You're way ahead of me on this. Still working my butt off, but I've been able to succeed with the question, "What if it could be fun?" Definitely glad to be enjoying the hard work, but maybe I could hire you to manifest a string of stay-cations for me and my family. Manifestor for hire. Is that a thing?
haha be careful what you wish for, Rick! My positivity and manifestations are infectious but in the way the flu is - alarming, uncomfortable, like you got hit by a bus. That being said, I feel like you're underselling yourself because you are one of the most joy first people that I know. If we lined you up with the rest of the world, I think you'd be in the 99th percentile too. I need to incorporate "what if it could be fun" into my questions too. Thank you for the comment and for always supporting me!
I never got into manifestation but when I was laid off 8 months ago and no job application was landing, I stopped and wrote a story about me and the life I want 10 years from now.
I write fiction all the time and that was the first time in months I'd done that.
I wrote it in 15 min and that story laid out a life I actually wanted. Then I set it aside and forgot it.
Overtime, my life is starting to head in that direction. And that story exists as a tangible destination anytime I feel doubt.
Wow thank you for sharing, Mohammad! Surprisingly, I don't really do the long term future projections but I feel like your story is one I've heard from others. Even down to the setting aside and forgetting it. There's something powerful in stating what we want and then letting it go. I really appreciate this!
Yeah it turns out a lot of people do it without realizing it.
When I had them go through it, they make the same connection. I just spoke @Christin Chong, PhD about it, and she had a similar reaction.
It's really weird how writing a narrative about yourself becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. But when your think about it from the stories we believe about ourselves: definition of success, identity, or even how we view others
Then it's pretty easy to see how narratives guide our lives.
Shout out to Christin because she's the best! You are so right and when I think about it, when we are in a negative spiral, we're also writing a story without realizing it. So writing something down is some sort of rewiring, even if we don't believe it'll magically change everything. Our thoughts and beliefs really do create our reality.
Yes! It's wild to tune into how people (and myself) speak and realize all the mini stories we are telling ourselves constantly, without even realizing it.
hahaha I know it's steeped in the woowoo. Though you are always so positive and have such a healthy mix of curiosity and conviction in yourself that I wouldn't be surprised if you're an undercover manifester. In the logical world, I feel like it's about combining optimism and audacity. Thank you for the comment!
Heck yeah!! This was so fun to read and I love your energy. It absolutely blew my mind when allowing myself to want something lets everything take care of itself. Enjoyment is efficiency, and to me that’s probably why it feels easy(ier).
Thank you so much for the kind words Linart! Energy is so apt because I feel like this one spilt out of me. I'm the same way. "Allowing" myself to receive things was a surprising game changer. It actually compounds over time too. I love "enjoyment is efficiency," so accurate!
Yes!! I physically pumped my fist in the air when I got to the last paragraph. Like a club kid.
Michelle, this was such a great post. Love the message and how that affirmation leaves room for practice. There’s a temporal flexibility with “it can be easy”. It might be easy now, or may become easy over time.
Those guys who just ran a marathon under 2 hours, prior to Sunday, it had never been done. And yet years from now, this will be done regularly. Something that not too long ago was considered impossible will become “easy”.
hahaha I love that image Matt! I like this idea of temporal flexibility because you're right, sometimes the ease comes from getting into it and more comfortable over time. The marathon example is great and I do think it's funny how as a population, our limiting mindsets can be broken as soon as one person shows that it's possible. Thank you for your comment!
I loved reading this and I can tell when an idea is going to stick with me and permeate through my life and this feels like one of them. I've also only recently discovered the reframe superpower and how life can become 10x more enjoyable if you exercise it regularly.
That's so lovely to hear Jeevan, and thank you for the kind words. I know what you mean, some ideas just find you at the right time. This one has been so helpful so I had so much excitement writing this essay. "the reframe superpower" is such a great way to describe it and it's fun because I'm still always catching little things where I can flip a thought and make life a little better. I appreciate you reading and leaving a comment!
Such a beautiful reframe and reflection, Michelle!
It reminded me of a similar reframe I practiced during a Joe Hudson course last year. Paired with a stranger, one person shared something difficult or vulnerable. The other person responded by asking one simple question, again and again, each time after the other had answered:
“and what is awesome about that?”
