The What-If Game
Do you ever play the what-if game? For example, what if I was born into another family? Or I was born in another country? What if I was homeless? Or I lost everything I owned? What if I said something different? What if we had not gotten married? Or I had not gotten divorced? Or I didn’t get the dream job? What if I do not go on that trip? I mean, really, the what-if game is just that—a game!
Playing What-If When I Was Younger
When I was in my twenties and going to casting auditions, I would go through a series of these questions on my drive from Laguna Hills to Hollywood (this was before I moved to North Hollywood). I was commuting to auditions and had a lot of time to be in my head.
This was in the eighties when there were not a lot of distractions besides the radio: KISS FM. So I would play the what-if game a lot. I would go from What if I choke on my audition? What if I get the job and become super famous? I was daydreaming and playing what-if on the hour-plus drive each way, and I had way too much time to obsess over things.
This was before I really learned about self-help programs. It would have been so useful to play a CD of Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins for those long drives, but I had not hit that awareness level yet. I was twenty-one years old and just getting started.
Leaving What-Ifs Behind
Today, I realize that the what-if game is not useful in moving forward. It just keeps me in the past reliving what I could have done differently or should have said. I believe that everything that I have experienced, starting with the family I was born into, has happened for a reason. There is a purpose to discover.
Looking back on my life, it is interesting to see some patterns that I have formed and people who have come in and out of my life, some of whom I completely manifested. I would say things like, “I really want to meet that person” and then, sure enough, somewhere on my journey, I was in proximity to that person and we met. I did not realize this in my twenties though.
In my thirties, I got a glimpse of this belief system, and in my forties, I had a midlife crisis. But now that I’m in my fifties, I am finally seeing things more clearly. I am not sure why that is or if this is just my journey, but all of sudden, things seem clear and obvious.
Manifesting Instead Of What-Iffing
Yesterday, I was thinking about how, when I was married to my “Wasband,” I had a PO Box in Beverly Hills on Maple Drive. We lived ten minutes away from there, and we would get our mail at that PO Box. Back then, we were both getting fan mail and residual checks. We had a running joke (and a competition of sorts) about picking up our checks—and guess what? Sure enough, we would have some sort of check or money waiting for us! Sometimes it would just be from a fan who put five dollars in an envelope to pay for something they wanted us to send to them.
The point is, we were manifesting this result, without knowing it, by having a positive outlook and making a fun game out of it. I am not sure why that memory popped up for me, but I enjoyed remembering a positive idea that we had without even knowing we were doing it.
Intention Setting Before What-If Guessing
I believe in the power of setting strong intentions and then living as if you already have what you want. The what-if game has taken a backseat to the power of manifesting positive results in my life. Once in a while, I fall back into that old thought pattern, but for the most part, I direct my thoughts and intentions exactly to where I want them to go.
What if I did this every day? LOL. It could possibly work… Ha! It does work!
The best example is when you are thinking about someone who you have not thought about in a while and then they call or send you a message or you read something about them. Most often you will say, “I was just thinking about you!” That is Energy!
What we focus on is what we get. Stay present and trust the process.
