Manifesting Isn’t About Getting What You Want

It’s about becoming who you already are. The moment I understood this, my reality had no choice but to change.

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

First published on Medium

For years, I believed in the grind.

If I wanted the dream life — the ocean-view home, the thriving business, the financial freedom — I had to work hard for it. I had to hustle. I’d set a big goal, my stomach would knot with a mix of ambition and anxiety, and I’d start the slog.

The to-do lists were long. The effort was real. But so was the underlying vibration of lack. The nagging whisper: “Is this ever going to actually pay off?”

Every task, from writing a crucial article to the mundane admin of transferring blog posts between accounts, felt like a heavy “have-to.” I was building my future from a place of exhaustion, not excitement.

Then, a simple yet radical idea from Neville Goddard’s book The Power of Awareness (affiliate link to book) stopped me in my tracks. It reframed everything I thought I knew about manifesting:

“Manifesting is nothing but experiencing the results of your concepts of yourself in the world.”

Let that sink in for a moment.

It’s not about visualizing harder or reciting a thousand affirmations. It’s not about forcing the right action. It’s about your self-concept. Your identity. The state of consciousness from which you operate.

Neville goes on to say,

“Consciousness is the one and only reality.”

The world, he explains, has no motive of its own. It operates with “motiveless necessity,” meaning it has to reflect the arrangement of your mind — the sum total of all you believe and consent to be true.

My problem wasn’t a lack of action; it was the state from which I was acting. I was acting from “Sophia who wants and struggles,” instead of “Sophia who already has and enjoys.”

The shift happened in a morning meditation. Instead of wanting the ocean-view home, I decided to feel what it would be like to already have it. I felt the salty air on my skin, the vast, calm horizon, the deep, unshakable peace and financial abundance that view represented.

I bathed in that feeling for five minutes. Then I got up to face my day.

My to-do list was the same. I had to transfer a backlog of articles to our new Medium channel. But something was different.

The task that used to feel like a draining, doubtful chore now felt… pleasant. It felt like the ocean breeze. I was energized, motivated, and confident that this small, aligned action was part of a natural, unfolding process. I was no longer building my reality; I was expressing the reality I had already claimed within.

This is the secret they don’t tell you about “massive action.”

When you act from the “wish fulfilled,” your action transforms.

  • It becomes motivated: You’re not forcing yourself; you’re flowing with inspiration.

  • It becomes intelligent: Your intuition guides you to the most effective actions, not the most exhausting ones.

  • It becomes magical: The “bridge of incidents” — Neville’s term for the unfolding path — appears, offering solutions you could never have forced.

Let me give you a real-life example.

We’re building our coaching business, which means we need to get in front of people. The hustle mindset says: “Cold email 100 people! Go network! Grind!”

But from our new state of aligned creators, our intuition nudged us to simply book a yoga class at our local community center. While signing up, we noticed a link in the town newsletter: “Apply to Become an Instructor.”

Following the nudge, I filled out the form. It took five minutes. The next day, we had a meeting. A day after that, we were scheduling dates and fees. Suddenly, we were being offered a platform to reach tens of thousands of people in the town’s next Parks & Rec guide — not as yoga instructors, but to teach our program, ‘Ace Your Goals.’

No hustle. Just ease. The path unfolded because we were in the state of people for whom visibility is natural and easy.

Your Practical Framework: The “State Shift” Method

If you’re tired of the grind, try this. Don’t just read it — do it.

  1. Know What You Want. Get specific. Is it $10,000 a month? A soulmate? Perfect health?

  2. Identify the Core Feeling. Why do you want it? Is it security? freedom? joy? love? The feeling is the real goal.

  3. Step Into the Identity. Who are you being once you have it? For five minutes, close your eyes and feel that feeling now. Be the person for whom this reality is a normal, natural fact.

Pro Tip: Do this 3x daily.

  • Morning: To set the tone for your day.

  • After Lunch: To reset and reclaim your state before your second work shift.

  • Before Bed: To let your subconscious mind work on it overnight.

This isn’t about denying your 3D reality; it’s about changing the source of your creation within it. You stop rearranging the external furniture and start rebuilding the internal foundation.

The World Mirrors Your Inner State

The bills might still be on the counter. The inbox might still be full. But from the state of the wish fulfilled, you handle it all with a new energy. You are no longer a beggar hoping the universe will provide. You are the architect, operating from the completed blueprint.

You are giving yourself the feeling you’ve been chasing all along. And in doing so, you become a magnet for the circumstances that match it.

The transformation begins when you stop trying to create your reality and start experiencing it from within.

Ready to Move From Knowing to Living It?

Understanding the theory is one thing. Consistently living in the state of the wish fulfilled is another. It requires practice, guidance, and a community that speaks your language.

Inside our free Skool community, Shift Your Identity (SYI), that’s exactly what you’ll find. This is where you can:

  • Practice the State: Get daily, structured guidance to help you embody these teachings.

  • Find Your People: Connect with a powerful community of like-minded creators and manifestors.

  • Get Unstuck: Receive the accountability and support to move through doubts and witness your own bridge of incidents unfold.

If you’re ready to replace the hustle with a feeling of natural, oceanic ease, you belong with us.

Click here to join the Shift Your Identity (SYI) community for free.

Your new state is waiting.

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The 3 Stages of Spiritual Stuckness (And How to Get Unstuck)