Does Manifesting Work? The Real Answer

You want a better life, you know there is more out there for you. You want a more abundant life so severely you can feel it in your bones. There’s more out there for you, and you’re going after it.

You love being a mom, you’re so grateful for everything you have. Your kids, your husband, your home, but you still want more. You can’t shake the feeling that there is more out there for you and want it.

You want freedom, you want your time back. You want to wake up each morning and be excited for the day.

You want to have time to make dinner, you want the freedom to take a day off for your kids.

You’ve dabbled in self-help books to stay motivated, and once in a while, you come across the topic of manifesting. Attract your dream life by controlling your thoughts. Is manifesting real?

Does manifesting work? One of the most common questions people ask when they hear about Manifestation. Many people don’t understand Manifestation or think they must work hard to achieve their dream. 

Here’s the shortest possible answer to this question: Manifestation works.

The practice of Manifestation has been resented over the last few years, especially as people have been looking for ways to change their mindset. 

The world went through some serious ups and downs during the pandemic, and mental health concerns skyrocketed.

The last two years were tough. And that is putting it nicely. So society turned to self-help books, blogs, and anything that spoke to changing the negative narrative that enveloped many of us during this time.

The idea that you could change your life just by thinking differently and visualizing the things you want to be a part of your life became just as important as brushing your teeth. 

Manifestation (the idea that if you think it, it will come) is something many people credit for their success, happiness, and fame. But does it work?

What is Manifestation Exactly?

Manifestation is the process of thinking, speaking, and believing what you desire. Your dream job? You’re sitting in that office right now. Your dream car? You’re driving to the grocery store. That book? It’s on the New York Times best-seller list.

It’s the belief that what you put into the Universe will return to you ten-fold.

If you think negatively, negativity will come back to you. If you believe you can’t catch a break, you won’t. If you feel you never have the same opportunities as others, you will always be running to catch up.

It is about training yourself to look for the good in all you face. Because even in the bad and ugly, there can be opportunities waiting to present themselves to you as long as you believe that there is always something positive that comes out of something negative. 

Does Manifestation Work for Anyone?

Manifestation can work for anyone, although there are critics of this activity.

Some think the practice of Manifestation is a “new age” and leads to complacency. The idea that you are thinking something into fruition without understanding the actions needed to make that dream a reality leads people to live in a world of wishful thinking.

Disappointment settles in because you didn’t lose the weight you thought you would, or you got a low grade on your exam even though you believed you would get an A+.

People fail to realize that Manifestation does not come without putting in the work to obtain your goals.

Positive thinking allows you to let go of limiting beliefs. When you let go of limiting beliefs, your subconscious and conscious minds begin to send clear messages to your brain, opening thoughts, ideas, and intuitions that are blocked due to negativity.

The Law of Attraction

The basis of Manifestation is the Universal laws. The Law of Attraction. The Law of Divine Oneness. The Law of Relativity.

Although not backed by scientific evidence, many people believe in the power of Universal laws and that they influence the good in their lives. 

For example, the Law of attraction (the belief that like attracts like) is one of the most talked-about Universal Laws. 

When your mindset is open to attracting the things you want in life, you begin to encounter people with the same mindset as yours.

You begin to see opportunities present themselves that you never thought would be available to you. You start maniftesting to feel good about yourself and the world around you.

 So yes, there are critics who think that Manifestation can be a detriment, especially when people fail to understand that there is also a physical action that accompanies the dreams and goals you want to manifest.

Even in Rhonda Byrne’s book The Secret, the contributors to the book (all of whom speak highly of the process of the Secret) tell of the work involved with manifesting your dreams and goals. They all do things to keep their vibrational energies high and optimistic about achieving what they want.

Tips to get Manifestation to Work for You

Set your goals

The first step is to get clear about what you want and what your goals are. Very clear.

Being vague in your goals will not help you achieve them. It would help if you were specific. If you want to make more money, write down how much more. 

Do you want to meet the partner of your dreams? Write down how they would look, what they would sound like, their personality traits, and how they would dress.

If your goal is to manifest money or manifest abundance, what does that look like? Some people may want millions, and others may only want a thousand dollars.

