Episode 2: Manifesting with Intention – Goals that Actually Feel Good

In this episode, Kate discusses the importance of manifesting with intention and setting goals that align with one's true desires. She emphasizes the need to break free from societal pressures and 'should' goals, advocating for a more authentic approach to goal setting. Kate provides practical steps for listeners to tune into their true wants, create supportive environments, and take inspired actions towards their goals. Through personal anecdotes, she illustrates how aligned goals can lead to sustainable success and fulfillment.

Chapters
00:00 Manifesting with Intention
06:01 Setting Aligned Goals
11:36 Creating a Supportive Environment
17:55 Real-Life Examples of Aligned Goals

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

Transcript

Kate (00:02.35)
Hello, hello. So happy to be with all of you. All right, today we are gonna be talking about manifesting with intention and working towards goals that actually feel good. In the last episode, in my last episode, I shared my journey into alignment and authentic living, which is a continued journey. It's always happening. But today I wanna build on

all of that work that we had talked about in the last episode by talking about how alignment, being in alignment with yourself, how that actually shapes the goals that we set and why this is really important. Because how we create those goals that feel good is something that is done with intention by being aligned instead of ones that we just like are checking the boxes.

someone else has set or maybe that aren't actually doing anything for us but we're just doing them out of not questioning what we've been working towards for so long. There is this like trap that so many of us know about. I know you know about this trap of shoulds, the should goals, right? It's way too easy, way too easy today for people to set goals based on comparison, based on pressure that other people may be placing on you, based on what look good.

what looks good on paper. raising two teenagers, it's really like in front of me all the time as they're figuring out who they are, what sources they're looking to to see whether or not they're on track or exceeding expectation. Right, so it's way too easy to set goals based on outside appearances. I was thinking about this the other day about so many things that we do in life, which some people could call goals. It's kind of our objectives or what we work towards.

You know, get a job, get a bonus, get a promotion, retire, or find a partner, get married, find a home, have kids, travel, not too much travel, because you gotta save for retirement. But when should you retire, and what should you do when you retire? Like who said those should be the majority of the world's goals? Who decided that? But when we're setting those goals,

Kate (02:24.599)
It's not like there's something wrong with us, right? It's just natural human nature that we learn from watching those around us. So a lot of the goals people set are based on watching their own families, different generations, their parents. It could be looking at social media nowadays, the news, movies, TV. All of this noise is really coming at us from all different directions, and it's no wonder.

So many people feel so disconnected from themselves and from what they actually want and desire. Like so many adults that I talk to all the time when we get down to what do you want? Like what do you want? What do you want out of life? They don't know. They can't tell me. It's not on the tip of their tongue. It's not something that they are always thinking about or that they're obsessed with. So like a big fancy word that's been used a lot.

Over the last couple years, manifestation, you know, there's a misconception that manifestation is like a nice word. It feels good. It's about vision boards and positive vibes. And to me now it's kind of funny and laughable to look at it that way because those things don't move the needle. They don't change your life. To me, manifestation is about having clarity, having intention.

taking inspired action. That is manifestation. So manifestation is really about deciding what you want for yourself. Deciding how you're going to create that reality for yourself. And then showing up in the energy of that goal already being realized. Like just knowing it's locked in. You're show up consistently in the energy of that

desired outcome or goal being achieved. Our thoughts and our words are some of the most powerful manifesting tools that we have. This is why we need to be the ones who are in control of our thoughts. We need to control our words because they can change your reality. They can change your world. They can change the world around you 100%. So why not use those to your own benefit?

Kate (04:47.06)
as opposed to just letting them default to whatever's automatically coming out. So I want you to think about what makes a goal feel good. There is a difference. I'm sure many of you have known when there's goals you've had in your life and they felt good, they felt thrilling, they gave you butterflies, they made you feel like you were kind of floating, and then there's the ones that feel heavy, like a burden, almost like a weight that you have to carry. There's a reason why those feel different.

And it's because when you have aligned goals, that means that those goals, you've taken the time to make sure that your goals connect to your values and they connect to your deeper meaning, your deeper purpose, your deeper why. You've given some thought to them, so that's why they feel so good.

