89 Setting the Record Straight: Manifesting Isn’t Instant—It’s a Learned Practice

Speaker 1: 0:21

Welcome back to another episode of the Live Life Unapologetically podcast. I’m Shannon, and today we are tackling a topic that a lot of people get tripped up on, and that’s instant manifestation. You know the idea that you can just snap your fingers and think about what you want and then, boom, it shows up. But I’m here to give you a little reality check. Manifesting isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a learned practice. So today we’re going to get real about the process of manifestation, because it’s not always fast, it’s not always easy and it’s definitely not about crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. So if you’re ready to dive into the nitty gritty of how manifesting really works and why it takes time, consistency and practice, then I want you to stick around, grab your favorite drink, cozy up and let’s dive in, because this episode is going to change the way you think about manifesting. First of all, let’s just talk about why manifesting isn’t instant. Have you ever thought to yourself why isn’t this working? I set my intention, I’m being positive, I’ve been visualizing, but nothing happens. You’re not alone. A lot of people expect manifestation to be like ordering from Amazon you just place your order and a couple days later, your desire shows up on your doorstep. But that’s not how it works. Manifesting isn’t about placing an order with the universe and then waiting for delivery. It is a process, and here’s the important part it’s a learned skill. That means you’re going to get better at it the more you practice, just like learning to play an instrument or mastering a new sport, trying a new craft or hobby. You have to practice, but as time goes on you get better. You have the results that you’re looking for. It’s a little less messy. So why isn’t it instant? My thoughts dictate my reality, what I think I attract, right the law of attraction. So why isn’t this instantaneous thing happening? Because we’re working with the subconscious mind and changing deep-rooted beliefs and thought patterns takes time.

Speaker 1: 2:23

Your subconscious is like the engine that’s driving your thoughts and actions. Yes, you can consciously think of what you want. You can become self-aware and catch those thoughts so that you can change your subconscious. That is the goal. But this engine that’s driving 95% of your manifestations are coming from your subconscious. If your subconscious is clogged with limiting beliefs, with fear, with doubt, it’s going to take some consistent effort to clean all that up and to replace those patterns with ones that align with your desires. I always go back to. Manifestation is like a garden and planting one. You cannot plant a seed today and expect a full-grown tree tomorrow. You have to water it, give it sunlight and, most importantly, you’ve got to give it time. That really brings us to the heart of today’s episode and what we’re talking about, and that’s rewiring your subconscious mind.

Speaker 1: 3:16

When people talk about manifesting, they often focus on conscious actions, setting intentions, visualizing, repeating affirmations, and those are important, but they’re not the only part of the process. You see, the real magic happens in the subconscious, where your deeply held beliefs live. And since those beliefs, once again, are driving 95% of your thoughts, emotions and actions, we really have to work on it. Your subconscious holding onto beliefs like I’m not worthy of success or money’s hard to come by, then it won’t matter how many affirmations you say, your subconscious is going to steer you towards your old patterns of lack and limitation. Rewiring your subconscious mind means creating new beliefs that align with the reality that you want to manifest. It’s about replacing those old, limiting beliefs with new, empowering ones, and that takes time. The good news is here, and this is what I love is, once you rewire those beliefs, manifesting does become a lot easier. You’re no longer fighting against old programming, you’re working with a new supportive foundation. So we have to target our beliefs. That’s why, in my Manifesting she program, one of the big parts of the intensive that we do are looking at those beliefs. You have to align to the new belief, but first you need to understand what’s the old belief, what is the block? What is clogging this up, what is getting in the way, so that I can now adjust a new belief, creating a new belief, rewiring my brain and replacing it to one that works for my benefit.

Speaker 1: 4:55

You see, you can say all day long that I’m going to make six figures a month. I’m going to make six figures a month. I’m going to make six figures a month, but if I’m not worthy of success or money is hard to come by is your limiting belief. You need to create a different, empowering belief that counteracts the limiting one. Many times when we try to rewire and this is why it doesn’t work is that we say what we want, this is my intention, this is what I want, this is my intention. I intend to make six figures a month, and so that’s what we’re saying. I’m going to make six figures a month, but these beliefs we’re not really addressing, those. You’re not really addressing money is hard to come by by saying you’re going to make six figures a month. Because if your limiting belief is money is hard to come by, it doesn’t matter how many times you say you’re going to make six figures because you’re going to be drawn in the direction of money’s really hard. So even if you hit that six figures, it’s going to be a really hard way to get there because that is how your subconscious is functioning in the moment. It’s really about understanding what your limiting belief is specifically. That’s tied to the intention, desire you want, and working on shifting that to bring in the desire.

