Stefanie Edwards (00:00)
Welcome to the life changing manifestations podcast. Today I want to challenge you to look at the actions you are taking and are you consider these possibilities. One, putting something on your to do list and then not actually following through and doing it. Two: saying you're going to do something and you don't, you don't keep your word to yourself. Three,
making excuses and justifying why something can't get done or just saying it's not that big of a deal. And for, are you just not valuing yourself in the actions you're taking that they're going to have a big enough response, result and outcome? All of those are thought errors. All of those are things that if you get caught in doing them, they are going to postpone your manifestation if ever it does show up.
So when you get in your mind that it can wait until later or that your actions, whether you do or you don't, will not make that big of a difference in the outcome. I want you to know that you're wrong. I don't want to just call you out for being wrong. I'm going to explain this because I've been here. I have lived too many days where I have made excuses. I have put off doing what was on my to -do list if I even made one and I was not following what I knew I needed to be doing. Have you ever had that nudge that intuition speaking to you?
saying this is the right thing to say, this is the thing to do, this is the action to take. And yet you don't do it. It doesn't matter if it's life, it's relationships, it's business. When you know that you should be doing something and you can feel it like it's like the manifestation is pulling you towards you, calling you and you just won't even do it. That is negatively impacting you. here's how it negatively impacts you. One.
it's going to make things easier to keep putting off in the future. It's a habit. We are habit building creatures. And so once you put it off once, it's just makes it that much easier to be slacking and not do it the next time, which puts you in two. It allows you to make excuses. Yeah. Those excuses are such deadly traps because excuses are thoughts and excuses that are thoughts are embedded in your identity. So I call it the excused identity and did a whole entire training on this.
because this is so important to understand that the things that you are allowing yourself to believe, these excuses, they are negatively impacting the results that you're having. And this is why you get stuck and this is why you don't move forward. There were so many different ways that these can creep in and become a part of your life. And so if you know that you have an excuse in your life that you're holding onto, that's your go -to excuse for certain situations or dealing with certain people.
then that's something you should address, but they're also sneaky and maybe you don't even know that you have one that you're falling to. It's your default. And I lived there for a really long time, but all I have to say before we move on to factor number three is that if you need more help on dealing with your excuses and addressing this, because it is impacting your manifestations and your identity, visit me over at lifechangingmanifestations .com because I have a whole entire training. It's just one hour, but it's very powerful on how to address your excuses. Okay. Back to our topic.
The other negative impact that you want to address when you just don't take action and don't think it's that big of a deal is when you you're not keeping your word to yourself. That's huge. That's a huge, huge, huge fail because you are your deepest connection to any buddy. It's it's to yourself. And I don't think we realize that that much that the relationship that you're building with yourself is about.
trust and respect and honoring your word is a big part of that. So this is sending not only bad messages to yourself that I don't really matter. My goals aren't that big of a deal. It doesn't matter if I do this. Why are you saying it doesn't matter sending such negative signals to yourself, but it's also putting the signals out into the universe and you're not going to be manifesting what you're seeking to do because you're not even following and showing that you can keep your word to yourself. That's huge. There's so much we can unpack there, but I'm going to move on to the number four.
The fourth reason it's so negative is it stops the momentum in your life. It lowers your energy because many times you know you should be doing something, you don't do it. Think about how you're going to settle down at the end of the day. You're going to feel maybe shame or regret and you're going to feel frustrated or you might talk bad to yourself, you know, or just feel like, what did I even do with my day? Just being, I've been in that mode where I'm like,
How did a whole entire day pass me by and I don't feel like I accomplished anything? That's not good positive energy. That's lowering your energy, your frequency, and thus it's halting your manifestations. Do you see how all this plays in? And there's so much, like I said, that can be said on each of these points, but today we're just gonna give you the overview because I really wanna focus on a bigger point is when you come to the end of your day, do you feel like you've had a purposeful accomplished day?
And if you've made a list, which some days I do and some days I don't, it depends on the type of the day, do you feel like you have actually accomplished your priorities? Whatever it was that you actually set out to do that day, did you get it done? Did it matter? So the other day I took off, I wasn't working hardly at all that day, but my whole intention was to spend time with my son that day. And we ran some errands, we hung out all day. And so I came to the day with no to -do list, but feeling really accomplished because my main goal was just to be with my son.
totally fine. And then yesterday I had a very large to -do list and I came to the end of the day and I was like falling asleep, but I knew that I had to work really hard. I'd got it all, but two things done on that massive list and they were really good action steps. So I had prioritized them. I got the main things done first and it was easy for me the next morning to wrap up the final activities. So both those days I felt really accomplished, but one had a list, one didn't.
one had different intentions. It's just a matter of are you are keeping your word to yourself? Are you doing what you say you're going to do? And are you moving towards what you want? One of my things to manifest is a good, strong relationship with my son. Another thing to manifest is the growth of my business. So I need to make sure that I'm moving towards those focuses on the days that I'm working towards them. And I think too often we're not like we brush off our goals. We don't take our to do list seriously and
We're like, yeah, sure, I wrote it down, but I'll just go do other things. We make excuses. We justify why something can't get done or what got in the way, what was causing a predicament and an issue that stopped us. And we end up in a mediocre existence. That is how you live a mediocre existence. As I've mentioned before, and I will continue to encourage you here in the podcast, is I am done living a mundane existence. I'm in my 40s.
