104 Breaking the Myths of Acting As If to Quickly Boost Your Manifestations

Hey and welcome back to the Live Life Unapologetically podcast. Today we’re going to dive into one of the biggest misconceptions in manifestation acting as if. Now, acting as if is one of the most powerful tools you can use to supercharge your manifestations. The problem is that a lot of people get this wrong. They think acting as if means doing things that rich or successful people do like waking up at 5 am, drinking green smoothies, wearing designer clothes and grinding all day. The truth is, acting as if isn’t really about what you do. It’s about how you feel. If you focus on actions, but those actions don’t make you feel abundant, secure and empowered, then you’re not acting as if, you’re just playing pretend, and that’s why so many people feel frustrated and burnt out and ready to give up on using acting as if in manifesting. So today I’m going to break down the biggest myths about acting as if and, more importantly, I’m going to show you how to start feeling like the version of yourself who already has what you want, starting right now. So I want you to grab your favorite drink, cozy up and we’re going to start diving into this, myth by myth, so that you can truly act as if and manifest your desires.

Speaker 1: 1:42

The first myth is that acting as if means spending money you don’t have. One of the biggest mistakes that I see women making is thinking that they have to act as if they are wealthy, so they need to spend like they are wealthy. They think they need to buy designer handbags, book expensive vacations or dine at high-end restaurants, even if it puts them into debt, so that they can act as if. That’s why I really don’t like the phrase fake it till you make it and I prefer acting as if. I think there’s a difference. You know, fake it till you make it. That’s keeping up with the Joneses and that can put you in a worse position than when you started and it can make you feel even more in lack than when you began the process. I want to be really real with you.

Speaker 1: 2:28

If spending money makes you feel anxious, worried or stressed, that is not acting as if. That is acting from lack. So, instead, to move past this in the acting as if area so you can really utilize this tool, I want you to understand that acting as if is about embodying the feeling of financial security, ease and abundance. So, instead of recklessly spending, focus on feeling abundant right now, so when you’re paying your bills instead of thinking, ugh, there goes more money, shift to gratitude I love that I can pay this. Money is always replenishing itself. That’s true, right, if you’re constantly paying your electric bill. No matter how we may feel about the fact that we have reoccurring bills, I’m always able to pay it. It is replenishing Instead of saying I can’t afford that, say that’s not my financial priority right now. One reinforces lack. The other is an empowered decision.

Speaker 1: 3:35

I love the game that Abraham Hicks has. Of course it’s a little bit older and it talks about 20 bucks in your pocket. But if you had like $100 in your pocket and you go throughout your day and you’re like, oh, I could buy that if I want to, like you point to things and say, oh, I could buy that if I want to because you have $100 in your pocket, if you wanted to, you could, instead of saying, oh, I can’t afford that In your mind, acting as if is telling and giving an experience, I could buy that if I want to. And so she goes on to say, if you do this multiple times a day of course she used the $20 example, but if you did it with like a $100 bill in your pocket. I could buy that if I want to. I could buy that if I want to. If you did that five times a day, that’s you mentally spending $500 a day because you could buy it if you want to. You have the $100 in your pocket and that’s the same as saying, well, that’s not my financial priority right now. Like I could buy it if I wanted to, that’s not my priority right now. You can also add little luxuries that make you feel wealthy without overspending. So maybe that’s you’re using your best dishes every day. Maybe it’s buying fancier coffee creamer or making your space feel beautiful. The more you feel ease and confidence with your money, the more you align with wealth.

Speaker 1: 4:50

The second myth acting as if means following routines that you think rich people do. I know you’ve seen the videos. I know you’ve seen stuff out there where it’s like if you want to be a millionaire, this is what every millionaire does every day. I saw something the other day that said you’re more likely to be a millionaire if you make your bed every day. What does making your bed every day have to do with wealth? Not a damn thing. It might have something to do with discipline, but not wealth. I know plenty of people who are wealthy, who do not make their bed every day. But we see videos like this, the ones where someone wakes up at 5 am, works out, they journal, they read, they meditate, all before starting their workday. And then people are like, oh well, that’s what rich people do, no-transcript.

