How to Manifest
This time of year there is a lot of talk about what we want to create and bring into our lives. Words like intentions, goals, and resolutions are constantly showing up everywhere. You may have noticed that another word has been gaining in popularity - manifesting.
There is a lot of misinformation and misperceptions about manifesting out there. It is often thought that manifesting is about asking for what you want and then sitting on your couch doing nothing and it just magically appears. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
The basic premise behind manifestation is that we are able to create our reality through our (mostly unconscious) thoughts and beliefs. It doesn’t mean that if something negative happens that it is our fault or that if we have a negative thought or emotion, then we have messed up our manifestation. To me, manifesting is an empowering and fun practice that helps you tap into what you want, take intentional action, and create the life you desire.
Read on for how you can start intentionally manifesting…
Get clear about what you want… and why you want it. The first step is to know what it is that you want to create and more importantly, why you want it. You are allowed to want the big house, more money, the amazing relationship, successful career, whatever it is, but get clear on the why behind the desire. Maybe the money will bring you security or the career will bring you fulfillment. However, watch out if the reason you want them is because someone else wants it for you and you think it is something that you should have/want. This is about the life you actually want to create.
Feel the feelings of that future version of yourself now. Spend time each day feeling into the feelings of that future version of yourself. If you got what you wanted, what would that feel like? Feel it now and work on embodying those positive feelings in this moment. A key concept of manifesting is that you do not have to wait until you get “the thing” to feel the positive feelings that you believe it will bring.
Take action. Now comes the earthly action steps. You cannot just ask for what you want, feel it, and magically expect it to show up. You need to take daily action steps in the direction of what you want. Apply for the job, go on the date, attend open houses, take the course. Move towards the life you want each day.
Surrender the outcome and be open to possibilities. This can be the most difficult step and where we most often want to give up. We tend to think that we know how things should go - that we have the most perfect plan and if things don’t go exactly that way, then manifesting isn’t working. But so often, there is a bigger and better plan than we envision. Rejection and redirection are inevitable as we go towards the life we want. If something isn’t working out for you, feel the disappointment and then continue on (assuming it is something you actually want). Be open to things working out in a way that is slightly different than how you imagined, and trust that it will work out, even if you cannot currently see how.
Try it out yourself! And while we often think of manifestation around the big things that we are trying to create (money, love, career, relationships, etc), I find it is a lot of fun to use it with the small things too. For example, parking around my apartment can be very difficult so I always just ask out loud for a parking spot (and have a nearly 100% success rate). Let me know how it goes!
