Law of Attraction: How Much ‘Work’ Do I Have to Do to Manifest What I Want?

Today’s post was inspired by a question one of my awesome readers emailed me.

Hey Kelli,

I loved this email because it was such a good reminder.(An email I sent to my list talking about some recent manifestations of mine and if you aren’t on that list, shame on you ;))

It reminded me of something that happened to me recently – I lost an earring at work, one that I really liked and was sad to lose. I had been running around all day and just chalked it up to being lost – there was no point in even looking for it. Well yesterday, I found it sitting on a clipboard of paperwork on my desk, like someone had found it and put it there for me.

I had only told one person that it was lost, and she wasn’t the one who found it. So I thought it was really cool that the universe knew without me even asking that I wanted the earring back, and delivered it when I was least expecting it. It was a powerful message because I always feel like I have to define exactly what it is that I want and then visualize it perfectly in order for the universe to deliver. And I’m learning that that’s not true.

Which leads to a question I had for you – is it OK to just feel good, relax, go with the flow, etc. and not “work on” manifesting? It feels good to not worry about it, but I still worry that I have hidden limiting beliefs and if I’m not “working on myself” the things I want won’t come. At what point do you have to work on changing your beliefs when the impulse is just to drift and forget about it?

In lieu of just responding in an email to said awesome reader, I thought her question would make a great blog post because this is something we all wonder about.

We are taught attracting is all about ‘ask and it is given.’ The idea of not having to do much of anything and get showered with all sorts of awesomeness holds quite the appeal does it not?

It is a hell of a lot better than the alternative line of thinking that holds we must suffer and toil to get results, that all that hard work is what makes us deserving of the end result.

So, while it sounds good, and we want to believe it is true, we just can’t quite buy into it. We just can’t quite relax and trust what we want will come.

We wonder how much ‘work’ we have to do on ourselves to line up with what we want. We wonder how much we have to visualize and think about our desires.

The role of action can throw us for a loop. When do we act, and when do we not? How much do we have to do? The idea of sitting around and doing nothing doesn’t sit well, and we feel that itch to take action and control outcomes.

It can cause quite the internal struggle, and it can invoke confusion, anxiety and a bunch of other uncomfortable feelings that can make it hard get into the energetic space where we become a good match to all the ‘stuff’ we want to attract.

Like I have said many times before, the theory of attraction is easy, and the practice is technically easy as well.

But, getting to that point where we manifest with total ease, and really, truly buy into this concept on the deepest levels of our being can take a bit of time.

But, just because you can’t become a master manifestor overnight doesn’t mean you can’t start creating all sorts of awesome right now.

So, without further adieu, I will touch on some points that I think will be particularly helpful in answering this question.

If We Didn’t Have Resistance, Manifesting Would Be a Breeze, But We Do So…..

We have to work on clearing it out. Resistance is that yucky feeling that comes up when you think about what you want, and you aren’t really convinced you can have it.

It is the resistance that makes you question ‘how.’ It is the resistance that triggers an avalanche of reasons why getting this thing isn’t possible.

Resistance keeps us from becoming a match to what we want. It makes it really hard to feel now the way we think we would feel if we got whatever it is we have in our sights.

Now, in theory, we can totally drop one belief and adopt its more LOA-friendly counterpart in five minutes, but in practice, that probably won’t happen.

If you have believed something to be true for 20 years, you have probably manifested a shitload of stuff that serves as ‘evidence’ of said belief. Now that you know about LOA, you come to realize the life-altering truth the belief came first, and the crap followed.

What you believe isn’t actually true. You may be experience a bit of relief, and this makes sense to you. But, there is a lot of momentum behind this belief. Your mind can’t help but remind you of all the ‘proof.

So, really, truly feeling this belief is not true doesn’t happen immediately, and that’s totally normal.

The amount of ‘work’ you have to do to overcome this resistance depends on how strong it is.

Simply feeling good can do wonders for naturally chipping away at all sorts of beliefs without really paying them too much specific attention.

You get into a higher-vibing space, attract all sorts of great things, and your faith in LOA grows. You get a stronger sense all the shitty stuff you believe isn’t actually true, and the new beliefs naturally gain more momentum.

But, when we have stuff that is really heavy, we may not be able to effectively utilize this trickle down effect. The resistance is really strong, and we are having a really hard time just believing a new belief.

Money is a great example. We all have money shit to some degree. If you have found yourself in a really bad way financially, or you have always struggled with money, just all of a sudden believing you can be financially prosperous and that money can come to you from countless channels, will probably feel like too big of a stretch.

You may be able to achieve moments of feeling good, or not focusing heavily on your current reality, but these limiting beliefs will still be strong and running in the background. Your immediate reality will hit you like a ton of bricks at times and all the ‘crap’ gets activated big-time.

Higher-vibing moments will probably be short-lived, and most of the time, you will be operating with the old way of thinking.

Listen, you may not feel great every second; you may not be in a space of trust every waking moment.