Speaker 1: 5:34

But I want to ask you a question Would you actually want to wake up at 5 am if you’re wealthy, or would you sleep in because you could? Would you force yourself into a rigid morning routine or would you create a routine that feels good to you? You see, acting as if is not about checking off boxes from someone else’s routine. It’s about moving through your day, feeling like the version of you who already has what you desire, feeling how you want to feel. I don’t know about you, but when I wanted more time wealth, because to me, wealth gave me time the more money I had, the more time I had Waking up at 5 am to work out was not something that was a part of that desire. At 5 am, to work out was not something that was a part of that desire. That desire was more like I quit working at 1 or 2 pm every single day, and I never work on Friday and I never work on Saturday and I never work on Sunday. That was wealth, not some crazy routine of me always having to do stuff.

Speaker 1: 6:33

So you really need to ask yourself when you’re acting as if and you’re like, okay, well, rich people do this. No, not rich people, some person. The real question is, if I had all the money in the world, what would I be doing? So instead, if your wealthy self would sleep in and work out at noon, start structuring your schedule in a way that feels aligned. Now and you may be saying well, shannon, I work Monday through Friday and I have to be to work at a certain time, but you could align that on the weekends. Get it in where you can fit it in to begin with. If your wealthy self would have slow mornings, make time for 10 minutes of stillness before you drive to work, starting small, piece by piece. If your wealthy self would invest in personal growth. Start reading books, listening to podcasts like this one, to expand your mindset. How you feel in your routines is what matters, not the routines themselves Finding a routine that feels good to you to align with the life that you want.

Speaker 1: 7:30

Number three is acting as if means hustling harder, and there’s really a toxic belief that success only comes from sacrificing everything your sleep, your free time, your relationships. People think acting as if means pushing harder, doing more and hustling non-stop. Oh, you know, that’s what a wealthy person would do, honey. That’s not abundance, that is burnout. In reality, wealthy people are not doing. They’re doing what they want to do, not what they think they should do. They’re doing what they want to do Because acting as if means trusting that success is inevitable.

Speaker 1: 8:04

Wealthy people don’t say yes to everything out of fear that opportunities are going to disappear. They move with confidence. And so when you’re thinking about manifesting more wealth, especially if you’re starting a business and I did an episode on this last week about how you start your business and the energy of your business Stop letting societal programs, societal norms or status quo have you trying to manifest something that you don’t want. We don’t want to escape the 9 to 5 just to create 24-7 work, moving with confidence. So stop making decisions from fear.

Speaker 1: 8:36

Wealthy people do not take on every project because of scarcity. If that was the case watching Shark Tank, every one of them up there would have offered something to every person that showed up. They don’t take on everything, thinking, ooh, but this could be what if no? They trust that more opportunities are always coming. They trust that the next person that comes in is actually gonna have an aligned product that they wanted to invest in. I want you to think about that. On Shark Tank from clips that I’ve seen, sometimes the investors will say well, I think you have an amazing idea, I think this could really be something, but it’s just not my area, it’s just not my thing. They didn’t say no because they thought it was a bad idea. They were like this just really isn’t my thing. And if you take that and look at it, that meant that they trusted that more opportunities were coming, that aligned with them and what they like to do, not making decisions from fear. Oh my gosh, this is probably going to blow up. It’s not really my thing, but I’m going to jump on it anyway. No, invest in yourself in ways that feel good. So maybe you’re going to start setting boundaries at work, outsourcing tasks or making time for joy.

Speaker 1: 9:46

On my manifestation journey, the first thing I manifested was time, and that is because I started to set boundaries. Once I started to set boundaries, my time manifested exponentially, even without me trying Once I had time. Then I was able to really find clarity in what I wanted, because I wasn’t overwhelmed and burnt out. And you can also prioritize pleasure and rest. If wealth would make you feel calm and at ease, then that’s the energy you need to bring into your life right now. Many of us want wealth so that we have less stress, because money alleviates stress. There’s no stress for bills. There’s no stress when you’re going to the store to get stuff.

