Why Mindset Work Alone Isn’t Changing Your Money Situation (And What Actually Does)

identity manifestation melissa conkling mindset Feb 18, 2026

The Frustration With Manifesting Money

You’ve repeated your affirmations. You’ve read countless manifestation books. And it feels like you’ve been working on your money mindset forever. But when you look at your bank account, it’s clear that your income is still stuck.

Some coaches will say you just don’t want it enough. Others will tell you to double down on your strategy. But…

This isn’t a motivation problem.

This isn’t a strategy problem.

This is an identity problem. Specifically, your money identity.

What is Money Identity

Your money identity is the personal story, beliefs, and feelings you have about money and they determine how all finances play out in your life. Rooted in your subconscious, your money identity dictates how you earn money, how much money you ear, how you spend, and how you save…and everything else in between. Your money identity drives your financial situation throughout your life, whether you are aware of it or not.

And if you haven’t guessed yet, it also controls your ability to manifest money.

Most money manifestation relies on choosing a dollar amount, fixating on it, and hoping it shows up in your wallet. However, if your current money identity isn’t in alignment with your goal (spoiler: if you haven’t received it, it isn’t…yet), your subconscious will repel that money because it doesn’t feel safe receiving it.

This is because you don’t manifest what you want. You manifest what feels safe.

Why Mindset Work Isn’t Enough

While money mindset work is a good starting point for shifting your money identity, it has one fundamental flaw that limits its effectiveness: it is based on conscious thought. Because your money identity is rooted in your subconscious, mindset work only reaches the tip of the iceberg.

To truly and effectively change your money identity, you need to regulate your nervous system so you feel safe with more money, to releasing limiting money beliefs, and to heal negative emotional associations with money. This can all be achieved with the powerful subconscious reprogramming that hypnosis provides. Unlike other mindset work, hypnosis activates your subconscious mind so you can rewire it to align with your new, desired money identity, layer by layer.

Where Money Beliefs Come From

Very often, money beliefs and other emotional associations with money are deeply embedded in our subconscious programming and have been lingering there unattended for a very long time. All beliefs and emotions, including those about money, live in your subconscious, which stores every experience you’ve ever had, from birth (or earlier) to the present. As a result, money beliefs can be formed from a wide variety of sources.

Most common sources for money beliefs are:

Childhood experiences and teaching about money
Cultural beliefs
Past financial experiences
Portrayals of money in the media

Many people believe these patters are passed on from general to generation, creating ancestral money patterns.

The great thing is that regardless of where - or when - they came from, one this is true for all beliefs: They are learned…and therefore, they are not permanent.

The Shift: Rewiring Money Identity

Once you understand that money patterns live at the identity and subconscious level, the work necessary to shift these beliefs begins to look different.

Instead of trying to force new results with more effort or trying to force new beliefs with more affirmations, the focus becomes changing what you feel…shifting your true emotions and beliefs about money so it feels safe and natural.

This starts with identifying the unhelpful beliefs you have about money. These often reveal themselves through our internal dialogue and things we catch ourselves saying without thought:

That little voice in your head - or out loud - may be telling you stories like:

“Money is hard to make.”
“You have to work hard to make more money.”
“Money isn’t that important.”
“More money, more problems.”
“Money is the root of all evil.”

When you zoom in on each of these stories, it’s easy to see that these are ideas are not something we were born with. They were something we learned…which means we can unlearn them!

However, identifying these beliefs is just the first step. We also need to replace each belief with a new, empowering belief, and begin embodying this new belief. Saying it and thinking it consciously isn’t enough - we need to truly believe it and feel it on an inner, subconscious level.

That’s why hypnosis and embodiment practices can make shifts to your money identity that traditional mindset work cannot. They’re reaching the part of your mind where real transformation takes place.

If you’re ready to release limiting money beliefs and step into a new money identity, on Tuesday, March 3rd, I’m hosting a live experience called Money Identity Reset.

Inside, I’ll share my 4-step process for soul-led entrepreneurs release unhelpful money beliefs without toxic positivity so they can attract and receive money in a way that feels aligned and natural.

And then, we’ll do a hypnosis session to begin reprogramming your subconscious mind to match your new money identity.

You’re not stuck. You’re just ready for a money identity upgrade.

Join the masterclass here.

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