profile

You are a Conscious Creator!

You don't have 100 problems. Just one.

Published 2 months ago • 7 min read

​

​

Hey there, conscious creator!

Over the past year, I’ve received dozens of emails from people asking real, vulnerable questions about manifestation, worthiness, and becoming the version of themselves they know they’re meant to be.

Some were just beginning. Others had been meditating and visualizing for years, but still felt stuck, frustrated, or unsure why nothing seemed to shift.

This edition is a reflection of those questions — and a roadmap through the doubts, blocks, and misunderstandings that often get in the way.

So if you’ve ever found yourself wondering…

  • “Am I doing this right?”
  • “Why isn’t it working yet?”
  • “How do I actually embody the version of me I know I’m meant to be?”

You’re not alone.

Below you’ll find five of the most common questions I’ve received — along with the answers that helped the most — plus a simple framework you can start using today to release the patterns keeping you stuck and begin living in alignment with your future self.

Your Biggest Questions About Identity Shifting Answered

Real questions from real people on the journey to becoming who they’re meant to be.

1. “How hard do I need to push to change?”

“I’ve been eating clean, exercising, and doing the inner work, but I still feel stuck in the same body. Should I be cutting more, pushing harder, or is that just a limiting belief?”

Answer:

  • If you’re constantly trying to “fix” something, your energy is saying, “I’m broken.”
  • When we chase change from self-rejection, we stay stuck in the very identity we’re trying to outgrow.
  • Identity shifting starts not with intensity, but with loving acceptance of who you are right now.
  • Ask yourself: Am I trying to fix this part of me or love it into transformation?
  • Sometimes the body (or life) doesn’t shift until you stop needing it to prove your worth.

Takeaway:

You don’t need to go harder. You need to go deeper — into acceptance, into love, into the part of you that’s been waiting to feel safe enough to let go.

2. “Should I stop visualizing if it’s not working?”

“I’ve visualized this goal almost every day for months. I believe in it, and I want it more than anything. But it’s not here yet. Am I holding on too tight?”

Answer:

  • You don’t manifest by repeating the desire. You manifest by practicing being the version of you who already has it.
  • Over-visualizing can create resistance — like asking the Universe, “Are we there yet?” over and over. Worse, it subtly signals doubt to your nervous system.
  • Once you’re clear on what you want and why, it’s time to let go and begin living your life as if it’s already unfolding, even before the evidence shows up.

Takeaway:

It’s not about how many times you visualize. It’s about how deeply you trust. Let go, and let life catch up to who you’ve already decided to become.

3. “Can identity shifting really help when I’m broke?”

“I’m in a tough place financially right now. How can I shift into abundance when everything around me says I don’t have enough?”

Answer:

  • Your outer world is a mirror of your inner identity — not the other way around.
  • You can't wait until after the money shows up to feel abundant. You have to feel it now.
  • Start by noticing how you think, speak, and act. Does it reflect abundance? Or lack?
  • Gratitude, presence, and faith are not empty spiritual buzzwords—they’re powerful, energetic choices that can begin to rewire your reality.

Takeaway:

At any time, you can shift into abundance by changing your thoughts, your energy, and your way of being — even if your bank account hasn’t caught up yet.

4. “What does ‘becoming’ actually look like in real life?”

“I get the idea of identity shifting, but what does it look like in real life when someone goes from survival mode to living as their future self?”

Answer:

  • They become deeply aware of their unconscious patterns and practice catching themselves in the act, choosing a different response in real time.
  • They ask: What would the version of me I’m becoming do right now?
  • They rehearse a new state of being—practicing feeling empowered, free, confident, and joyous — even if it feels awkward at first.
  • They give themselves permission to fail, to feel silly, and to keep going anyway.

Takeaway:

Becoming your future self isn’t a dramatic leap. It’s a quiet, daily practice of no longer being who you used to be and choosing to be different—until one day, the new you feels more natural than the old one.

5. “How do I stop believing the lies I told myself as a kid?”

“I used to believe I wasn’t smart enough. That I was a joke. That people would never take me seriously. I’ve done the work, but these beliefs still live in my body. How do I change that?”

Answer:

  • The old story was never yours. It was inherited, absorbed, or created for survival.
  • Your job isn’t to hate that story. It’s to outgrow it by telling yourself a better one.
  • You can thank it for its lessons and for bringing you to this exact moment of transformation and awakening.
  • Begin by naming the faulty beliefs that still live in your nervous system. Then write the truth beside it.
  • Practice speaking, living, and choosing from this truth, not the lie — even when it feels unfamiliar.

Takeaway:

You don’t have to analyze and fix the past to become your future. You just have to stop giving your old identity the final say.