Abundance could mean so many different things, but what it means to you is what you should focus on. The point of Manifestation is to have a clear understanding of what you want.

Shift your Mindset

A shift in mindset is fundamental. I’m not saying that you need to think positively every minute. No one can be 100% happy all the time; we aren’t superhuman!

But, if you change how you look at a day that wasn’t the greatest, your mindset shifts accordingly. For example, instead of looking at a gloomy, rainy day and thinking this day is going to suck, stop, take a breath and be thankful for the rain watering your garden, washing your car, or providing a break from the sweltering heat. Instead, look at a day where everything went “wrong” as a day filled with learning.

Shifting your mindset to find the good and positive in everything that happens raises your vibrational frequencies, encouraging good things to start happening to you.

When your vibrational frequencies increase, you are more aware, awake, and open to the possibilities that present themselves to you.

Believe in the possibilities.

You know that saying, “the possibilities are endless?” I am here to tell you that they are infinite if you believe in the process. Believing is the next step in shifting your mindset. Be open to receiving the signs the Universe is throwing at you because, let me tell you, the Universe is speaking to you daily.

I get it; when life is tough, and it seems that there is no way out of the situation you find yourself in, it can be hard to be open, accepting, and positive. However, it is vital to understand that this is the course the Universe requires you to be on for the possibilities to present themselves. 

There is a reason for everything that happens to us. In every situation we encounter, good or bad, there is a reason behind it and a door opening to possibilities. If you are engulfed in negative thinking, you are blocking yourself from seeing the opportunities in front of you.

Visualization

My friend was lost in a career she loved and an organization she hated working for. It was an incredibly toxic environment, and she was the subject of racist comments from her reporting manager.

Yet, she continued to work there, knowing that the Universe and her spirituality would take care of her. She would wake up in the morning and repeat positive affirmations about herself. She re-enforced in herself that the situation she was in was not her doing. She was not the cause. She was brilliant and hard-working and fantastic and needed to be patient. 

An opportunity presented itself at another company. It was going to be a huge learning curve, but she knew this was what she was supposed to do. So, she accepted the position and gave her two weeks’ notice.

She messaged me right after doing so, and we talked about her expectations of this new company, her new boss, and herself. Then I asked her to close her eyes and visualize herself in her new office, completing a massive account, receiving accolades for her hard work and the new business she was bringing in. She did this daily and has since been recognized as a top performer. She believed in herself, her ability to succeed, and her self-worth.

Don’t get me wrong, she faced numerous obstacles initially, but she never waivered in visualizing herself succeeding.

Use Vision Boards

Create vision boards and put them up in your room, kitchen, phone, and tablet. Creating vision boards helps remind you of your goals and keeps positive thoughts in your head even when you’re not trying. 

Vision boards are a vital part of the manifestation process and help clarify.

Visualization is essential in manifestation work because if you don’t see yourself in that remarkable career, as a bestselling author, or as someone worthy of good and positive things, then you won’t be motivated to be that person who attains those goals.

Many famous athletes speak about how they visualize themselves winning a tournament. They will visualize a whole match, course, or game in their minds before playing and see themselves holding their trophy.

They will visualize themselves crossing the finish line in the first place, with the best time before their competition. They will also imagine the obstacle they may have to overcome and how to use the tools or tactics visualized if they face that obstacle. 

The visualization allows you to decrease stress when you picture yourself calm and cool as a cucumber in a knowingly stressful situation. It will enable you to see all the possibilities within your grasp and help to change unproductive habits, like negative self-talk.

Meditation 

Meditation is critical in manifesting working for you because it helps you clear your mind of the negative thoughts holding you back. It allows for a safe space to sit, breathe, be still, and understand the reoccurring themes of negativity in your life, low self-esteem, and limiting beliefs. 

It allows you to recognize that situations and prevalent themes in your life were also filled with lessons and gifts for you to take away and reflect on. And it enables you to let go of what is no longer serving you. When you thank the Universe for these experiences and graciously let them go, you will open yourself up to energies that attract love, wealth, abundance, and prosperity. 

When meditating, I would encourage you to repeat powerful and positive affirmations about yourself and the life you want for yourself. Doing so helps to change your mindset. 