I realized there are so many days that I feel like I have wasted that came to them to the day. And I was like, what did I even do? I don't like those days. That feels like a waste to me. I'm not saying every day has to be like life changing so dramatic, but I do need to feel like I am moving towards my purpose on a continually daily basis. And I hope to inspire you here in this message, in all of the messages to rise up, to strive towards your purpose, because our days are only getting fewer.
We may have infinity in heaven, but I know that there's a reason why we're here and now in this time in history, why God has this here on earth. And I want to rise up and make the impact that he has put me here to do. What about you? So consider that you can begin to make the change by keeping your word to yourself. That means things like don't let yourself go to bed. Don't let yourself come to the end of your day, not having accomplished what you set out to do.
Which to back up means you're going to set what you're going to do for that day. So that's a good practice. Get into that. And if it's only one thing, just let it be. Write down just one thing. Don't judge yourself for I don't have a massive to do list. I didn't write 20 things to do. I didn't fill up this whole notebook sheet of paper. Keep it really simple and just do one thing if you need to or one thing in your particular categories, like one thing with your family and one thing for work and one thing for yourself, like whatever it is that you need to do.
but find a way to learn to get into the practice of keeping your word to yourself. And with that, stay the course, remain focused on the path you've set before you. Don't look towards the temptations on either side because they're always there. They are literally always there. I'm going to share a story with you in just a minute about how I can get distracted on things. And yeah, I went in a whole tailspin about a month ago and I'll share that with you in just a moment, but stay the course. And thirdly,
Guard your heart. In other words, protect yourself by watching out for what you're allowing into your life. You need to start filtering the things that are speaking into your life, that are penetrating your identity, that are impacting you because you don't want the corrupt thoughts. You don't want the negativity coming in. You don't want evil to shape who you are. And I say evil because temptation is evil. It's there for a reason to make you sidestep hitting your goal. Now.
Where do I get these principles? I just give you three different principles for helping you to stay the course, keep your word and guard your heart. Where do those come from? They come out of the Bible, my friend. They come out of the book of Proverbs chapter four. I'm going to read you this out of the NLT version and I'm going to pick up from verse 14. Once again, I'm in Proverbs chapter four, starting at verse 14. Don't do as the wicked do and don't follow the path of evildoers. Don't.
even think about it. Don't go that way. Turn away and keep moving. For evil people can't sleep until they've done their evil deed for the day. They can't rest until they've caused someone to stumble. They eat the food of wickedness and they drink the wine of violence. The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.
My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart for they bring life to those who find them and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk. Stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead.
and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Stay on the safe path. Don't get sidetracked. Keep your feet from following evil. Now, as I read that passage, did you notice how those three points that I mentioned were all there in scripture? Yes. You're going to stay the course. That's the safe path. You're going to keep that focus. So I'm asking you now, what is that for you?
Do you know, have you established that focus?
You can always stop at any point and ask God. If you are unclear, you don't know what direction you are headed. Ask God for wisdom. This is for your whole life. This is for anything you're striving to manifest. Get in alignment with God and know the direction you're going to go.
all these principles that we just outlined apply to your work, apply to your goal achievement, apply to anything that you're striving to manifest. So this is about you as a woman, but it's also about anything that you are going after, because I want to stay the course, don't you? I don't want to give up. And I don't think you do either. Otherwise, you would be listening to this podcast most likely. So you need to learn how to avoid the distractions. You need to learn how to stay the course.
You need to know the safe route for yourself. You need to know what your temptations are. You see what I mean? All these different things that are in Proverbs chapter four, apply in all areas of your life. Now remember I told you I was going to share about how I got sidetracked. So here it is. When I get overwhelmed and perplexed and growing my business, because there's, there's elements of growing a business that yeah, you can listen to training, you can coaching, but
It's about you doing stuff you've never done before. It's very different than being an employee. And so there's times I get perplexed and overwhelmed and my brain is super sneaky and it's so sneaky. It's very smart that it will give me an excuse on why it's time rationally to take a break. And it gets me really fired up over something like usually something I've caught on social media, specifically towards Instagram, which is why I've really tried to isolate myself.
from such apps. Because about a month ago, I was tempted to give up everything I was working on and instead go and build an Instagram account all about thrifty home repairs and updates. I even named it something thrifty, like I had thrifty in the name. Because all of a sudden I got so obsessed with watching these reels about powerful women. I call them powerful because it's amazing to me what they can do.
that they were renovating their homes. They were tearing out walls and building cabinetry. Like I have zero desire to build cabinetry, but here I was watching it and going, I can do this. And I just started watching these videos like crazy. And I was like, I'm going to go start my own channel. I'm going to be a positive influencer in this space. I'm going to go build these projects. And I literally started an Instagram channel. I started making content for this channel. I...
