Did I manifest this?

Scroll to the bottom to receive a printable download of the Keep/Toss/Create exercise.

I think setting intentions may be the gateway to manifesting.

I can get behind the woo woo and my close friends would tell you I’m more woo woo that I think. I really do believe that good things happen to good people and that a positive mindset can make a difference in helping you move forward.

Nearly 10 years ago, we packed up our life in BC and drove across the country to the South Shore with all our worldly possessions (mainly our bikes, boats and surfboards) piled in and on top our little car...arriving mid-January in Lunenburg. We also had no jobs, no friends/family in the area or even a long term place to live. However, within 4 months we both had full-time work in our fields (he found a teaching job and I started working at the local women’s center), a short term rental and our eyes on a dream house that became our current home.

We certainly knew what we wanted. We had been talking about living rurally (the dreamy dream? to live by a river with a rapid to play in) in a community with similar values filled with a mix of generations and we found it. We worked hard to make that dream come true and I can tell you that we now live in a vibrant and thriving rural community with people who care deeply for us and our children. We also nabbed that dream home on a river, where we can paddle to the ocean and finish the run with ice cream from the general store.

For me, working hard to get what I want in life is no different than working hard to get what I want in my business. I firmly believe that you need to do the work and be boss (thank you Being Boss for ingraining that line in my mind forever - go listen now if you haven't yet!). You need to buckle down and do the things that are hard, the tasks that are not exciting. You also need to do things that are not ‘insta-worthy’. For me, bookkeeping is definitely one of the items on that list. Do you have a list of the not so dreamy tasks that need to be done? Or perhaps you have hired someone to do those?

I spend a lot of time facilitating reflection exercises. From general questions during a coaching call to more in-depth sessions digging deeper into successes and strategies. Before we work together, I ask that my clients reflect on their last 6-12 months and think about what worked well, what didn’t and what might they want to change or create going forward. This helps them prepare for our time together and gives us some concrete items to talk about and work on.

This Keep|Toss|Create exercise is one I use regularly in my life as well. I try to do this at the end of each month (or quarter) and I keep this sheet posted near my desk so that I can see it regularly and be reminded of the intentions I set out for myself. 

There is usually a mix of business and life on that page and I use the sheet as a free form way of reflecting and highlighting what is most important for me that month. ​I don't have any rules around how many items I put in each category, but I generally come up with ay least 3-5 for each. Here's a sample of some of the items I jotted down from my recent reflection sheet:

KEEP

I want to keep running (because I signed up for a 10km in August- eeekkkk!)

TOSS

I want to toss that project management software I’ve been testing over the last few months that really hasn’t worked well for me

CREATE

I am going to learn how to create videos so that I can share content in a new way.

Please send me the templates!

​If you think this is an exercise that might work well for you, I encourage you to subscribe to my email list and you’ll receive this printable Keep|Toss|Create template that you can use each month too. You’ll also receive a simple Goal Sheet template where you can create really specific goals, based on what you brainstormed in the Keep | Toss | Create sheet

I’d love to hear a story of how you accomplished a goal...be it through pure grit and determination, setting an intention, working with someone like a coach or mentor, or manifesting something you have been wanting. Do you use one technique? A mix? What kind of language do you use to talk about this? I’m so curious!

​Please share in the comments below.