I’m impatient. I want what I want when I want it.

I want the dream job that seems perfect for me right now;  I don’t want to wait until another one comes along … even if the next one would be a far better fit for me.  You see, with my “I can only see what’s in front of me” vision, I can’t see that far down the road.

I want the exercise and healthy eating habits I’ve adopted just recently to transform my body now;  I don’t want to wait for months. I’ll lose interest if I don’t see results soon.

I want the affirmations I’ve been faithfully reciting for at least two weeks to manifest the awesome life I want to lead right now;  if I don’t see results soon, then I’m pretty certain all this mantra and affirmation stuff is just a bunch of malarkey!

I sound like a child, don’t I?  Well, I’m not alone.

Many of us go around in life thinking that if we put the effort in, then our lives will immediately transform.  Then, when it doesn’t, we get angry and discouraged and go back to our old ways.

What’s that?  You say that’s not you?  Great! Glad to hear it. My only question for you is, Are You Sure?

How many times have you started a behavior change effort only to slip back into your old ways?

How many times have you attempted to change the routine self-limiting scripts in your mind only to fall back into lazy thinking habits that have you trapped in self-doubt, worry, and inaction?

How many times have you said “I want something in my life to change,” and made an effort to change only to find yourself right back where you started.  

If you’re still with me here, I’ll assume that you’re thinking that this conversation might hold some gems for you. Thanks for hanging in; I’m hopeful that you’ll benefit as much as I have from the things I’ve learned about whats’ required for true manifestation.

First of all, I want to dispel the myth that “you’re not manifesting what you want because you don’t want it badly enough.” I don’t think that’s true in most cases. Instead, I believe that when you’re experiencing blocks to creating what you want in your life ..  whether that’s a better job, slimmer figure, and more success in your career … you are focusing on the end result more than on the process it takes to achieve the end result. On top of that, you probably underestimated the time it would take for the new you and your new life to take shape.

It may feel like I’ve led us all down a pretty dark alley here, but I assure you that’s not where this is headed. I’m not saying that things will never change. I’m not saying that some actions don’t lead to immediate rewards. I’m just saying that going through life with a “quick fix” mentality is harmful and expecting your life to change without being willing to change how you approach your life is quite frankly delusional.    

It’s time to get real about what it really takes to experience the life-elevating changes that you’re dreaming about.  It’s time to tap into the least understood practical aspects of habit change that leads to manifestation, which requires a whole different mindset.

Here are the 5 top changes that I’ve made (new habits I’ve formed)  that have been tremendous manifestation-speeder-uppers for me:

1  Choose your focus carefully

Where focus goes, energy flows. Instead of focusing on the end result, I now focus on the steps within the change process itself.  In fact, I place great reverence on the journey rather than the destination, because if you’re only focusing on the end results, you’ll miss all the joys you can experience along the way.

2  Rethink your self-limiting beliefs

If you believe something is true with your whole heart and soul, then chances are that belief will hold true for you, even if it is a limiting belief.

If you believe you’re destined to fail, it’s time to look under the hood and figure out where that belief came from. Was it from something someone told you when you were young? Is it a protection mechanism that you use to shield yourself from the potential pain trying something new and failing at it?  Is it based on past experiences of failure (remember, the past is no indication of your future unless you want it to be!)?

I know for me the belief that I was likely to fail came from a deep-seated belief that if I failed, I wouldn’t be respected anymore.  To me, losing respect … having people think I was a failure … was a devastating prospect that I simply was not willing to test. Unfortunately, when you risk nothing, you receive nothing.  If you want to live a truly fulfilling life, you have to be willing to fail.

Nowadays I realize that failure isn’t permanent, it’s the path to learning.  Today I prefer to fail spectacularly because in doing so, I know I’m pursuing avenues that I would have never dared going down in years past. I fail big to win big. It’s a great strategy that’s working fabulously for me.

Search your mind for the beliefs that hold your back as well as for those that support your growth. Ditch the former and embrace the later.

3  Rethink the rules of life

From the day we are born, we learn there are rules to life.  Some of these rules support us for a time then lead to disaster when we’re older. Some of these rules were never true and have caused us to trip in life when we could have soared. I figure it’s time to leave unhelpful rules of the past in the past and only carry rules that support my journey into the future.

A couple of rules I had to ditch from my childhood were “wait until you’re asked to offer your thoughts” and “being good means doing what you’re told.”  I’ve thrown those babies out the window. If I hadn’t, my world now would be flat-out painful.

What are the rules that you learned back in your youth that you now need to throw out the window?  ( Add your “rules to ditch” in the comment section below this post).

4  Be proactive, not reactive

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when they start practicing The Law of Attraction is that they think all they have to do is think and feel a certain way and things will magically appear in their lives.  What a bunch of hooey!

Sorry folks, positive action is required for positive results.  You can’t just wait for something to happen and react to it, you’ve got to take charge of your life.   

Yes, The Law of Attraction is valid; I’m not arguing it’s not.  You do attract into your life what you’re putting out for the universe to read;  you do it all the time. That’s why you’re where you are instead of where you want to be.

You need to understand that forward motion on your part is required to achieve what you want in life.

What you put out into the universe comes back to you.  So, if you fail to put out positive energy, if you fail to offer love and kindness (even to those who are anything but loving and kind to you), and if you fail to recognize that you’re holding the pen that’s writing your story, then get ready for a life story that you won’t enjoy.

You must adopt the role of creator in your life.  If you don’t, your life will happen by default and you won’t be living the life of your dreams … you’ll be settling for a life much less exciting and fulfilling than what you’re capable of experiencing.  

5  Don’t forget to have some faith!

Just this morning I was reading through some reader comments to one of my most popular blog posts.  One woman had just left a comment saying that despite all the difficult things that were going on in her life (including serious financial issues, a terminal diagnosis for a family member, and heartbreaking challenges with her oldest child), she needed to remember that how life was today is not how life was going to be forever.

She’d been forgetting to tap into her faith and instead had made a habit of dwelling on her fears.  It was a lightbulb moment for this woman; even though somewhere inside she’d known this all along, she’d forgotten.  

How your life is today isn’t how it’s always going to be. You can change. Quick fixes aren’t the answer, although that doesn’t mean some transformations won’t happen quickly.  Pay attention to your mindset … be proactive … have some faith. You can achieve anything you put your whole mind and soul into; it all starts with belief, but then you bring it to fruition with positive action on your part.  Easy peasy.