Speaker 1: 6:05

So how do we do this? How do we go from limiting beliefs to empowering ones? And the key here is consistency. I talk about it a lot. I had a consistency series. I’m all about consistency, but I also recognize that as women, we have lots of crap going on in our lives, stuff that we want to be going on and stuff we don’t want to be going on. So how do I do this and be consistent? And that’s what I talk about.

Speaker 1: 6:27

Inconsistency is that we can do this in 20 minutes or less a day if we’re aligned and the way to do it in 20 minutes or less a day, is to truly understand how this works, so that you’re not spinning your wheels, so that you’re not trying to manifest and it’s not happening. So there’s steps you need to take Absolutely. You need to identify your intention and what you want. I want to make six figures a month in my own business. I want to do that. Okay, great, we know our intention, we have our clarity and I teach all of this once again in Manifest Sheet. Like all of this stuff is what I do with my clients in my Manifest Sheet coaching. So if you want to get that, send me a DM or you just click the link in the show notes to get more information on that. But we go through a process of finding your ultimate clarity, because having ultimate clarity is important knowing exactly what you want, because if you’re unsure or you’re wavering, well there’s different limiting beliefs that go with different things. So you really need to know what you want and be clear so that you can truly identify the limiting beliefs. And this is really the process of rewiring. I know what I want, so now I know specifically what limiting beliefs are holding me back, and that does require reflection.

Speaker 1: 7:39

You have to ask yourself what stories are you telling yourself about money, relationship, success, health? Do you believe that money is hard to come by? Do you think you’re unworthy of love? Identifying these is the first step to changing them, and you have to be really raw and real with yourself. You have to have honesty. Why do I think this? You’re doing it with yourself. This is something you’re doing yourself, unless you’re doing it in coaching with me and I’m not going to judge you, trust me, because I’ve had some limiting beliefs.

Speaker 1: 8:07

I’m like where does that come from? That sounds so ridiculous and sometimes there is embarrassment that goes along with maybe limiting beliefs that we have no embarrassment here. Here, let’s just get to it. Identify it so that we can move past. It Doesn’t matter where it came from, it doesn’t matter. Let’s what is it so we can change it. Because once you understand your limiting beliefs and specifically what they are, then you can replace that with new, empowering ones. Once you know it, you can start to shift it. That’s where the affirmation comes in. That’s where you are going to form something that’s in opposition to the limiting belief. A lot of times we think the affirmation is forming something that speaks to the desire. But really, when you’re making your replacement beliefs, you’re forming the empowering belief, the affirmation that goes against the limiting belief. It’s the opposite of the limiting belief, and so that’s where we get it mixed up a lot of times.

Speaker 1: 9:09

So say you think, oh, money is hard to come by. You could try saying I’m open to receiving more abundance, money is all around me. Your intention is that six figure a month business. That’s your intention. But you’re not saying that as your affirmation. That’s not your empowering belief. Your empowering belief is that you’re open to receiving more abundance. Money is all around you, money is unlimited. What is the opposite of that? That money is hard to come by or whatever that is that’s standing in your way, whether it has to do with your relationships, your joy, anything. You’re counteracting the limiting belief with the opposite of what it is not necessarily your intention To get six figures a month in a business. You have to be open to receiving more abundance. You have to believe that money is all around you, that money is an unlimited source that is available so that you can get the six figures a month.

Speaker 1: 10:01

It does no good to believe that money is hard to come by and think you’re going to have a six figure a month business that’s going to fit into your life the way you want it to and the way that you envision it to fit in. You have to tackle the limiting belief that is stopping you from getting to that intention. What is getting in the way? And then make the empowering belief Now great. I understand the limiting belief, I understand the empowering belief. What do I do next? This is where people get stuck. So you can think new thoughts and you can repeat affirmations all day, but if you don’t align your actions with those new beliefs, nothing is gonna change. So you’re having to do true alignment, and alignment has three parts. Alignment is your thoughts, your emotions and your actions, and your alignment is aligning to your empowering belief. It’s not aligning to your intention. Once again, we always go back well, my intention, my intention, no, no, no. What is the empowering belief that you’re trying to cultivate? And let your actions, your thoughts, your emotions align to that empowering belief that you’re trying to cultivate. And let your actions, your thoughts, your emotions align to that empowering belief.

