and it can play out with vivid clarity in an instance like this. I've had people come to me feeling depressed and wondering if they can manifest with purpose at all. Often because of a miracle meditation or hypnosis session, that supposedly works to retrain everyone's brain, but it didn't for them. Or at least it hasn't yet. One lady tried one of these audios for two whole years and still hadn't seen results.

So as you can see by these examples, too much of a good thing sometimes really is too much. Therefore I'm going to explain something I like to call the EP with no b.s. given about how you can make it a little bit easier day-to-day to claim your wants. Spoiler alert, it has to do with your mental activity.

Our thoughts have a starring role

Before I get to that, you have to understand we create pictures in our minds not with just what we see but with the thoughts that we think and the words that we use to describe ourselves and everything around us. That means the ideas and images we build in our minds are combinations of all of those things. Basically, those creations are just waiting to be brought to life in our world, and they're the sum parts of our thoughts, what we see, and the words that we think. You can get an idea of what you actually have stuffed in there if you start keeping track of those things you think about most. But our minds are capable of forming many new thoughts and ideas every minute. So unless you're keeping track of or you're at least aware of what you're thinking and all those ideas that are popping into your head, you could get off track very easily. Talk about an extraordinary effort, right?

But because we are taught very early in life that what happens to us comes through external circumstances, we don't tend to notice our thoughts very much, and we don't pay a lot of attention to the pictures in our minds either. To explain the point I'm trying to make, I'll liken the way we use our minds to scrolling aimlessly through our Facebook feed. I mentioned this in the last episode too. It's easy to go to Facebook for a particular reason then forget why you're there because of all of those great stories and posts by other people you know or don't know. It depends on who you've got on your friends' list. Cute animals, human interest stories, weird memes, and ads are really good at grabbing our attention and making us forget why we're there in the first place. So by the time you remember why you went there, you may have scrolled through a mile of your newsfeed. And by the time you snap yourself out of it, you don't even know how much time you wasted.

Our minds are a little bit like that too. Unless we take charge and allow ourselves to engage only with the things that will bring us closer to realizing what we want in life, our brains will go from thought to thought. That's why our intentions matter, but we also have to remember that our thoughts will naturally follow patterns that we've established for ourselves because we're creatures of habit. As we already know, when we think of something, it doesn't get left in the past. It follows us around unless we do something about it. What's better, or worse, depending on what you think about, you'll get to encounter it in the future if you continue to think it over and over again. 

Alignment with your desire is essential

It's a truly special thing if you can get what your desire is to agree with what's going on in that noggin of yours. It's a crucial step to get into the state of having it. This means that letting your mental activity continue as it has been must become a thing of the past to get something different. Don't panic, though, because you're still human, and you're not expected to be perfect. That's one of the better things about being human in this case; you get to continue to try things out until you find what works for you. And believe me, I've held myself hostage to the idea of being perfect before, and I can tell you that it's a whole lot of effort.

Now, getting into agreement with what you want sounds at first like it might be simple enough, but if you like the idea of using the Law of Attraction to manifest and you've tried it before, you'll know it isn't as easy as it sounds. This is where being human gets tricky. You need to get up every day and do all the things so you can take care of yourself and usually the other people in your life too, right? That means going to work and dealing with people and situations that you'd rather not during most days. Wouldn't it be great if we could all pick and choose what goes on in our lives? Oh, wait, that's what kinda manifesting's all about. But as humans, we're not always ready to receive what we want yet, and that's where the EP or the expectation phase, as I call it, comes in. 

What is the EP?

It's the period between knowing what you want and the time that shows up in your life. I also think about it as the "training period" because you're training yourself to move into the state of having that want now. It's the most challenging part of manifesting because believing you have what you want can be hard to do if you don't see it. How do you do that if you don't have any experience knowing that this stuff works? The reason we go through the EP is so you can get your brain and your belief working together. Make sense? This is where I get to let you know that you have complete control over your EP; yup, you can keep it going as long as you darned well want to. Unfortunately, this means if you keep dragging it out, you aren't going to be living your desire quite yet.

If you don't like the idea of making adjustments to your way of thinking, then it's all gonna take just that much longer. So embrace this part of manifesting because this is what changes your world. This is the real work of it, and it's also where the magic of it lives. Here's how you can get through it as fast as possible.