When you set goals that are aligned, even on the hard days, there's enough there to keep pulling you forward, to keep moving you, even if it's a little itty bitty step. When it is aligned with a deeper meaning, you will make sure you get it done no matter what. You will find a way, right? And so when I was thinking about this episode, I was thinking, how do we set goals with intention?

like giving you kind of like a, what would you call it? Like some practical steps, like a framework that you could follow. And so these are very high level steps that I pulled together for this podcast, but I know that they will help you. I know they'll make a difference. So the first one, tune into what you really want. Tune into what you really want. So that means blocking out the noise, whatever that means for you. If that means a

finding yourself some time at a coffee shop by yourself if you have to get out of your house because there's people there, kids there, whatever, distractions. whether it's being in a room or outside, anywhere where you can have no disruptions and you can focus. I love to put on some soft, like musical jazz and sometimes light a candle depending on the season, have a glass of water beside me, and then I just zone in.

Kate (07:02.474)
Okay, but it's about what do you really want asking yourself, sitting with that question, what do I really want? And then the second part of that is really how do I want to feel? How do I want to feel? I laugh when I read these things because I love them, but some people might think they're a little wooey, but you know, time is just an illusion. But for the purpose of the way our brain works, if you're like, okay, well,

If I want to think about how I want to feel with this goal, I need some sort of framework. it's like, imagine it's a year from now. It's a month from now. Imagine it's a year from now or five years from now. How do you want to feel at that time? How do you want to feel if your goal's achieved once your goal's achieved? So then the next step is to choose goals that move you towards that bigger vision, that bigger like,

vision of what you want your life to look like and how you want to feel. So as soon as you know how you want to feel at the end of that goal, it kind of gives you all the details you need. And the reason why this is important is that once you have a bigger vision, like kind of a bigger why, a bigger something that you're working towards, you know what direction to go. But I want you to make sure that it's a direction towards passion, desire, what you actually want versus

A goal that is to get away from a fear. Fear is not going to inspire you long enough through the hard, through the challenging times. Fear, doubt, lack, worry, those are not going to take you very far. So you really want the driver of your goal to be that vision of what you desire, what you want. Okay. I'll give you an example. Instead of saying I should really save money so I'm not broke when I retire or I should really start saving money.

so that I can go on that trip or I should travel. Instead, it would be something like, I really wanna feel secure, abundant, confident, knowledgeable, and spacious with my finances. It's the feeling you wanna have when it comes to your finances. So I want you to think about that as how you wanna feel once the school is achieved.

Kate (09:23.731)
because that is going to give you the direction, that is kind of your compass to know whether you're on track or not. So then, when we actually have that goal stated, we know what it is that we want, we've done the time to think and reflect, and this is something you're always working on, it's not a one and done, but it's just getting you started, right? Then, excuse me, the practical manifestation process is going to be

something like this. First, you're gonna get the clarity by writing down very clearly your vision that you have. So if you're talking about a goal, whether it is to say like myself, if you want to write a book, if your clarity is around how you wanna feel when you've finished writing your first book or you've finished writing your next book, you're write down very clearly what that final vision looks like, feels like.

Sounds like you want to get all of the details because they were they will all inform you of what you need to do to get there to make it a reality and Then the next thing you want to do is you want to create an environment that supports and encourages you achieving that outcome So right now imagine you're being bombarded with information from all over good bad Otherwise, it's just a lot of information that you're gonna respond to react to

want to talk about, it could have you focusing on something like something worrisome, or if there's dramatic people around you all the time, you're always stressed out about their drama. I want you to create an environment that is full of cues and reminders of what's possible for you, that your desired outcome, your vision is so certainly yours, that it's just a matter of time of you taking these intention actions that it's gonna happen.

What has an imprint on our belief system is whether something creates an emotional impact or whether something is repeated enough times. Our brain kind of goes to those two things, emotional impact and repetition. They must be true. So if that's the case, let's use that to our benefit. You want that repetition to be of things that serve the outcome you want. So you want to bombard yourself with reminders of what's possible and what you're working towards.

Kate (11:47.258)
and how amazing you are and celebrating yourself and all of the steps towards it. And then at the same time, something that I love to do, I'm constantly looking for sparks. So if you see somebody and they're wearing shoes that you love, some people would tell me, have comparison. Whenever I see somebody in something I like or driving a car, it just makes me feel bad about myself. That's the wrong way to look at it. That is you getting a little hint of something that's coming for you.

So instead you say thank you for showing me that thing that's coming my way. So these reflections, I'm always looking around at like different things that spark me, that make me feel enthusiasm, that make me get a little bit of butterflies, and then I bring that back to my bigger vision and I see do they align? How do they fit together? How does that little spark build on the bigger picture? And if it doesn't, then I add it in. Or if it feels even more important or special to me than something else I had down, then it replaces it.

It's like you're fine tuning your vision based on who you really are and what you really crave.