Speaker 1: 11:07

If you’re trying to manifest financial abundance but you’re constantly, you know, worried about your finances, you’re not aligning your actions with the new belief that money is all around me, money is available to me. You have to back it up with thoughts, emotions and actions. If you think money is hard to come by, then you decide money is all around me, money is unlimited. You align your emotions to that, your thoughts to that and your actions. That means when you’re going to pay your bills, you’re happy, you’re feeling good, you’re not avoiding your bills, you’re not avoiding those things. Your actions say I’m going to sit at this computer and I’m going to go and pay my bills and I’m going to do it happily. And my thoughts are going to say see, money is all around me, money is unlimited. How can I pay my bills every single month? Because it’s unlimited, because it always comes back to me and aligning your actions with that.

Speaker 1: 11:57

I went through this yesterday. There was something I needed to handle and I didn’t know how to handle it. I didn’t know what to do, so I froze and I was like I can’t do it. I can’t do it and I put it off. And I put it off and it’s way past the deadline that I needed to do. So I was in this place where, like, I was frozen because I didn’t know what to do, but then also I was stressed because I knew I needed to do it. So I had stress on both ends the stress of thinking about doing it and the stress of not doing it. I was in this like frozen holding pattern. So yesterday I told myself you know what you need to have courage over fear.

Speaker 1: 12:28

One of my most favorite podcast episodes.

Speaker 1: 12:30

If you haven’t listened to it, check out the episode Courage Over Fear.

Speaker 1: 12:33

I said you need to have courage over fear and just do it. Because I told myself, I promise you, if you just go do what it is you need to do, it’s not going to be as scary as you thought it was going to be. So just buckle up, honey, and go do it and align those actions with what you need to do, because that was an important thing that I needed to do for myself financially. So I want you to think about how are you aligning your thoughts, emotions and actions? How are you repeating them so that you’re changing the belief? You’re switching the belief, you’re reprogramming. You’re saying no, money is not hard to come by, money is unlimited, money is all around me. It’s being aware of what you’re trying to change so that when you’re walking into the grocery store and you see a quarter on the ground, you’re like, look at that, money is all around me and you action and you pick it up. You know I used to say, oh, I’m going to leave the quarter there or the whatever there on the ground because somebody else probably needs it more than me. And I stopped doing that when I decided that money was all around me. If I’m saying money is all around me, I need to take the action to show my brain. Money is all around me and if I believe money is all around and money is unlimited, if somebody else needs a quarter on the ground, another quarter can be on the ground. This is not an all or nothing quarter. So I picked it up with my action. It’s all around you and you may like Shannon, a quarter ain’t that much? It’s money. Remember, when we are grateful for and we show acknowledgement of what is already around us, it leaves room for more to come in. It shows the universe that I’m accepting more coming in.

Speaker 1: 14:05

I told the story about this on social media like probably a year and a half ago, where I had a problem receiving. I would get things, but I would instantly try and find people to give it away, to Like I was the queen of regifting because I couldn’t receive. So it would come to me. And even though it came to me, I’d still block the block it, I’d still block that manifestation because I’d be like, oh my gosh, I got this cool gift card to Target or Starbucks or Amazon. Oh gee, I wonder who has a birthday coming up. Oh, I wonder who could use this more than me.

Speaker 1: 14:33

That was a worthiness issue, of not feeling deserving of the abundance because somebody else could use it more than me. Somebody else was more worthy of having it more than me. I had to go through this whole thing where I found all. I found gift certificates for spas and all these things that I hadn’t used and I made myself receive and go through that action. You can see how this is a process. Like in my brain, my thoughts, my emotions are like, yeah, I can have those things and they get there, but then I would reject them with my action. So all the things need to be together. And once I went on a receiving journey to say I am worthy to receive, I am allowed to receive, then I started getting more and more and more, because the universe said see, it was here. Let me give you more Making sure we’re all lined up. I know what my limiting belief is. I have replaced the limiting belief with the empowering one, and now I’m aligning myself. So I want to talk about two key ingredients in this whole thing, and that’s practice and patience. First, practice Remember that manifesting is a skill and, just like any skill, it requires practice.

Speaker 1: 15:37

If I decided I wanted to play the and just like any skill, it requires practice. If I decided I wanted to play the piano, I couldn’t sit down today and play the perfect song on the first try. I would need to practice. The same goes for manifesting the more you practice, the better you get. When I say practice, I mean showing up every day in small ways to align your thoughts, emotions and actions with your desires. That takes time, because your subconscious is going to try to pull you back to what it knows and you’re trying to pull it in different direction. You reprogram it, so it’s going to take practice on how to navigate that. It takes practice on your triggers. It takes practice on understanding how you as a person work.