Your mind is such a powerful tool, and with that power comes a responsibility to control or stop the negative thoughts that prevent you from being the best version of yourself. The minute that these affirmations become a daily habit is the minute that your mind shifts from darkness to light, and you begin to believe in yourself and the power you have to manifest your dreams. 

Journaling

Journaling can be so cathartic. In many ways, it allows you to flood the pages of a journal, a piece of paper, or the notes section on your phone with pent-up emotions, and the release can be so powerful.

Suppose you’re unsure how to start a journal, I recommend starting with a gratitude journal. Write out all the things you’re grateful for, and watch as your mind goes to more positive thoughts, negative feelings go away, and your behaviors start to change. 

To keep the gratitude practice going daily, write three things you’re grateful for. If you’re looking for an excellent mindset journal to help you get started with affirmations, gratitudes, goals, and your to-do list, I’ve created The Beautiful Mind Journal just for you. 

I have a friend that burns her journal entries when she needs to let go of anger, insecurity, or frustration.

She will swear and yell on paper, take her journal entry outside, and safely set it on fire. She releases all those negative emotions, and the release can bring her to tears, depending on the situation. It may sound overly dramatic, but she swears by this ritual.

It allows her to let go and feel good about herself or the situation she faced. She believes this has helped her take a terrifying yet powerful step in leaving a very toxic environment that she had been a part of for over 22 years.

In addition, this ritual has helped her manifest her dream job because she burned the negativity that had cluttered her mind for so many years.

Using the 3-6-9 Manifestation Method

Using the 3-6-9 method is an excellent addition to your journaling habit. This method has you writing down what you want, your dream, your goal, whatever it is, three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon, and nine times in the evening. It’s an excellent trick to amplify the power of positive thinking.

The significance of these numbers is as follows: 

3 represents our connection to the Universe and our creative self-expression. 

6 represents inner strength and harmony

9 illustrates the rebirth-letting go of what no longer serves you and your growth into this new being.

Remember when I mentioned being clear on what you want? Well, it is vital with this practice. Why? Because it is your affirmations that you will repeat with the 3-6-9 method. 

For example, you dream of visiting the wineries of Abruzzo, Italy, the home of one of your favorite wines.

Your affirmation could look something like this: I am walking through the (insert winery name here) winery fields with a glass of 2017 cabernet in my hand.

Remember that it’s not about just writing this down and sitting back waiting for the Universe to serve you. This is your opportunity to look for ways to act and make this happen for you.

What you can do When Manifesting isn’t Working.

We are all human and not superhuman. There will be times when you feel that Manifestation is not working. It is perfectly normal to feel this way.

Life ebbs and flows. Sometimes you are on a wicked high, and sometimes you are beyond low. The most important thing is to feel what you need and then reset.

Keep the faith, knowing that this will pass. Focus on your visualization and journaling to channel some of the negative energy elsewhere.

Speak to yourself as if you already have that dream job, have taken that incredible vacation, or have received a pay increase. Write out a cheque for 1,000,000.00 to yourself. Visualize yourself with the love of your life standing beside you holding your hand.

Practice gratitude. One of the most giant blocks in Manifestation is wanting more without being thankful for what you already have.

People don’t realize how important it is. Gratitude is a way of giving back to the Universe, and it helps to change your mindset.

Call in woo, call it nonsense, but the fact remains that when you realize how much you should be grateful, the world begins to change in front of your eyes. 

Gratitude brings about positive energy, which raises your vibration and increases your awareness, which then attracts wealth, love, abundance, and money.

The key to getting Manifestation to work for you is shifting your mindset and believing in everything you’ve got. Keep your frequency high and listen to your intuitions. They will tell you if you are on the right path or not. 

In this life, you can be whatever you want and achieve anything you want as long as you are willing to listen to the messages the Universe is sending you. Manifesting your dreams and desires is achievable.

Keep your heart and mind open to opportunities even if they aren’t exactly what you expect. It is essential to understand that it may not happen overnight and that you must work.

Grab some of your favorite crystals to help you bring more love, peace, and positive emotions into your life. Surround yourself with mindful meditation and creative visualization, and watch your manifestation powers come to life. 

You CAN manifest anything you want out of life.