Powerful stuff. And I’m happy to see your writing today :)
Speaking of synchronicities, I was just listening to a 2 hour interview with Joe Hudson in my car yesterday! That practice sounds so interesting, uncomfortable and rewarding. It breaks my brain a little to imagine responding to someone with "and what is awesome about that?" but I can see how it can shape a whole experience. Thank you for your kind words and for your thoughtful comment!
…life can be anything, but a good reminder we walk our path, and all elements within our control shape the direction…i’m auditing how different what i want to be doing is from what i am and dear BEEP it is a 40 year old basement container yarn ball…i’ve barely got a yard in front of me and don’t recognize where it came from…but some bit of pulse tells me that to get it back to string and to start sewing again is what my moment requires…and while that is difficult, i’m being easy on myself as i do it, and the addition of ease has given me more ease…on the signs and affirmations tip i had a lucky dime run last year that might have been the only thing keeping my skull on shoulders…i’m in my in my era now, i’m the sign…
"get back to string" is the best line ever and I want to hear more about the lucky dime run. It's important work and I agree that ease leads to ease (though why does knowing that not make it more ease-ful sometimes?). I want to hear more about this lucky dime run and I am also manifesting another lucky dime run for you. I actually received a sign in the form of a nickel in a small town mcdonalds bathroom last weekend so feels like a double sign. I appreciate your comment!
Reminded me of a similar phrase I came across during my many years in the weight loss complex: “choose your hard”. E.g., “counting calories is hard, being overweight is hard - choose your hard.” As if choosing joy or letting it be easy or opting out of f*cked up beauty standards wasn’t even an option! 😅 Nice how tweaking language can change perspective and open up new avenues. Thanks for writing this. 😊
Oh my gosh yes. I understand that some people are motivated by pain and hardship, we're all on different vibrations at different times. Though I do wonder how many people who have been avoiding the hard are motivated by switching their hard verse shifting to finding joy in the healthy habits. Thank you for your comment!
Loved this post Michelle, makes me want to pay more attention to manifestation again. Doris’s comment makes me wonder if people on opposite ends of the hard/easy spectrum might do well to consider switching it up - perhaps those who’ve always worked hard can practice “it can be easy,” while others with a relaxed approach might do disproportionately well via “choose your hard” — whaddyathink?
Michelle oh my god I got so many chills reaching the end. This essay is abundant with gold nuggets, so many good takeaways. It’s so good I wish that I wrote it. What a great reminder on so many fronts. Thank you!!!!!
Wow that's once of the best compliments I can receive. THANK YOU for helping me actually publish it. I never thought this was in me when I first drafted an essay to hit (and then miss) our deadline. Also, you are my positive manifestation feedback loop. So many of your stories make me believe in these things.
Ahhh the ending! So good. I've gone through something similar—this switch from hard to easy, though I thought of it a little differently (and as you said, words make a big difference in how you think about things!). Here was the quote that changed my perspective: from Abigail Thomas' book, Still Like at Eighty, she said that dread is "a screaming hot message that something needs to change." I think of this quote all the time now. I think of all the things I pursued that filled me with dread because I just had to push through and "do hard things." And now I think, what are the things I want to pursue that fill me with joy? I also love how you've included manifestation in all this. Heck yes.
That's such a good, vivid quote! I think it's true too, sometimes (always?) that tightness in my chest is the sign that something needs to change and usually because it's not aligned. I was wondering for so long how necessary it is to push through hard things and now I realize it was the wrong question. A lot of it is perspective. Thank you for the thoughtful comment!
You could also think about this in other aspects of your life. I'm thinking social situations, like how I say yes to a night out when it might not be what I really want to do.
You're way ahead of me on this. Still working my butt off, but I've been able to succeed with the question, "What if it could be fun?" Definitely glad to be enjoying the hard work, but maybe I could hire you to manifest a string of stay-cations for me and my family. Manifestor for hire. Is that a thing?
haha be careful what you wish for, Rick! My positivity and manifestations are infectious but in the way the flu is - alarming, uncomfortable, like you got hit by a bus. That being said, I feel like you're underselling yourself because you are one of the most joy first people that I know. If we lined you up with the rest of the world, I think you'd be in the 99th percentile too. I need to incorporate "what if it could be fun" into my questions too. Thank you for the comment and for always supporting me!
That's very kind Michelle. It's easy to support inspiring people.
SHE'S BACK! Loved this. Excited to (hopefully) read more from you in the near future.