Speaker 1: 16:12

I know how I as a person work, so I know that I have to give myself some pep talks, sometimes for the action part, like yesterday, I was like girl, you’re just going to do it, it’s going to be fine. You know pep talking myself. To add in those actions, what does that look like for you? Learning what that looks like for you and just practicing it. And you know what? Sometimes your thoughts are going to go haywire, your emotions are going to go haywire, your actions are going to go haywire. But if you keep practicing, the more you do it, the more easy it becomes. It just takes practice. It’s like learning math the more you practice it, the easier it becomes. At first you got to really focus on it, right, but the more you do it, the easier it is Now.

Speaker 1: 16:51

The second one, especially in our fast-paced world and this one is tough is patience, because we do live in an instant gratification world. Tough is patience because we do live in an instinct gratification world. But manifesting does not follow the timeline of being an Amazon Prime member. It follows your timeline, specifically how you can shift your subconscious mind and take aligned actions. So sometimes things are going to happen faster than you expect and other times it’s going to feel like it’s not happening at all, but trust that if you are consistent in showing up, the universe is working behind the scenes, even if you can’t see the results right away.

Speaker 1: 17:21

Patience and I always say this sometimes you’re going to get over things or some limiting beliefs are going to be easier to overcome than others. Some are more deeply ingrained and we have to work harder to overcome them. Some limiting beliefs may be attached to other limiting beliefs and I got to work through a few at a time. So maybe you have to work on money is hard to come by and you also have to work on that. You’re worthy to receive money Like? You know what I’m saying Like I don’t feel worthy and money is hard to come by. Those are two limiting beliefs. So you have to take both of those and maybe work on your worthiness and that money is all around you at the same time, because you can say money is all around you but if you still don’t believe you’re worthy to receive it, even though if you know it’s all around, you might think it’s not for you.

Speaker 1: 18:00

Some of these things are interconnected. Some things are harder to overcome, once again, than others. Some things might be easier, and it depends on so many different factors. Everybody is unique. People who grew up with money may have less limiting beliefs about money than somebody who didn’t, but say you grew up with a whole lot of love. Maybe you don’t have as many limiting beliefs when it comes to relationships. So your experience, your life experience all of that is going to play into your limiting beliefs, what you need to work on, and some are going to be easier to overcome than others. The more you do it, the easier it is to overcome anyway, and that goes into practice and patience.

Speaker 1: 18:35

I really want you to understand and I really want to drive this home for you. I want you to be kind to yourself on this journey, because manifesting is not about being perfect. It is not about always thinking positive or getting it right every time. You’re gonna have moments of doubt, you’re gonna have moments of frustration and, yeah, you might be a little impatient at times, and that’s okay. Through all of this, I want you to know that self-compassion is going to be one of the most important tools that you can bring into the manifesting practice and process, because when you are kind to yourself, you make it easier to get back on track when things don’t go as planned. When you have an off day, you’re like, girl, it’s okay, you’re going to be fine tomorrow. I love you. You have to love yourself through it all and be compassionate to you. You create an environment where your subconscious mind feels safe to grow and change when you show yourself self-compassion.

Speaker 1: 19:27

So if you feel like you’re not doing it right or like manifesting is taking longer than you expected, I want you to take a deep breath and remind yourself that this is a practice. You are learning, you are growing and evolving every day and one day it’s just going to click. Something is going to click through all of that practice, just like when you’re doing math. You do all these math problems, you buckle down, you learn the process and then one day a pattern clicks to you and you’re like, oh my God, I see this pattern, because mathematics is just patterns. I see a pattern, that pattern clicks and you’re like, oh my gosh, and then it becomes even easier. Same thing with manifesting, because it’s a practice that you learn, grow and evolve through.

Speaker 1: 20:11

So your challenge for this week is to start looking at manifesting as a learned practice, not a one-time thing. Take time to reflect on your limiting beliefs, work with replacing them and aligning, but, most importantly, I want you to be patient with yourself, because manifesting isn’t a race, it’s a journey. Thanks for hanging out with me today. If you want to start manifesting in 20 minutes or less, I want you to grab the Manifesting Made Simple Masterclass. You can get it at LiveLifeUnapologeticallycom forward slash manifest or you can click it in the show description. If you have any questions, just reach out. If you need support or encouragement, you can DM me at coaching with Shannon Kay on TikTok or Instagram.