One day a week I try to listen to podcasts instead of music at the gym. Most of the time, that just means listening to about 7 minutes of an episode before I search for something else between reps. My algorithm is not tuned well and it’s currently serving up a bunch of bros with cliche marketing advice. No, thank you. 

So when I stumbled upon a conversation about manifestation, I quickly ditched the guy who went down a rat hole about being a driving instructor in a past life. Plus, the cover image had a picture of Rick Ruben on it. As a music lover, if I see his face? You can count me in. 

I’m not going to link to this episode because 1) I didn’t listen to the whole episode and 2) I found out after the fact that the podcast host has a history of being a jerk to women so I’m not going to give them clicks. Anyway… 

Rick talked about a lot of interesting things but one that caught me off guard was his perspective on manifestation. Now, the traditional perspective on manifestation is in the outcomes. People manifest money flowing to them effortlessly, manifest more of what they want, less of what they don’t. It’s often a bar or situation they believe would make it better. Manifest that shit. 

But Rick Ruben’s idea of manifestation is that it happens in the every day actions. Instead of manifesting finish lines, he does little things every day that help manifest the big goals he has for himself. Manifestation isn’t just hoping for an outcome. It’s in the preparation. 

This is not the lesson bestowed on me about goal-setting. There were no participation trophies at my house and we surely didn’t dare talk about manifestation with my military parents. I was taught to only celebrate at the finish line. Hard work. There was nothing to celebrate until the mission was accomplished. 

However, when you’re living in the real world there’s no big pause when you accomplish the goal. No party unless you plan it. Hell, if you work for yourself like I do? You don’t even get a card or a congratulatory email during performance reviews. We get another goal. Face it. That’s probably true if you work in corporate, too. 

So in a thankless world, if you ask me? It makes the case for doing whatever the hell I want knowing that I’ll never end up where I don’t belong. Believe me. I’ve done things that could have really thrown me off track just like everyone else. 

The reality is that it was all just getting me ready for what’s next. What is that? Well, I’ll let you know. I’m moving into manifestation mode myself. 

But if you’re feeling messy this time of year, let this be the reminder that you’re just getting ready. In the chaos and the mess, the sadness and the stress - we’re all just getting ready to end up right where we belong.