Why Manifesting Isn’t Working (and What Your Limiting Beliefs Have to Do With It)

Sarah Arkell
Jun 17
5 min read

Why Manifesting Isn’t Working (and What Your Limiting Beliefs Have to Do With It)

🧠✨ How to stop sabotaging your own magic and start manifesting in true alignment

You’re doing all the things.

You’ve made the vision board, whispered affirmations like a manifesting witch over your morning coffee, and tried your absolute hardest to stay “high vibe” even when life is throwing you back-to-back curveballs.

And yet… nothing’s shifting.

If you’ve ever looked around and thought,

“Why is manifesting working for everyone else but not me?” —

this is for you, gorgeous.

Because here’s what most people don’t tell you:

It’s not that the Universe is ignoring you.

It’s that your subconscious beliefs are sending out a completely different signal than the one you think you’re transmitting.

Let’s unpack why your manifestations might be stuck in energetic limbo — and how to actually shift them for good.

🎥 Prefer to listen/watch? Catch the full episode on YouTube here:

👉 How Limiting Beliefs Are Quietly Blocking Your Desires

🚫 You Don’t Manifest What You Want — You Manifest What You

Believe

Let’s rip the bandaid off early:

You manifest what you believe you’re allowed to have.

You might say you’re calling in abundance, love, visibility, or a business that booms with aligned clients…

But if deep down your inner voice is muttering:

“I’m not worthy of abundance.”
“People like me don’t get that kind of success.”
“Love always ends in pain.”

…that’s the signal the Universe is responding to.

That’s also what your brain is looking for — evidence that supports that belief.

When I first launched The Intention House, I did every manifesting ritual under the sun. I journaled until my hand cramped. I recited affirmations in the mirror. I had crystals in my bra and sticky notes on every damn mirror.

But behind it all?

I was terrified people wouldn’t see the value in what I offered.

And the result?

👉 Crickets.

And a truckload of self-doubt.

Like Carl Jung said:

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life — and you will call it fate.”

🧠 Let’s Talk Brain Science (Because Neuroscience is Magic)

Your brain is a pattern-making machine. It’s constantly wiring and reinforcing beliefs based on repetition and emotion.

So if you grew up around messages like:

“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
“Don’t be too loud.”
“Love means self-sacrifice.”

Your brain locked that in.

It filed those thoughts away under:

📁 “Safety Protocol: Don’t Try Anything New or You’ll Die.”

This is neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to rewire based on experience. And unfortunately, it works whether you’re programming it consciously or not.

Here’s the good news:

You can retrain your brain.

You can rewrite those beliefs.

You can build new neural pathways that say:

💬 “I’m worthy of being seen.”

💬 “I can be supported without overgiving.”

💬 “It’s safe to receive abundance.”

It starts with awareness + repetition.

😖 Why Changing Beliefs Feels Awkward, Uncomfortable and Just… UGH

Here’s what nobody tells you about manifestation:

Rewiring your beliefs feels weird.

Sometimes it feels like your nervous system is throwing a full-body tantrum.

That’s not failure — that’s biology.

Your brain equates familiar = safe.

So the moment you start setting boundaries, raising your rates, or not picking up the phone to your drama queen friend for the 50th time, your body might scream:

“Danger! Retreat! Go back to overgiving and self-abandonment! At least we know that!”

But that discomfort?

That twitchy, awkward resistance?

That’s not a sign you’re doing it wrong.

That’s a sign you’re doing something new.

And that’s where the magic starts.

I used to feel physically sick saying no to people.

My subconscious belief was:

“If I set boundaries, people won’t like me.”

But the truth was — every time I said yes to them, I was saying no to myself.

So I started small:

One boundary.
One paused moment to reframe a thought.
One reminder that my needs matter too.

And I’d say to my inner critic, “Thanks for the warning, but I’m doing this anyway.”

That’s the shift.

Not bypassing the belief — but interrupting it.

💡 A Practical Way to Start Rewiring Your Limiting Beliefs Today

Let’s keep it simple. Here’s a 3-step pattern interrupt to shift your limiting beliefs:

✨ Step 1: Spot the Sneaky Belief

Ask yourself:

“What do I actually believe about money/love/success?”

Go beneath the surface. The answer is often quieter than you think.

✨ Step 2: Flip It — Gently

Don’t force a “perfect” belief. Just choose one that’s 1% more empowering.

Try:

“I’m learning to trust that money is meant for me.”
“It’s safe to be seen by the right people.”
“I don’t need to bend like a pretzel to be loved.”
“I can be loved and honour myself at the same time.”

✨ Step 3: Take Aligned Action

Back the new belief with one small action.

That might look like:

Saying “no” when you usually say yes.
Leaving the message on “read” (without guilt).
Charging what your time is worth.
Taking the nap instead of proving your productivity.

The more you act in alignment with the belief you want to have, the more your nervous system catches up — and the faster you start manifesting from a space of worth, not wounding.