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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?”

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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:

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

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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.
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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?

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:

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.
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​As always, remember:

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

Anthony V. Lombardo

The Identity Shifting Morning Practice

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

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