THANK YOU! Haha I appreciate the support and I also hope there's more to read in the future.
I never got into manifestation but when I was laid off 8 months ago and no job application was landing, I stopped and wrote a story about me and the life I want 10 years from now.
I write fiction all the time and that was the first time in months I'd done that.
I wrote it in 15 min and that story laid out a life I actually wanted. Then I set it aside and forgot it.
Overtime, my life is starting to head in that direction. And that story exists as a tangible destination anytime I feel doubt.
I can point to it and say that's where I'm going.
Wow thank you for sharing, Mohammad! Surprisingly, I don't really do the long term future projections but I feel like your story is one I've heard from others. Even down to the setting aside and forgetting it. There's something powerful in stating what we want and then letting it go. I really appreciate this!
Yeah it turns out a lot of people do it without realizing it.
When I had them go through it, they make the same connection. I just spoke @Christin Chong, PhD about it, and she had a similar reaction.
It's really weird how writing a narrative about yourself becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. But when your think about it from the stories we believe about ourselves: definition of success, identity, or even how we view others
Then it's pretty easy to see how narratives guide our lives.
Shout out to Christin because she's the best! You are so right and when I think about it, when we are in a negative spiral, we're also writing a story without realizing it. So writing something down is some sort of rewiring, even if we don't believe it'll magically change everything. Our thoughts and beliefs really do create our reality.
Exactly and then it gets crazy because once you adopt this, you see it everywhere.
Storytelling as a lens.
You see the story in how people stand when they're around family vs friends. How they are at work. And what they feel like sharing.
Yes! It's wild to tune into how people (and myself) speak and realize all the mini stories we are telling ourselves constantly, without even realizing it.
There's a great book on this called “Metaphors we Live by” by George Lakoff
It's exactly what you said. Words build our world.
So one example is how we discuss business
“Competition”, “market dominance” , “killing competitors”
It's violent and “law of the kungle” focused.
So those words build our perspective of business
But if you swap “competition” with “collaboration”, you build a new world of business
I was rolling my eyes in that manifestation and law of attraction bs - now I want me some!
hahaha I know it's steeped in the woowoo. Though you are always so positive and have such a healthy mix of curiosity and conviction in yourself that I wouldn't be surprised if you're an undercover manifester. In the logical world, I feel like it's about combining optimism and audacity. Thank you for the comment!
Heck yeah!! This was so fun to read and I love your energy. It absolutely blew my mind when allowing myself to want something lets everything take care of itself. Enjoyment is efficiency, and to me that’s probably why it feels easy(ier).
Thank you so much for the kind words Linart! Energy is so apt because I feel like this one spilt out of me. I'm the same way. "Allowing" myself to receive things was a surprising game changer. It actually compounds over time too. I love "enjoyment is efficiency," so accurate!
"I feel like this one spilt out of me" something for me to internalize as well, so good
Yes!! I physically pumped my fist in the air when I got to the last paragraph. Like a club kid.
Michelle, this was such a great post. Love the message and how that affirmation leaves room for practice. There’s a temporal flexibility with “it can be easy”. It might be easy now, or may become easy over time.
Those guys who just ran a marathon under 2 hours, prior to Sunday, it had never been done. And yet years from now, this will be done regularly. Something that not too long ago was considered impossible will become “easy”.
It can be easy.
hahaha I love that image Matt! I like this idea of temporal flexibility because you're right, sometimes the ease comes from getting into it and more comfortable over time. The marathon example is great and I do think it's funny how as a population, our limiting mindsets can be broken as soon as one person shows that it's possible. Thank you for your comment!
I loved reading this and I can tell when an idea is going to stick with me and permeate through my life and this feels like one of them. I've also only recently discovered the reframe superpower and how life can become 10x more enjoyable if you exercise it regularly.
Excited to read more of your thoughts! =)
That's so lovely to hear Jeevan, and thank you for the kind words. I know what you mean, some ideas just find you at the right time. This one has been so helpful so I had so much excitement writing this essay. "the reframe superpower" is such a great way to describe it and it's fun because I'm still always catching little things where I can flip a thought and make life a little better. I appreciate you reading and leaving a comment!
Such a beautiful reframe and reflection, Michelle!
It reminded me of a similar reframe I practiced during a Joe Hudson course last year. Paired with a stranger, one person shared something difficult or vulnerable. The other person responded by asking one simple question, again and again, each time after the other had answered:
“and what is awesome about that?”