was thrifty in how I was shopping and buying projects that I could feature on this. And I even tackled a couple of projects around my house so I would have more video content. Now, none of that in and of itself is bad. And I did benefit from the projects I got done around my house. However, that was not staying the course. Do you see that? It took me out of my trajectory and I wasted time.
and because I wasn't staying focused and finishing out what I needed to do. And that's why I've had these haphazard results. I've had wonderful things happen over the last five years that I've been in business for myself. But to say that I'm where I want to be, I'm not there. I have other goals that I want to achieve. And part of the reason I feel like I haven't manifested fully what I'm seeking to do is because I have done a little of this and done a little of that. And the dabbling effect versus staying on the path.
has resulted because when I get overwhelmed, I fall other side temptations and maybe they're good. I mean, this one was a little bit like out there in a whole different perspective, but I have like gone and taken a contract job or done something that is beneficial, is all good. It's within my scope of experience, but it's not what I said I wanted to do. You see the difference? So you've got to stay the course. And this is how things can end up in so many ways in your life.
And it's about, are you allowing in the excuses, the distractions, you know, the negativity that keep you from manifesting what you really want to do. You just got to be on your guard. You got to watch out, which brings us back to verse 23. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. The Bible regularly refers to your heart, the state of your heart. And you have to know that this is more than just the
physical organ in your chest. Okay. The heart is a reference to your subconscious, your wellspring of emotions, your identity, who you are. It resonates from your heart. It's a very essence. So this is why it is so important to guard it and to guard it just means protect it, to ward off the advances from things and people that will tempt you to walk away from your path. Just consider that laziness, doubt, worry.
judgment, excuses, they all fall into the category of evil distractions. It's not just about like thinking that temptation is going to come along to do drugs or go rob a bank, be violent. Evil comes in all shapes and sizes. And this is so important. Hear me now. Evil comes in all shapes and sizes. And I once heard somebody say that sin would not be a temptation if it wasn't appealing. It is appealing to us to
do something that is tempting us. Otherwise it wouldn't tempt us. Do you see that? It wouldn't be alluring to us. So I'm not tempted to do drugs, but there are people who seriously are considering today if they can make it through the day without doing drugs. And I'm not tempted to go beat somebody up because that's not my temptation. But my temptation could be to lose my focus and not keep my word to myself and to God. My temptation could come in judging myself and not living into my purpose because I'm in comparison. Like what about you?
What is your temptation to lose focus? And what is your temptation to let down your guard and let in negative things, things that are not going to keep you on the safe path? Remember in Proverbs, it said it's not just the path you stay on, it's the safe path. And it's the path that we're not going to look to the left or the right. We're not going to look and follow what the evil people are doing. We're going to stay our course. And that brings us to the final part in that passage.
I really want to stress this, this coming up verses 15 and 16. I'm reading them to you now directly. Don't even think about it. Don't go that way. Turn away and keep moving. For evil people can't sleep until they've done their evil deed for the day. How can you apply this in your life? how can you keep moving forward?
How can you remain focused without entertaining that negative thought, allowing in those excuses? Here's one tip. Look back in verse 16, the commitment of the evil people. Like this verse makes me laugh for evil people can't sleep until they've done their evil deed for the day. But I thought about that and I thought about without getting too judgy. Like, can I imagine that I've ever met somebody who's a very negative person?
And like they literally can't make it through a conversation without having to get their two sons in and say their little negative comment. And I thought about it. And in that way, like there are people who are going to do the evil things and the evil is so determined to be done for the day. What if we were that committed to doing the good in our lives in the day? And like we couldn't go to sleep until we'd done our good deed, whatever that may be, to keeping your word to yourself is a great place to start honoring your word to God, to see your manifestations come to fruition.
and actually following through on the goodness that your life is here to create. That would be so amazing. The impact you would be able to create. Because evil and negativity both spread so easily. They will just show up at the drop of a hat. They don't need any special invitation. Evil and negativity. And that's why it spreads so easily. And also because of verse 16, like they're committed to seeing it happen, right? So we have to rise up as Christian women. We've got to start staying the course.
guarding our hearts, keeping our word, taking the action to be the change makers, to manifest the resources, the opportunities, the connections, all the things to bring glory to God through our lives. This is why when you are holding off on manifesting, you're thinking it's not such a big deal. You just didn't get something done today. I'm telling you that's a lie. That's a trap. That's a temptation because this is your mission. This is what you are a part of and your life matters and what you do matters.
which means you need to step up, stay focused and do the things you need to be doing to stay the course to manifest greatness in your life. I really, really hope you will. And I'm going to remain here committed to encouraging you, creating the content that inspires you to take the action, to manifest great things in your life because you are worth it and God has a purpose for you and to help you even more.
I know this podcast is amazing. I believe in that and it's totally free, but I also set up a free resources page on my website over at lifechangingmanifestations .com. You can go there and get three free training workshops, some meditations and more all for free. So check that out as well as the excused identity training I mentioned earlier that I think that's a great place for you to start. If that's something that's been an issue for you, grab that training so you can catch and release the excuses that are holding you back.
I wish you an amazing week and following and applying the words of wisdom out of chapter four from the book of Proverbs. Have yourself a great day. Bye bye.
