Trick Your Cells!
Today I want to talk about the art of manifestation…or simply getting what you want! And I want to share the method I’ve “created” to master this concept!
I call it tricking your cells. (Pronounced Trick Ya Cells if you really want to feel it.) A little disclaimer: you will learn that this is simply a play on words. I do not have an extensive background in science; I really have no business even using the word cell in any context, nor do I mean any offense to anyone suffering from anything cell-related. Just a silly phrase I've been using, and wanted to share, in case it resonates with you too!
I’ve been studying manifestation, visualization, the law of attraction, etc. for years. And if I had to sum up one main theme that has stuck with me, it would be this: change your internal world, and your external world will follow.
Studies have shown that the human brain has a (usually helpful) flaw in which it basically cannot distinguish fact from fiction, in terms of actual experiences vs. imagined. Perhaps you’ve experienced this in the negative sense, where you’ve stressed out or worried about something so much that you basically experienced the feelings of it happening in your body without it ever having actually have happened! Well the good news is, it works in the positive sense as well, and can change yo life! The more you tell your brain what’s happening through your feelings, real or not, the more your brain will shift to make your outer world match your inner world. #thoughtsbecomethings
How I Started Making Things Happen
This summer, I was in a rut. My life was starting to feel like a monotonous routine, and for some reason negative emotions were greatly outweighing the positive. I remember sitting on my couch telling my husband that I was just stuck. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt upbeat, or the last time I had felt like I was even having fun! I was unloading all of these thoughts on my (poor, dear) husband. “Remember what summer felt like as a kid?” I told him I needed something to “jolt” me into a better place. “I would love to feel…exhilarated! Like the way you felt as a kid running through the sprinkler! When is the last time as an adult that you felt that level of exhilaration?”
I looked at my husband with “that crazy look in my eye." I had a brilliant idea. Something dawned on me. I blurted out, “I want you to spray me with the hose.” He gave me a look, but my husband is always a willing participant in most of my experiments, if only for the guaranteed comic material. “I’m serious. Spray me with the hose! Maybe even unexpectedly!” I felt like I was asleep at the wheel of my life, and need to feel alive!
I knew that even brief moments of the right emotions could be a catalyst and could create momentum in any direction. And I knew that I had the ability, as we all do, to create the catalyst on my own, out of thin air, if I needed to.
“Tricking Your Cells”
I started using this silly phrase as a visual aid for myself. I was trying to master the concept of making my external world reflect my internal world. For me, I felt like I could grasp the thought that my cells cannot see outside of my body (in my head, anyway. If you’re a scientist, don’t even share your disputes with me. ;) ), and I could “trick” them into thinking…basically anything! I could create a feeling without there being any outside “proof.” I could conjure up the feelings of both a freaking 80s dance party and an epic $&#%storm, right from my living room couch.
So what? Ain’t nobody got time to sit and live in a fantasy world all day. The purpose is that your feelings will inspire action. And whether you believe it or not, your external world will start to reflect your internal world. When you repeatedly spend time in a certain emotion, it will create a new groove or pathway in your brain, and your brain will get used to it and make it your reality! Now my husband and I are always telling each other, “Trick Ya Cells!” when we need a little jolt.
So he sprayed me (and the kids) with a hose. And I felt exhilarated! Instead of experiencing the broken record of the same hum-drum thoughts and feelings day in & day out, my system got a little shock of something new! It happened to be freezing cold water, and I happened to have decided it was awesome vs. terrible. I could’ve interpreted it either way. In fact, there have been days since that I’ve been in a sour mood and my husband has literally asked, “Want me to spray you with the hose?” and had he actually gone through with it, it wouldn’t have ended well. Haha. The point is, I got the jolt I needed, and I totally ran with it. Let me count the ways.
My fellow Minnesotans will understand how vital it is to be happy in the summer and do all the summer things! We only have (less than) three months to savor the sun and cram in as much outdoor fun as possible! I remember laughing to my book club that I was moping around about the fact that I hadn’t even been swimming or on a lake yet that summer…yet I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to locate a beach bag, towel, etc. if I got the opportunity! My “cells” were definitely not foreseeing any Baywatch beach-frolicking moments.
Trick ya cells. I literally worked from home an entire day in my swimsuit. Swear to God. I hadn’t even put the thing on in forever! I decided I was going to get used to the feeling of being at the beach. Guess what happened. There’s possibly no way to prove it, but proof or not, under oath I could say that later that very same day I got a text from a friend I hadn’t heard from in a long time (ten months to be exact) saying that she and her kids just decided to go to the beach that day if I cared to join! Boom.
I’ve even tricked my cells into enjoying a workout! I've told myself that I need to “prepare” for being floor level front row at a Taylor Swift concert. Tada! Suddenly the curse of cardio is simply a sweat session to prep for #livingmybestlife. I can attach the “pain” of pushing myself physically to something that might feel the same but would be fun! Trust me. I would work it SO hard on that stadium floor. ;)
In her book “The 5 Second Rule,” Mel Robbins talks about how she has used this same concept to effectively cope with anxiety. Robbins mentions that there’s “no chemical difference between feeling excited and anxious.” I have used this multiple times. At the first onset of anxious feelings, I have been able to “trick my cells” into thinking that I’m actually excited about something vs. anxious or nervous. It has honestly worked for me! I encourage you to give it a try the next time you’re experiencing anxiety.
A Catalyst, not an End-All
In conclusion, you control more of your reality than you may think. And by that I mean…your feelings can work as a magnetic force to bring you closer to where you want to be in life! And your feelings are created through your thoughts. So mind your thoughts, and practice feeling the feelings you would feel if you were living your absolute best life, whatever that means!
I’m not going to go into (anymore) great detail on this, as I could go on forever! If you coach with me, you can experience your own cell-tricking sesh and perfect the practice! But I do want to clarify one last bit. I’m not suggesting that we start to manufacture our fun in an artificial way. For example, “At 10:00, I will be sprayed by a hose. Then I will eat cotton candy and pretend I am at Disney World.” :D What I’m saying is that when you need to start somewhere to get going in the right direction, you have the tools to do so in your own mind! And you can use those tools as a catalyst to start gaining momentum. To start opening up more opportunities for yourself. To start taking inspired action!
I happen to have a great imagination. But I still can’t always get there in my mind, and need some little actual physical intervention. (You’re like I swear if she mentions a garden hose one more time…) but it is the perfect example. ;) I happen to be a person who for YEARS has been writing down my goals in the present tense, as if they’ve already been accomplished. (More to come on this in the future!) I highly encourage doing this, and setting aside the time to #feelthefeels of already having what you want! Make the time to Groove Yo Brain. Shoot. Now I kind of like Groove Your Brain better than Trick Your Cells. Consider them both trademarked. ;)
Bottom line, whatever you want in life, you’re really after the feeling that outcome is going to bring you. So start feeling the feeling now!! Contact me with any questions, comments, or for guidance in this process! Or, for $20 (this is a business, people), my husband will show up at your house with a hose anytime to get you going. ;) ;)
Comment below with your personal stories! I’d love to hear how you’ve owned this skill!!
I’m current tricking my cells with the feelings I’m going to experience when I get asked to speak at Rachel Hollis’ RISE conference this summer. Whether that means giving a keynote, introducing a speaker, or announcing that I lost my credit card somewhere, I’ll send you pictures from the stage. I’m already planning out my outfit. :)