Take notice of your thoughts more often. When you realize that you're grumbling to yourself about that annoying person or task or circumstance you can't get out of dealing with, stop the grumbling. All those things that interrupt your day because they put you in a bad mood or make you feel down, whatever it is, those are your targets for realignment. Here are a few suggestions for how you may be able to take control of them through your thinking. 

1. Neutralize things by reframing the circumstance in your mind. I know you don't have time in most cases to sit down and think about this, so I recommend having what I like to call a "daily disclaimer" all ready to go when you find yourself in a situation like this. The idea is to interrupt the thought pattern. You might use a mantra if you want or an affirmation. Whatever feels right to you is your secret sauce to getting things in more neutral territory. For example, if you find yourself dealing with a difficult person, instead of judging them or thinking how stupid the situation is, repeat that mantra, affirmation, or disclaimer. One of my disclaimers in a situation like that is to tell myself that whatever else happens, I'm going to get myself a cup of tea or coffee after that because having a nice, hot beverage nearby is somehow comforting to me. When my teenagers act like total jerks, I tell myself that someday it will be them dealing with their own teens, then they're gonna know what it's like. That helps me stay grounded in kindness a bit easier. So it could be something completely silly. Think of a phrase, rhyme, or even a song. I do that too some days. I'll decide at the beginning of the day that should I need it, I'll start playing a particular favorite song in my head. Sometimes it just seems so crazy when I interrupt my thought with that old 70's tune or whatever it is that it completely changes my energy. So if it makes you smile when you think about it, you get extra points for it too. 👏
2. Think nothing at all. Before you get into jokes about this particular suggestion, know that if you can't stop your thought processes long enough to negate a possible bad thought that some people actually can. I've had clients that have gotten so good with some practice that they just stop thinking. They can do this even when they have to be on their toes about doing things and be multitasking. This very particular skill helps them stop entering into possible danger areas to avoid them entirely and switch to a different conversation or change thoughts. Of course, this all happens very quickly as a mental process. And for people who can do this, it works wonders, fast!
3. Imagine your thought in a thought bubble above your head like it might be in a cartoon. It gives you a chance to see it if you can visualize it. Sometimes all it takes to stop a slow trickle of negative thoughts from becoming a waterfall is to see it happening. All the knowledge you have about manifesting what you want has a chance to take over then, and you can put it into practice. You could also put that disclaimer, phrase, or affirmation into a thought bubble and see it popping up to interrupt the onslaught of unwanted stuff, too, if you don't like the direction it's going in. Imagine your pet popping up in a thought bubble or your kid at a time when they were super cute or did something really funny. That could be your daily disclaimer too. 

Whatever you choose, it has to work for you when you need it to, so don't be afraid to switch up tactics when you feel the need. Remember that the idea here is to stop yourself from dredging up old thought patterns and the what if's and stop making yourself comfortable in them. You always want to make those trips into negative territory as quickly as possible, so you get out of them as soon as you can.

What's the point to all of this, you may be asking? It's to keep you living in the expectation that you'll have what you want even before you have it. In my experience, the anticipation you want to build up during the EP evaporates as soon as you realize you've taken a turn to go down the well-worn path of old thought patterns. Again let me say this takes practice for most of us. Perfection isn't required, but practice will be if we keep returning to our old haunts that we've spent so much of our time in already and finding ourselves there is a very natural thing for a while. But for the sake of your future good, it's time to find new places to hang out and get familiar with.

You'll know you've changed your thought pattern when...

Okay, one more thing here. How do you know that you've been successful at changing thought patterns? Well, it's when you find yourself noticing that you've reacted differently than you used to in a similar situation. Or maybe you'll find yourself suddenly realizing that person you used to think was so annoying isn't as bad as you thought. When you change, you know your thoughts have changed. That's as simple as I can put it. Keep using what's effective at getting between you and the negative thoughts. When you find you've been able to change your attitude about something once, you'll know it can work for all the other thought patterns that are standing between you and your desires. 

Wrap UP

That's going to be it for now, but just a quick reminder to access our Awesome Energy Amplifying Coaching . It's part of our Powered Up FREE Membership and I explain why meditation and breathing are fabulous ways to control negative energy. Then I take you through three amazing and transformative meditations to get you ready for manifesting.

Keep paying attention to your mental activity to boost the factor of anticipating the best for yourself and others. And of course, remember to Get Your Shine ON. The world is always a better place when you do! Until next time, take care, and I'll be thinking about you. 

Thanks to Kevin MacLeod and incompetech.com for the use of the music, called "On My Way," in our podcast episodes. You can find more musical selections at www.incompetech.com.