Speaker 1: 10:26

I am at a point in my life right now where I cannot tell you how good it feels to go in the grocery store, put whatever I want in my cart and check out without thinking about it or looking at price tags. It is such a better experience to just go to the grocery store. Back in the day, I had to go to three or four different stores because I knew everything that my family needed and I knew which store had it cheaper and I would hit up those stores to get the cheapest price. Like it was a whole thing. It was truly an entire Saturday, just because money, it was a money issue. I don’t have that issue now and it feels so damn good to me.

Speaker 1: 11:04

So when we’re talking about acting as if and we think it means hustling harder. It doesn’t. That’s burnout, that’s extra stuff. So if you can prioritize some sort of pleasure or rest now, that’s going to make you feel calm and at ease. It’s going to start bringing that energy into your life. I always say it. I started with seven minutes of meditation a day. That’s the only time I had my time was so packed full. I had seven little minutes a day and I used it for meditation and that brought calm into my life, which eventually brought ease into my life and then time into my life. It was like this whole thing. I didn’t hustle harder.

Speaker 1: 11:38

Who wants to be wealthy just to do more? Most people I know who want to be wealthy want to do it so that they can delegate and enjoy life more, not working more. So those were the three biggest myths Spending money you don’t have so that you can act as if you have money just puts you in debt. Acting as if by following routines that we think rich people do, that are rigid and that we don’t really want to do, whether we’re wealthy or not, or thinking that acting as if means hustling harder, like I’m going to be out here on my grind 24, 7, and then you get burnt out and it doesn’t really matter. All the progress you made goes away because you’re so burnt out, you just crash. So let’s talk about the truth of acting as if it’s really all feeling. If you take anything from today’s episode, I want it to be this Acting as if is not about mimicking someone else’s life.

Speaker 1: 12:26

It’s really about embodying the emotions of the life you want, because wealth isn’t just about money. It’s about feeling secure, at ease and empowered. Acting as if means asking yourself how would you feel if you were already wealthy? How would you move through your day? How would you make decisions for your life? And then bring those feelings into your life today? So here’s some examples when you pay your bills, once again, instead of feeling stress, practice, gratitude and trust that the money is always replenishing itself when making a decision, ask yourself would I make this choice if I was already successful?

Speaker 1: 13:07

Would I make this choice if the money and desires I have were manifest to me right now? How I like to ask myself is if and I have tons of lottery tickets just around and I would hold a lottery ticket and say this is the winning ticket so knowing I have this winning ticket in my hand. Would I do this? When you wake up in the morning, instead of rushing into stress, take a moment to feel into the life you’re creating. The more you feel like the version of you who already has what you want, the faster your manifestations will unfold. It’s the feeling. So you can start acting as if today, no matter your financial situation. Are you ready to embody this abundance right now?

Speaker 1: 13:48

Here are some simple shifts Practice confident decision-making because, wealthy, you wouldn’t overthink or second-guess every move. Start trusting yourself now. Speak and think like someone who already has abundance. So you’re dropping phrases like I can’t afford it and you’re just saying that’s not my priority right now. Create an environment that feels abundant, so that could mean decluttering, adding fresh flowers to your space or just choosing to feel good wherever you are. Move through your day with energy of success, walking into the rooms that you walk into like you belong there, because you do Show up in your business, like you already have clients, because you do. Stop waiting to feel abundant. If wealth could make you feel calm, empowered and supported, then those are the feelings that you need to be cultivating today. I want you to remember that acting as if is not about spending recklessly, forcing yourself into routines you hate or grinding yourself into the ground, acting as if is about feeling like the version of you who already has what you desire right now. The more you embody the energy of wealth, the faster you align with it. So my challenge for you is to pick one way to feel more abundant, whether it’s shifting your mindset around money, making an empowered decision or just taking a moment to breathe in gratitude and start feeling your wealth right now.

Speaker 1: 15:17

I want you to also check out and make sure you have the Manifest she magazine. This is a free monthly magazine that helps you stay accountable to your manifestation journey with challenges. It helps you grow in your manifestation journey through exercises. It inspires you and it encourages you through articles and insights on how to walk the manifestation path. Basically, the Manifest she magazine is like your personal trainer for manifestation. I want you to get it today by going to the link in the show notes, signing up. You’re going to get a welcome edition and a new edition goes out on the first of every single month, completely free to you. As always, keep manifesting and I will chat with you next week.