So then the final step that you're gonna do is you're gonna take action, inspired action based on this awareness that you know what you want, you know that it's for you, and you know everything about that environment and your future vision, so it's just taking it one piece at a time. Okay, what is the first next step that I know to do? And maybe it's reaching out to someone who's done what you want before, or maybe it's doing some research on

the first step of what you need to do. So for example, when it came to me writing my book, this is where it was a really aligned goal. So I knew I had been wanting to write a book forever since I was as young as I can remember. And I have been keeping all of these little notes in my phone, the little notepad part of your iPhone. I don't know what called. I think it's notes. And I would, anytime I had a spark or an idea towards my book, just drop them in there.

Kate (13:50.799)
I'm better at organizing that now because it was just a mess. once I knew, what do I want? I want to write my book. I want to get it into the physical world. I want to just be able to say, I wrote it. And then it's like, how do I want to feel? I want to feel proud of myself. I want to feel like, like all of the things that I've gone through were for a reason. I want to feel like I'm proud of myself because I learned so much through this process.

just kept looking in with that vision, right? And then I spoke it into real life. I told people who I knew and trusted, people who were encouraging my goal, who had either been there, done it before, or they were working towards a similar goal, I don't just tell anybody, right? Your baby goals are too fragile. You can't just hand them to anybody if you don't know how they're gonna react. So I told those people. And then with that clear intention in telling those people, it was like everything after that,

I had set the goal, I was gonna have my book, I started I think in January, I was gonna have my book self-published by May. So by working that back, I knew how much I had to get done each day in order to get that first draft done and then whatever, I figured out how long the next step takes and then designing a cover. And with every like, okay, what's the next step? Then I had to do research, how do you do that next step? But because the goal felt so good,

Because I knew what the end would be and because I knew I wanted to see the mastermind the people in my group's faces when I said I did it and I wanted to like I was just envisioning all those pieces I like I was sticking to my schedule of how much I was gonna write every day how many chapters and nobody had to force me nobody had to push me never felt heavy because There was no resistance. I just knew this is what I wanted to do And if there was parts of the journey like this is how you have to do a cover book

Well, I don't want to do a cover book that way or the cover of my book that way. OK, well, if that's true, then how can I do it the way I want? I was always solutioning and adjusting my goal as it went. As I learned more, I could make more clear decisions. So this is about having a goal that's aligned and it happens and I hit my target. I'm so proud of that book. I actually had the book launch in August after I had self published it in May and.

Kate (16:16.069)
When you self-publish, the nice thing is you can make tweaks and edits to it going forward, and then you just wait a couple days for the updates to be made. So it's not that it had to be perfect, but it's pretty darn perfect to me being my first. Very proud of it. So that end reflection is just saying, okay, am I still on the right path? Am I still on that right path? Is there anything that I need to adjust? Which is A-okay. Doesn't mean you're flip-floppy. Doesn't mean you change your mind. Just means as you know better, you do better. Right? It's clarity.

So another aligned goal I wanted to share with you where I applied this. One was, I said, I think it was two years ago. This is right now, it's 2005. This was about 2003. I set the goal that I was going to release approximately 50 pounds before going through with a breast reduction surgery, something that I had craved since I was 18 years old. I went and talked to doctors. They thought I should wait til after children. All this stuff. I had literally wanted this for so long.

And the reason I picked the releasing 50 pounds approximately before having the surgery was because I knew that I wanted to feel my best. I wanted to have energy. I wanted to have a healthy surgery. I didn't want there to be any complications. I knew that I would have a smooth recovery the better the conditioning I was in. And I also know that some people who have surgeries like that, if you're not healthy and if you're not doing the work,

then that weight that you have, especially for something like a breast reduction, they could come back. Imagine going through that surgery, pain, and then having them come back, I couldn't imagine. That was another strong emotion of like, you're gonna do this so that you have the right healthy habits, so that when you have the surgery, you will be able to maintain that healthy body with these cute new boobs. And so it was just like, I was so aligned.

I was able to release the 50 pounds I had set this goal around end of August early September and my goal that I'd set right off the hop was to have the surgery by May I believe and so I gave myself about eight months and the funny thing about this was When I'm telling people to do goals, I'm not saying like a goal something you've already done It's not really a goal. It's a goal, but it's not the kind of goal I want to help you with then there's the I haven't done it before but I know I can do it I know how to do it

Kate (18:40.556)
Also good, but not like the kind of goals I want to work with you on. The third kind is I have no idea how this is possible. I've never done it before. I haven't seen anyone else do it, but I want it. And so that to me is a very, very enticing goal, which is going to energize you. And so when I set this goal, 50 pounds, eight months, breast reduction surgery, all within that time, that was fine. A lot of people might go, whoa, 50 pounds in eight months. I don't know. That's challenging.

