Focus Series: How to Get What You Want By Imagining You Already Have It

Last week, I explained how the Manifestation System works to create the results that you’re currently getting. The core first step in any change is to take responsibility, by believing that you create your results. Understanding the manifestation system, leads you to a few other core principles of change that you’ll be able to apply, to get the changes you want:

Experience is not reality.
For me, the most important principle that the manifestation strategy shows us is that OUR EXPERIENCE IS NOT OUR REALITY. This photograph of me and my sister, Sue, on a rollercoaster ride a few years ago does a great job of illustrating this principle.

We’re both interacting with exactly the same reality, but we’re having a VERY different experience - and this is obvious in our facial expressions. She has a huge smile and I have my eyes closed and a terrified grimace. In order for us to respond to reality, we interpret our sensory experiences (what we’re seeing, hearing, touching, smelling) and we tell ourselves a story about what those sensory experiences mean. It’s our INTERPRETATION of reality (the second step in the manifestation strategy) that creates our experience of reality. Clearly Sue told herself a much happier story about the rollercoaster ride than I did!

You’ll find that you’re much more able to set your Manifestation Strategy onto Active Mode, challenge your limiting stories and choose more useful stories that support you getting the outcomes you want, if you recognise that often your stories aren’t an accurate interpretation of reality.

Interpreting reality in a different way changes your experience of it.
Because we usually assume that our experience IS reality, we normally focus our energies on trying to change reality. But reality is complex and often we don’t have much control over it (especially when we’re trying to change it from an inaccurate perspective of reality!), so the ability to change the meaning we give reality is often more useful, and more achievable, than attempting to change reality itself. An important paradox in all of this is that the person who has the greatest ability to change the meaning they give reality (and as a result has more flexibility in how they respond emotionally and behaviourally) will have the greatest influence and impact on reality. Makes sense, doesn’t it? As they say, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.” You’re much more likely to change your reality if you’re willing to try something different.
So how can you use these principles to change your life?

• Think of a situation in your life that you’re finding difficult.
• Write down what results you want in that situation.
• Print out a copy of the Manifestation System, to use as a worksheet. Write the difficult situation next to the heading, “filtered reality.”
• Now ask yourself, “What are the stories I’m telling myself about that situation?” Write these down next to the heading, “story about the meaning of reality.” Then ask yourself, “What would I have to be believing, in order to believe these stories?” Write those down too.
• Next, ask yourself, “How do I feel when I think those thoughts or believe those stories?” Write your emotions down next to the heading, “Emotional Reaction.”
• Then ask yourself, “How do I behave then, when I’m feeling that way?” Write this down next to the heading, “Behavioural Response.”
• Now consider what results are caused by your behaviour. How does it impact on relationships? How do other people react to you then? What other external results do you get? Write these down next to the heading, “Results.”
• Have a look at the manifestation system and notice how you’re creating a cycle, in which the results you don’t want are growing.
• Go back to the page where you wrote what you want instead. Print out another copy of the manifestation system, and write these results at the top of the system, next to the heading, “Filtered Reality.”
• Now ask yourself, “If I already had those results, what story would I tell myself?” “And, What would I have to be believing, in order to believe these stories?” Write that all down next to the heading, “Story about the meaning of reality.”
• Then ask yourself, “How would I feel, if I believed those stories?” Write that down next to the heading, “Emotional Reaction.”
• And then, “How would I behave, if I felt that way?” Write that down next to the heading, “Behavioural Reaction.”
• Finally, ask yourself what results that’s likely to get you... In all likelihood, these results will get you much closer to where you want to be. Now go out and start practicing thinking, feeling and behaving that way, and notice how much more effectively this brings you the results you want.

This is the basic principle behind the idea that Law of Attraction fans preach - that if you start living as if you already have it, you’ll attract the things you want into your life. I’ve said before that I don’t really buy into the whole Law of Attraction theory. For me, rather than believing that my thoughts literally attract things, this is one way that I can see how the “living as if” philosophy could be incredibly powerful in creating the results you want. Besides, “living as if” feels much better - and, at the end of the day, it’s not the material stuff or achievements that we want. It’s the good feelings right now that we all want. And you can have those anytime you want.