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If you’re not interested in hidden knowledge or New Age belief systems, you probably had no warning when manifesting burst into the mainstream. Its popularity surged in 2018 and, at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, manifesting became a TikTok sensation. But what is manifesting, and why do so many people swear it works?
According to proponents of manifesting, if we want something from the universe—a new job, a promotion, a relationship—all we have to do is ask and the universe will deliver. Believers in the practice assert that visualizing your desire and truly believing that you will receive it actually makes that dream to come true.
But to detractors, manifesting is just wishful thinking. If we spend all our time visualizing success, how much time are we really spending working for it? What if a belief in manifesting doesn’t help your efforts to achieve, but hurts them?
Is manifesting just a glorified form of daydreaming? How could visualizing the things you want help you achieve them? Do the thousands of success stories from believers indicate the universe really will grant wishes if you ask, or is something else going on?
Interested in how you can use YOUR incredible brainpower to change your life? Check out this weekend’s live virtual Brain-a-Thon! Reserve your spot TODAY!
The philosophy that underpins manifesting has been around for ages, but it was popularized in its current form by Rhonda Byrne’s 2006 book, The Secret. Inspired by historical teachings, Byrne proposes that thinking you will get something you want, asking the universe to bring it to you, and visualizing yourself receiving it can actually make it come true.
In The Secret, Byrne uses a concept called “the law of attraction” to explain how she believes manifesting works. According to the law of attraction, the thoughts you put out into the universe affect what the spiritual energy of the universe will bring back to you. As Byrne writes in The Secret: “The universe will start to rearrange itself to make it happen for you.”
To some, this might sound like superstition, and to others, like a reinvention of prayer! It’s true that we have incredible brainpower, but there’s no data to suggest our brainpower can realign the universe’s energy. As a result, it’s easy to be skeptical about manifesting’s success stories!
Thousands of people say manifesting has changed their lives. But what if universal energies aren’t responsible for its benefits?
Is it possible to explain manifesting’s success with science? Yes—in fact, it’s not difficult at all!
Neuroscientists and psychologists have long described a phenomenon called the Baader-Meinhof effect, which explains why we notice something in our environment much more frequently when we’re aware of and thinking about it. For example, you see an older movie starring an actor you’d completely forgotten about, and the next day, you see the actor mentioned in two different places.
Does this mean the actor has coincidentally resurged in popularity at the same time you saw the old movie? No! The Baader-Meinhof effect is also called the “frequency bias” as it creates an illusion that the thing you’re thinking about is appearing more frequently, when in reality, you’re just more aware of it.
Let’s take someone trying to manifest a new job as an example. They go through the visualization practices that manifesting recommends, and a few days later, spot a job posting on the bulletin board at their favorite coffee shop. They respond and get hired!
Notice what happened there? The person in our example didn’t just have a job fall in their lap, but by manifesting a new job, they became more aware of the job opportunities around them.
But the law of attraction wasn’t enough to guarantee their success. They had to take action in order to get what they wanted—call it “the law of action!”
As Diana Celestine, a strong proponent of manifesting, told the Guardian: “You know what you want to do, but you have to do something about it.” In the linked article, the skeptical, practical Celestine was in a dark place until she was able to turn her life around by adopting manifesting principles into her mindset.
Celestine doesn’t view manifesting as magic. Instead, she believes it combines practical and spiritual elements. There’s no doubt that manifesting worked for her: She now runs a successful lifestyle blog, teaching others how to boost their health by overcoming negative thoughts!
Manifesting skeptics describe the practice as “magical thinking,” concerned that belief in the practice could cause someone to focus on manifesting what they want instead of taking action to make it come true. This is a legitimate concern! But a belief in manifesting can also help people take action, for reasons explainable by science:
One of the most important rules of manifesting is that you don’t just go through the visualization process once. You have to do it regularly if you want it to work. Sound familiar?
Our brains are incredibly trainable, and repeatedly reinforcing the belief that you can and will achieve your goals through focus and visualization prepares them to take action for success! You can make visualization and confidence-building exercises part of your routine in a neuroscience-backed way right now, with Innercise™!
Innercise™ is the brainchild of John Assaraf, a leading expert on how training your brain can help you achieve your goals. Backed by the latest in neuroscientific research, Innercises™ are daily workouts for your brain to help you take control of your amazing brain power.
As John Assaraf says in his bestselling book Innercise: The New Science of Unlocking Your Brain’s Inner Power:
“Visualization of your goals activates the nucleus accumbens and insula, parts
of the brain that drive your motivational center and trigger your feel-good
neurotransmitters. In turn, the more you take action, the more your explicit
beliefs, your outer reality, begin to align with your new, empowering, implicit
beliefs.”
Check out the great Innercise™ below to help you start incorporating these principles into your life today!
Want even MORE tips for training your brain for success from experts in the field? Join us at this weekend’s live Brain-a-Thon event! Book your free spot NOW!
This Innercise™ offers a great template for visualizing success! For best results, practice every day for at least 5 to 7 days.
Step One: Grab a notepad and jot down a story about yourself after you’ve achieved your deepest, most important goals and desires.
How will you feel? What will that experience be like? Take some time to picture it and write it down in present-tense, positive statements as if it’s already happened!
Here are some examples:
Step Two: When you’re done, look over the list and spend 5 minutes visualizing what living that life will be like.
Now it’s time to let your imagination run wild as you focus on how incredible life will be after you’ve achieved those goals.
Don’t forget to include how you’ll feel: Imagine feeling that way as vividly as possible, immersing yourself in the experience. John Assaraf calls this emotionalizing.
Step Three: Practice!
For the next 5 to 7 days, for five minutes each day, look back on this list and go through the visualizing and emotionalizing processes again, truly immersing yourself in the belief that you have achieved your most important goals.
Having trouble with the immersion part? Don’t worry—you might just need some practice. Keep trying, and just like strength training will improve your muscle strength, your brain will get better at this as you train it!
So, is manifesting “dangerous magical thinking,” as some skeptics put it? Not necessarily. As we’ve seen above, there are plenty of ways that a belief in manifesting can be beneficial. And what could be more dangerous than rejecting something that can help just because it’s unconventional?
Whether or not you believe they can influence supportive universal energies, we know our brains have incredible power. The repetitive visualization and focus techniques taught by proponents of manifesting can help build confidence, build awareness, and put you on the road to success.
Want to learn more about how changing your brain can change your life? Don’t wait—book a spot at the live virtual Brain-A-Thon TODAY!