didn't even cross my mind because I went to the doctor to have all these assessments and talks. And they said before the pandemic, know, Kate, whenever you're ready, it's about two months wait. So do you just let me know? So this was a couple months after the pandemic. They're like, it's a three year, three year wait where I live. So I was like, that's not going to do. I am not changing my goal. I am having this surgery by May. And that is another story for another episode, but I'm telling you.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I was two weeks off the date that I set for my goal, not that I'm complaining or worried about missing it by two weeks. I released the 50 pounds and I got the breast reduction surgery and it was the best thing I've ever done. Best thing I've ever done. I love it so much. Every day, every day in the mirror, I'm just so happy. I'm dancing around telling everybody, look at it, it's so cute. I'm so happy, no back pain. So again, that's for another episode, but I did it and it was energized from the beginning to the end and I wanted to release weight for all different reasons all the time.

for so many years leading up to that and I never followed through because there was nothing pulling me forward. There's nothing, there's no why. There was no reason, there was no alignment. So then if you have goals that aren't aligned, like I thought that I would want to become a personal trainer because I loved personal training for myself, like I love training. And so I thought, well, that makes sense goal. So I went and got the schooling. I did everything it takes to tell you guys once I commit to something, I do it, got the clients.

And I wasn't happy, I wasn't fulfilled. And after a year, I believe it was about a year, and I didn't want to let down those clients because I loved them, I adored them, but I knew it wasn't for me. It wasn't that, so I pivoted. But do you know how many times having that background has helped me with my own health goals or with my own business right now of supporting and guiding others, that personal training experience? Everything taught me to be better where I'm at.

Kate (21:06.744)
So it's not that something was wrong, it was just I had redirected as soon as I realized I was out of alignment. So you can pivot, you can adjust. But if you're not in alignment, it's gonna feel like a lot of work. It's gonna feel heavy, like a burden, a should, like a have to. And I don't want that for any of you. Okay, so you don't need to do it all. Your goals can be soulful and ambitious. And

When you're intentional, success feels more sustainable and more meaningful. It feels easier, okay, when you're intentional and when you're aligned. Success feels more sustainable. So before I wrap up, I wanna leave you with a couple ideas to ponder when you think about your own goals, okay? First, what's one goal on your list right now that feels more like a should?

than you actually want. So it feels more like a should than something that you actually want. I know that you've got some of these on your goal lists. And the beautiful thing, chuck it off. Just make your life easier. If it isn't lighting you up, take it off. There's no rule of fall, nobody coming around going, hey, you set that goal, you better achieve it, you better do it, no matter what. If it's a should and not a I get to, then you take that off, okay? The second thing I want you to ponder.

Is my goal something I've already done or something I know how to do? And if so, how can I adjust or tweak it slightly so that it becomes a goal that I haven't the slightest clue how to achieve or that it's even possible? And watch how your energy changes when it's something that you know you have to become a different person to achieve. So ask yourself that. All right, ask yourself.

Is this goal something I've already done or something I already know how to do or I know I can do? And then see if you can tweak it and just a little tweak to give it that little energy boost that you need to see it through. And the last thing I want to say, I want you to think about, ask yourself, how do I want to feel this season? Whatever season it is that you're listening to this episode, how do I want to feel in this season? And then look at whether your current goals

Kate (23:34.183)
line up with that feeling. Are the things you're working on or focused on right now, are they bringing you closer to that goal?

closer to that feeling or are they pulling you away from it?

something to think about. All right? I would love to hear from you. Share one intention or goal that feels good for you right now. You can tag me on social, literally, because this is what you do when you're all basically a solo, small business owner. You try to be everywhere. I'm on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, you name it. I'm there. Find me, tag me because...

or send me a DM on any of them because I want to celebrate that goal with you. I want to be part of the journey because to me it's more about who you become in realizing your goals versus the outcome. And if this episode sparks something for you, the best way that you can show support is by sharing it with a friend, this episode with a friend who would love it too, or posting it to your stories, or...

anywhere so that more people can find these conversations and become part of them with us. And then finally, take one small action this week towards that intention that you've set, towards that goal that you've set. It doesn't have to be big, it just has to be intentional. Because those small steps, even when you don't realize it, you just keep...

Kate (25:09.385)
You just keep your head down, keep doing what you know you gotta do. It compounds over time. And then when you least expect it and you're looking around, you're gonna see that those small, intentional, inspired actions turn your vision into something real that you can feel. And you will look back so proud of yourself. All right, thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Bye.