Aligned Action vs. Magical Thinking

Aligned Action vs. Magical Thinking Visualization isn't a substitute for movement. I believe in affirmations. I believe in visualization. I believe in prayer. I teach these practices, use them in my own life, and have experienced what can happen when we get clear about what we desire. But I also believe you have to get your ass off the couch. 😂 In this episode of You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment, I'm sharing the story of how I spent six months envisioning, searching for, and eventually moving into my new home in Lakewood, Ohio. I didn't just sit at home visualizing an apartment and wait for the FedEx Universe to deliver it. I walked the neighborhoods. I drove the streets. I called numbers on signs. I toured apartments. I told people what I wanted. I created affirmations describing how I wanted my new home and life to feel. I used AI to create images of what I envisioned, turned those images into a video, recorded myself speaking my affirmations, and watched and listened to that vision repeatedly for months. And then I kept moving. One of the people I shared my vision with was my friend Giovanna "Gigi" Evans, who had lived in Lakewood for nearly 20 years. Eventually, one of her connections led me to the apartment that would become my home. But even when the opportunity appeared, I still had to act. On December 1, after touring the apartment while my mother was in the hospital, my best friend Jasmine reminded me not to wait. I pulled over, contacted the landlord, said I was interested, and started the process. By January, I was moving into the home I'd spent months imagining. That's aligned action. In this episode, we're talking about the difference between believing something is possible and actually participating in making it possible. Affirm: What do I believe is possible for me? Visualize: Can I see and feel myself living it? Act: What would I do differently today if I genuinely believed what I keep saying? There's also an important distinction in this story. Aligned action does not mean controlling every outcome. My mother's death was not something I manifested. Her death brought grief, sadness, physical changes in my body, and circumstances I never would have chosen. And yet, life continued unfolding around that loss. Manifestation isn't immunity from grief, difficulty, or circumstances beyond our control. Alignment asks us to participate in what comes next. So here's the question I want you to sit with: What are you asking for that you're not yet participating in? You don't have to know exactly how it's all going to happen. But you do have to participate in the life you're asking for. 📖 Explore my book, You Get What You Get: https://dawnmrivers.com/book 🌸 Ready to move beyond achievement and into alignment? Explore 1:1 coaching: https://dawnmrivers.com/apply If this episode resonated with you, follow the podcast, leave a comment, and share it with another woman who's ready to do more than visualize what's next. You get what you get because you get who you are. Dawn M. Rivers Transformational Speaker • Life Coach • Author