Powerful stuff. And I’m happy to see your writing today :)
Speaking of synchronicities, I was just listening to a 2 hour interview with Joe Hudson in my car yesterday! That practice sounds so interesting, uncomfortable and rewarding. It breaks my brain a little to imagine responding to someone with "and what is awesome about that?" but I can see how it can shape a whole experience. Thank you for your kind words and for your thoughtful comment!
This article was magic!!! 🪄 I'm going to start asking the Universe "how easy can this be?!"
Thank you so much, I'm so happy you felt the magic! You'll have to come back in a month or so and let me know if anything has shifted.
Loved this one Michelle!
That makes me so happy to hear Alice! Thank you for reading and dropping a comment!
That sounds like a fantastic law of attraction group. :-)
They are the best! Many thanks to our fearless leader :)
…life can be anything, but a good reminder we walk our path, and all elements within our control shape the direction…i’m auditing how different what i want to be doing is from what i am and dear BEEP it is a 40 year old basement container yarn ball…i’ve barely got a yard in front of me and don’t recognize where it came from…but some bit of pulse tells me that to get it back to string and to start sewing again is what my moment requires…and while that is difficult, i’m being easy on myself as i do it, and the addition of ease has given me more ease…on the signs and affirmations tip i had a lucky dime run last year that might have been the only thing keeping my skull on shoulders…i’m in my in my era now, i’m the sign…
"get back to string" is the best line ever and I want to hear more about the lucky dime run. It's important work and I agree that ease leads to ease (though why does knowing that not make it more ease-ful sometimes?). I want to hear more about this lucky dime run and I am also manifesting another lucky dime run for you. I actually received a sign in the form of a nickel in a small town mcdonalds bathroom last weekend so feels like a double sign. I appreciate your comment!
🎉✨💝!!
Reminded me of a similar phrase I came across during my many years in the weight loss complex: “choose your hard”. E.g., “counting calories is hard, being overweight is hard - choose your hard.” As if choosing joy or letting it be easy or opting out of f*cked up beauty standards wasn’t even an option! 😅 Nice how tweaking language can change perspective and open up new avenues. Thanks for writing this. 😊
Oh my gosh yes. I understand that some people are motivated by pain and hardship, we're all on different vibrations at different times. Though I do wonder how many people who have been avoiding the hard are motivated by switching their hard verse shifting to finding joy in the healthy habits. Thank you for your comment!
Loved this post Michelle, makes me want to pay more attention to manifestation again. Doris’s comment makes me wonder if people on opposite ends of the hard/easy spectrum might do well to consider switching it up - perhaps those who’ve always worked hard can practice “it can be easy,” while others with a relaxed approach might do disproportionately well via “choose your hard” — whaddyathink?
Michelle oh my god I got so many chills reaching the end. This essay is abundant with gold nuggets, so many good takeaways. It’s so good I wish that I wrote it. What a great reminder on so many fronts. Thank you!!!!!
Wow that's once of the best compliments I can receive. THANK YOU for helping me actually publish it. I never thought this was in me when I first drafted an essay to hit (and then miss) our deadline. Also, you are my positive manifestation feedback loop. So many of your stories make me believe in these things.
Ahhh the ending! So good. I've gone through something similar—this switch from hard to easy, though I thought of it a little differently (and as you said, words make a big difference in how you think about things!). Here was the quote that changed my perspective: from Abigail Thomas' book, Still Like at Eighty, she said that dread is "a screaming hot message that something needs to change." I think of this quote all the time now. I think of all the things I pursued that filled me with dread because I just had to push through and "do hard things." And now I think, what are the things I want to pursue that fill me with joy? I also love how you've included manifestation in all this. Heck yes.
That's such a good, vivid quote! I think it's true too, sometimes (always?) that tightness in my chest is the sign that something needs to change and usually because it's not aligned. I was wondering for so long how necessary it is to push through hard things and now I realize it was the wrong question. A lot of it is perspective. Thank you for the thoughtful comment!
You could also think about this in other aspects of your life. I'm thinking social situations, like how I say yes to a night out when it might not be what I really want to do.
Lovely piece, Michelle. This is a great reminder. Manifesting to consistently manifest! :)
Thank you so much Ritika and I love that, manifesting compounds so more is more is more!