Have you ever felt stuck? You know that feeling that no matter what you do, how well you do it, or if you time it so well that Rolex wants to put you on the payroll, it is all just for not?
The past decade, for me, has been an exercise of tar and feathering, on repeat. At times, my frustration ranged from mildly irritated to full-blown tearful exhaustion. Everything I touched—jobs, friendships, relationships, and investments, just tanked.
No matter how hard and long I worked, I got nothing done. Regardless of the sacrifices I made and the things I overlooked, my relationships (platonic or otherwise) ended in dissertations on just what was wrong with me. (Um, thanks, so when do we get to your list of sins? Ah, yes, never mind.)
Believe it or not, even my house became a money pit of insert-credit-cards-into-the-vortex-of-sucking-the-life-and-value-from-your-assets here. Even superheroes refused to rescue me from my plight. I guess caped crusaders don’t tread where angels fear to enter either.
So, what do you do when your world falls to pieces and leaves you standing in the ruble? You sit amongst the debris and you manifest your destiny. Tired of being on the hamster wheel of human debauchery, I withdrew from the world and went within.
After months of getting over the initial sting, I began putting together the pattern of the repetitive loop that was my life and decided to change. I started with easy things: establishment of new, healthy routines at home based upon the philosophy of carry water, chop wood. The physical repetition provided two benefits: aerobic movement and time to think, long and hard, about the highlight reel of my life (I advise waiting for it to come to an on-demand provider near year).
As I worked through my lessons, both physically and mentally, I started to reframe the “next time” in my head so that I could bend the future into the dream reality I wanted, rather than a recurring nightmare. Manifesting is hard work. I don’t care what you read or hear from the gurus who preach it, manifestation requires several preemptive steps before your destiny appears:
Get right with yourself: Don’t sugarcoat your contribution to past events and mistakes. Learn the lessons you were meant to gain and vow to do better, for yourself, next time.
- Reconnect with your Higher Power: I could not experience the blessings and gifts I am now receiving if I hadn’t purposefully and wholeheartedly reestablished my spirituality. Get real, own up, and ask for grace, forgiveness, and second (or third, fourth, you get it) chances to turn things around and make it right. The caveat is that you have to mean it, and you have to make real, permanent progress toward change. Divine connection is the key to manifestation.
- Believe in you: I stopped believing in me. Instead, I listened to the words of others, absorbed their actions towards me and decided I wasn’t good enough to receive the things I wanted out of life. In short, I threw in the towel, and I caved. Only after reconnecting with Spirit was I able to channel all the good things meant for me, and I once again began to believe that I was enough and deserving of being blessed.
- Forgive your debtors: This is the hard one. Let go of the thought they will finally see the light and rush to apologize (um, they usually don’t) or you get to fulfill the fantasy of dressing them down with words they need to Google for proper spelling and definition. Instead, look at them through a different lens and pity them. Feel sorry for the soul who must self-destruct, cause chaos, and bully, cheat, or degrade others to elevate their opinion of themselves. Sad, really, if you think about it. Forgive them because they know not what they are doing – no truer nor more compassionate words ever spoken. Forgive and release them, in hopes they eventually learn to control themselves, or at least unleash their crazy kraken in another zip code. You, on the other hand, are no longer required to invest time, energy, or actual money into their crazymaking.
Once I genuinely started implementing these practices and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable with the lull of waiting, my life began looking up in unexplainable ways. My career began staircasing to new and exciting directions. I’ve been invited to contribute to boards and commissions aimed at further education and support of people who share my passions and my neurodiversity. I’ve made new and renewed friendships with people who truly have my back instead of sticking blunt, sharp objects into it. My personal pursuits are heading in positive directions and even my relocation plans to Fort Worth are starting to get traction once again; my new employer has offices in Funky Town (that’s Fort Worth’s nickname) and is building out a hub in that city. Say whaaattt?
Manifesting isn’t a walk in the park. It takes time, patience, repetition, and belief in yourself and something a little bigger than you. But I promise, if you let go of the expectations, the past, and lingering resentments, you too will soon have destiny staring at you from the palm of your own hand.
Manifest like a boss!
M