Reverse Engineer Your Path to Abundance, Confidence, and Freedom

After reflecting on these questions, one truth became unmistakably clear:

Most of us try to shift our lives by focusing on the outcome:

  • “How do I manifest abundance?”
  • “How do I become more confident?”
  • “How do I finally feel free?”

But more and more, I am seeing that the real path to embodiment starts with subtraction — not addition.

It starts by asking:

What about me needs to change in order to live that way?

So I put together a simple framework you can use today to reverse engineer your path forward in shifting your identity.
​

Step 1. Identify the version of you that no longer fits.

What patterns, beliefs, or habits are out of sync with the future you want to live?
​

Step 2. Choose one part of that identity to release.

What’s one personality trait, way of thinking, or emotional loop you’re ready to stop tolerating?
​

Step 3. Get clear on how it shows up.

Where do you see it in your language, your decisions, your relationships? What are the specific situations?

​
Step 4. Make the conscious decision to disrupt it.

Commit to noticing it in real time when it surfaces during your day — and choosing differently.

Stop the train before it leaves the station.
​

Step 5. Drop into gratitude and embodiment.

At the end of the day, ask:

  • What would it feel like if I woke up tomorrow to find that the Universe took this limitation from me and it was gone?
  • What would it actually feel like to have all my needs met?

Let This Be Enough

You don’t need to overhaul your entire life.

You don’t need to change everything at once.

You just need to stop tolerating one part of the old story — and your new identity will begin to lead the way.

Let this be a daily practice of self-honesty and self-compassion.

You’ll be surprised how this one simple practice will send ripples through your current reality — and open you to the possibilities waiting on the other side.

When You’re Ready to Go Deeper

If this stirred something in you — a knowing, a shift, or even just a quiet sense that something new is possible — trust that you’re exactly where you need to be.

That same sense is what keeps pulling me further along this path.

The questions we explored from readers earlier were the very same questions I wrestled with for years — looping through visualizations, doubting my worth, and trying to force change instead of becoming it.

That’s why I created the Identity Shifting Morning Practice — to help others navigate the same journey I’ve been on.

It’s a simple, powerful morning ritual designed to help you embody a new self-concept, shift your energy, and start manifesting from a place of true alignment.

Not by chasing outcomes — but by remembering who you came here to be… and allowing your reality to rise and meet you there.

The transformation begins the moment you draw the line — and say: I won’t tolerate anything less than who I came here to be.

// Parting Words

And finally, the wisdom that inspired the subject line of this email:

“You might think you have 100 problems. But maybe… there’s just one. And it begins with how you see yourself.”
​
— Kristina Mand-Lakhiani

With gratitude. 🙏🏻

If you have any questions or want to share some of your own insights, feel free to hit reply and let me know. I read and reply to every email.
​​
​As always, remember:

You are a Conscious Creator of your reality!
Keep creating your best self!

avl

Anthony V. Lombardo

The Identity Shifting Morning Practice

The Art & Business of Conscious Creativity
Listen To My Meditations on Substack

P.S. To make sure you keep getting these emails, please add anthony@anthonyvlombardo.com to your contacts.

Gmail users, don't forget to move this email out of your "Promotions" and into "Primary"

You are a Conscious Creator!

Anthony V. Lombardo

Inspiration and wisdom to help you navigate your path and consciously create a life of meaning, purpose, and one that you absolutely love.

Read more from You are a Conscious Creator!

Hey there, conscious creator! I’m writing this after a few beautiful days traveling through the California coast and just before I head off to Hawaii. While I’m technically on a little break, I wanted to share a short passage I wrote this morning to remind myself (and maybe you, too) that no matter what’s unfolding in life, there’s still so much to live for. I hope it stirs something true and alive in you. 👇 There Is So Much To Live For Some mornings, I wake before the sun and feel like I’ve...

22 days ago • 3 min read

Hey there, conscious creator! Ever notice how the moment you say you want something more… life tests you? It throws resistance at your feet. Doubt in your mind. Delay on your path. But when it does, the real question isn't "Why is this happening?" It's "Who do I need to become?" You see, when life pushes back, most people take that as a sign to back off. But those who keep going and hold steady in their belief? They’re the ones reality eventually moves for. This week, I offer you something...

about 1 month ago • 6 min read

Hey there, conscious creator! If you’re standing at a threshold right now—wondering what’s next, what’s right, or what’s real… Pause. Not everything that feels unclear is confusion. Sometimes, what we call confusion is actually your soul whispering while your mind refuses to let go of control. The more we try to think our way out of our situation, the more lost we ultimately feel. Because the real shift doesn’t come through louder thinking—it comes through softer listening. That’s why, this...

about 2 months ago • 4 min read