That’s okay. But, if you find yourself feeling badly more than you are feeling good, you need to examine what is happening. You need to do practice focusing in a way that makes you feel good so you can bank some positive energy.

Your feelings are great feedback for where you are focusing, and how much headway you have made in shifting your beliefs and feelings.

Intuitively, you’ll know when you can just put your attention elsewhere and just do something that feels good.

How Much Thinking, Visualizing and Other Work Do We Have to Do?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some exact formula that would guarantee a manifestation?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some series of steps we could take to eliminate a belief, like spin around four times, clap your hands twice and shout ‘belief be gone and never to return’ ?

This is what can really trip us up when it comes to working with law of attraction. We don’t quite buy into the ease of the process. We have ‘stuff’ that needs to be worked through.

Because we are conditioned to take action and be in control, the idea of just sitting back and waiting for the goodies to arrive makes us feel a bit uncomfortable, no matter how good it sounds and how much we love the idea.

Because we have a lot of conditioning that makes us think what we want isn’t possible, and we have a lot of momentum behind our negative beliefs and feelings, deciding what we want and just sitting back and waiting for it to come probably won’t work out too well because we are not an energetic match to it.

The mere deciding what you want is very powerful in and of itself, make no mistake. In that moment you begin lining up with the energy, and like I said before, if we didn’t have resistance, we really wouldn’t need to do much more.

You would feel confident that thing is coming, and you would probably end up taking various actions that were borne of inspiration. Or perhaps not..really depends on what it is you want.

This is where the ‘work’ comes in. We have to do some stuff to shift those beliefs, build that trust, release on the ‘how’ and just feel good overall that what we want can make its way to us.

So, that is where the visualizing and other techniques serve their purpose.

But, it is important to note that these tools in and of themselves have no power to make anything happen. They are a means to an end.

They help you accomplish the goal of removing resistance and cultivating all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings around what you want.

If you can get into that space with nary an affirmation, vision board, visualization, or any other tool, by all means.

Again, they don’t inherently contain any power.

But, most of us are probably going to have to bust these things out from time to time because we don’t naturally feel good about what we want. Our resistance just won’t go away simply because we want it to.

Doing these various techniques helps us redirect our focus to what we want rather than what we don’t. Reading the books and blogs exposes us to the information that will help us on our journey. They will introduce perspectives that help us make the shifts.

Even when we start feeling pretty good about what we want, we still may want to use some techniques because they infuse us with a burst of positive emotion. They help remind us what we are really after. They get us in a good mental space.

For example, you may feel really good starting your day with affirmations or reading over your list of things you want to manifest.

Is it necessary you do that? No. But, if it makes you feel good, keep at it.

As far as visualizing, it is important to remember visualizing is not manifesting. It is a tool. Thinking about what we want in a positive way is not really necessary to manifest it.

Think about all the unwanted manifestations that have happened to you over your life that you never specifically thought about. They came about because of your vibration. Same goes for the positive.

But, if we don’t have a lot of positive momentum behind better feelings and beliefs, the visualizing will help accomplish that. When it feels good, visualizing is an awesome tool, like super-awesome.

Also, let’s face it…just releasing on the things we want and not really thinking about them much is freaking hard.

It is hard to release on our desire for a successful business when we spend all day doing stuff for our business.

It is hard to release on our desire for a relationship when we come home to an empty house everyday.

It is hard to not think about money when we are having trouble paying our bills.

And if we are thinking a lot about what we want, and it is brewing up all sorts of yucky feelings and beliefs, the ‘work’ will help with this.

Your mind will whisper accusations of laziness, and doing some ‘work’ will help quell that, which will make you feel better.

Again, the tools are a means to an end..they help us get into a higher vibration, they don’t have any power in and of themselves.

If you are just going through the motions with them because you think you have to do these things to get what you want, you are wasting your time.

I hear so many people lament about doing all this ‘work’ and nothing happening. Affirmations are just words. Vision boards are just a bunch of pictures. They are simply a vehicle for generating some genuine positive emotion.

If nothing is shifting internally, your reality can’t change.

The Universe can’t just give you what you want because you are doing all your inner work like a good little boy or girl, and you want what you want oh so much.

Because these things are simply tools, don’t force yourself to engage with them when you aren’t feeling it, unless doing so will make you feel better.

You are better off taking a nap, watching a funny movie or taking a walk because those things are more likely to accomplish that all-important goal of feeling better.

If all your ‘work’ is starting to feel like a chore, or you approach it with the same enthusiasm as you would writing a research paper you have been putting off until the last minute, you need to re-evaluate your approach.

It is good to experiment with different teachers, programs, books and what have you because everyone has different philosophies,styles, personalities and techniques, and some things will resonate with you more than others.

But, with that being said, be careful not to fall into the trap of plowing through resources in a desperate search to find the ‘thing’ that will magically work for you. Again, all this stuff is a means to an end.

