Manifestation: Real or Fake??

Does manifestation actually work?
If you look at manifesting from a goal-setting point of view, there’s definitely some validity to the concept.

In general, research has shown that positive thinking, one of the core concepts of manifestation, can be beneficial to your overall mental well-being—it can lead to lower instances of depression and better coping skills during stressful situations, according to the Mayo Clinic. On top of that, a positive, goal-oriented mindset may help you get closer to your objectives. For example, a 2017 study published in Basic and Applied Social Psychology found that when tennis players used a visualization exercise to imagine their goals of improving their performance and winning a match against their opponent, they were more successful than when they didn’t visualize those goals.

Sure, visualizing an objective—or writing down what you want—isn’t going to magically make your wish come true, Bartz says, but it may increase your odds of success by working similarly to a self-fulfilling prophecy. And there’s a 2016 review published in The Encyclopedia of Mental Health to back up the concept that your outlook on how a situation will play out (positive or negative) can influence the outcome. For example, the review references a study in which teachers started a school year with more positive expectations for certain students, viewing them as “late bloomers” likely to improve throughout the year. Compared to students for whom there were no expectations, the “late-bloomer” group saw greater performance improvements because, the researchers found, the teachers gave them more time and attention.

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When it comes to manifesting what you want in life, focusing on the goal you want to achieve, what it’ll take to make it a reality, and how you’ll feel when you get there could be the key. “Basically, taking the time to envision what you want and how to get it can help you take the steps to make it happen,” says Bartz.

What’s not so legit about manifestation?
While it may get you into a positive mindset and help you focus on reaching your goals, the idea of manifestation can fail to acknowledge some of the systemic barriers to success in our society, Bartz points out. “For example, if you want to become an artist, you may feel discouraged that you’re getting constant rejections—but the fact of the matter is that our society doesn’t foster and support many of its artists,” she says.

The concept of manifesting your reality can be problematic at best for members of marginalized communities too. For example, the odds could be stacked against you to succeed in environments where the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color are not centered. “People may believe that the power to make things happen resides solely within them and their mental energy, but the reality is that there are systemic barriers for people who live with poverty, discrimination, and marginalization, that mere manifesting can’t make go away,” Hawlan Ng, PsyD, a psychotherapist and executive coach based in San Francisco, tells SELF. “Failing” at manifestation could lead to self-blame, and even guilt, among marginalized people—feelings that can be risk factors for anxiety and depression, adds Dr. Ng.

Besides being potentially exclusive and idealistic, other experts feel that manifesting could be leaning too hard on “magical thinking,” almost as a way to bypass dealing with your past and the present. Manifesting can be a tempting way for people to avoid past traumas or difficult situations, but it’s important for many people to come to terms with their pain first before focusing on the future, Dr. Ng says. One way to unpack all of this is to meet with a mental health professional before trying to manifest any new goals, if you’re able (here’s some advice for finding affordable mental health help). For example, if you’re attempting to manifest a healthy, long-term relationship, but you haven’t acknowledged and worked on healing the attachment trauma from your childhood, then you may not get very far in your manifestation goal without working through your buried feelings, says Bartz.

Manifesting can also be very focused on the end goal, but not enough on the actions it will require to get there. “Yes, the intention is important,” Dr. Fournier says, “but action is a necessary piece that can’t be taken out of the equation.” You are the conduit for making your aspirations happen, and you can do so by laying out exactly how you’re going to reach them, she says. Again, if that goal is a healthy relationship, the steps could include self-awareness of your own habits and tendencies in past relationships (maybe that’s a fear of intimacy or of vulnerability, Bartz points out) and how you could learn from them and grow moving forward.

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Another potential downside to be aware of: If you attempt to manifest something important and things don’t go your way, it can hurt your mental health. “The concern I have with manifesting, or any mental practice that gives us a sense that we can actually control or steer life outcomes if we just try or think hard enough, is that some people will feel as though they didn’t do enough or that they weren’t good enough, and that’s why life handed them a disappointment,” Dr. Ng says. This isn’t a healthy outlook, because there’s so much that’s out of our control, especially in such an uncertain world, and part of mental well-being is finding effective ways to cope with things that we can’t change.

How to manifest something in a practical way
Manifestation might not sit well with you, depending on your situation. And, again, looking into your metaphorical crystal ball and wishing for something to occur probably isn’t going to change your circumstances overnight. But if you’d like to give it a shot, there are some guidelines for trying the practice in a way that can support your mental well-being.

Keep in mind that there’s no exact right way to manifest, so your strategy can be whatever you want it to be, as long as it consistently includes inner reflection (to get clear on what you really want for your future) and practical actions (to help get you there), Bartz says. Some people may do a formal ritual of, say, lighting a candle and speaking a certain intention during a full moon, while others may incorporate these positive intentions into their daily meditation practice. It could even be taking a brief moment while journaling to write out a specific goal you set for yourself. Here are some expert-approved suggestions to get you started.

1. Acknowledge that manifesting isn’t the same as making a wish.