If you are feeling pretty crappy and the tools you are using now don’t seem to be ‘working’ what you really need to do is take a look inside and see what is happening, not hop online looking for new ones.

Why are you not feeling good about what you want? Ask your intuition to guide you to tools that are a good match for you.

Remember, attraction is all about what we are feeling, and anything that helps us feel better, and cultivates the beliefs that support getting what we want, is a good addition to our manifesting arsenal.

But, don’t think you always have to be doing something to manifest. You don’t have to visualize constantly.

When You’re Feeling Good, Just Go with It…

If you are feeling good about everything and all is right with the world, you’re golden. You don’t have to do any ‘work’ because you are succeeding with what is most important—being in a higher vibration that makes you a better match to receiving whatever it is you want, whether it is the money, the boyfriend or the better job.

Like I mentioned before, you may like doing certain types of techniques because they nurture this higher vibe, and that is awesome.

When you are feeling this way, you may get inspired to take some sort of action towards what you want, and that action feels good and light. Go for it.

Or you may be inspired to just do nothing and just have fun. Don’t fight it.

Sometimes all that focus and all those exercises can work against us because it makes us more cognizant of the fact what we want still isn’t in our reality, and that is never helpful.

Listen, some stray thoughts and feelings may pop in here and there that don’t serve you. You’ll start wondering how you will get what you want. You’ll wonder if this is how reality is actually created. Can it really be that easy?

It happens to the best of us. We are making big ass shifts here..to say this is a whole different way of looking at the world and ourselves, is an understatement if there ever was one.

But, if you are predominantly feeling pretty good about what you want, you are on the right track for sure, and how much ‘work’ you are doing is not a relevant factor.

Intuitively, you will know if there is some heavier stuff still stuck in your vibration that you need to work on more closely.

The Fear Of Hidden Beliefs Sabotaging You and That You Must Find Them

To uncover every belief we have would be quite the tall order, and I am not sure it is possible. But, not to fret my pets.

I know a lot of people probably share awesome reader’s concern there are all these hidden beliefs we don’t even know about, that are sabotaging our manifestations, and we will be powerless to stop them because we can’t even identify them.

That is quite an anxiety-inducing thought.

The good news is, you don’t have to achieve a perfect vibration to get the stuff you want. If it was an all-or-nothing proposition, we would all be in a shitload of trouble. No one would ever have anything good ever probably.

Now, will you be a match to the highest possibilities for whatever it is you want? No. But, most of us aren’t. Perhaps we may never be unless we managed to achieve some sort of god-consciousness. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t create a life that is freaking amazing. We may not even want what the highest possibility could be.

Secondly, for most of us, the primary beliefs that may be keeping what we want from us tend to be pretty obvious and right on the surface. There is not a lot of digging required.

These are beliefs that were formed by incidents in our lives that had a huge impact on us, and we are super-aware of them.

These are beliefs that are more of a cultural, universal nature that really weren’t based on any decisions we made ourselves, but impacted us in all facets of our life and were mirrored back to us in countless ways—something like being successful requires a lot of sacrifice and hard work.

Tackling these can bring us really far, and in many instances, is all that is standing in the way.

Is there stuff lurking beneath the surface that may be impacting your manifestations that you aren’t aware of? Quite possibly, and they will be revealed to you eventually.

This is the type of stuff that typically pops up when you start manifesting more, and feel compelled to start reaching for the bigger and bolder stuff, or when you feel like you have reached a ‘manifesting plateau.’

Think about what you want, and what comes up for you right now. That is the stuff that is really getting in the way at this moment in time, and that is all you need to worry about working on.

In Closing…

This is a pretty big topic with so many angles. I hope I did a good job of answering awesome reader’s question and provided some clarity on the whole ‘working on yourself’ and focusing on what you want thing.

Discovering how law of attraction works is at the same time, empowering and anxiety-inducing. We worry we won’t do it ‘right.’ Everything we want becomes so precious, and we get way too attached.

Your feelings are your ultimate guide…if you are feeling good about what you want, you’re on the right track. If you’re not, you have to see what is going on and what you can do to shift.

Sometimes all you need to do is redirect your attention elsewhere. Sometimes you’ll have to do a bit more. You’ll know in the moment.

Being in the ‘flow’ is the ultimate aim and whatever gets you there is a worthy use of your time.

You attract based on what you feel and believe, not what you are doing.

Don’t force things when it doesn’t feel good.

You don’t have to do anything technically, but you’ll probably need to so some stuff to make the shifts. You’ll want to do certain things because they make you feel good.

Always remember you are after feelings..do what you can to feel those things now, and you can’t go wrong.

The Universe and ‘big’ you know what you want and just how to get you there. Our primary job is to set ourselves up for receiving it. 

Your Turn…

What did you think of this post? Did it help clear up any struggles you may have had in the ‘working on yourself’ department? What resonated with you the most? What techniques do you find work best for you? What do you do to get into a better feeling space? What helps you shift your limiting beliefs? Looking forward to your comments as always.