Why I don’t like Manifestation

I think we’ve all been in situations or in times of our lives where we wished we had a different life. Be a whole other person even.

As the years have gone by, I’ve been through more ‘reinventions’ than I can count. I’m the type of person you can not see for a couple of months, and her entire life trajectory has taken a shift. Be it relationships, career, or even sleep habits. As an ex once described me, “a wildflower, you can’t help which directions she grows in”.

I’ve always been a firm believer that we as humans, can change or be whoever we want to be. Even though at times where it feels as if things are out of control, there are always small things we can do in our daily life, that are within our control.

The term manifest or manifestation has evolved into a staple within the spiritual and even entrepreneurial communities. The term suggests that if you think and believe, you shall have.

It kind of reminds me of dear old Saint Nicholas; make a wish, and a chummy old man in a red suit will hop down the chimney and deliver exactly what you wished for.

I don’t love the word manifest. People are going to hate me for this. But alas, I can’t talk down on something unless I offer an alternative. 

In my day to day, I prefer to use vocabulary like visualization and planning. Here’s why.

Inaction doesn’t bear results

The argument for manifestation is that if you think about what you want enough, you’ll automatically start taking courses of action that lead to that outcome.

I find that for most people including myself, wishing I had a yacht doesn’t mean I will actually get one.

In reality, you have to be a little intentional if you want to achieve these big aspirations you might have.

Visualization is a technique that’s popular among meditators. Its root is the word ‘vision’.

The vision is what you’re striving for, and manifestation is a weaker technique to get there. I believe that first, you need to have a clear, concise vision of what you want for yourself. And second, a plan to get there.

Visualization is a technique that you can enforce in your daily or weekly routine to remind yourself of that crystal clear image of what you desire to have. It helps guide you through the rough terrain and gives purpose to what you’re doing every day.

The plan can range anywhere from 2 years to 10 years. Most people are comfortable with the 5-year mark because it’s not unrealistically short, and not too agonizingly long—it’s the goldilocks of goal-setting.

The point is if you have a clear vision of what you want plus a realistic course of action on how to accomplish it, you’ll be well more equipped to get there, as opposed to just ‘manifesting it.’

Life is a lot like Snake and Ladders

Most of the time, things don’t go according to plan. But you can dictate what happens in the day-to-day. You determine your tasks for the day, you determine whether or not you go to the gym, brush your teeth, and nourish yourself with healthy food. 

We don’t control the outcomes, but we can control our own actions.

Sometimes, people try hard to adhere to the plan, and when the consequences aren’t the ones they were looking for —their default thinking is “Oh this isn’t working out”.

You have to understand that life is a lot like the game Snake and Ladders. You climb up by one, and you run into a snake and have to go down by two. In the end, if you want to win at the game of life, you can’t stop playing the game after running into a few nasty snags.

One of my favorite sayings by the late Steve Jobs is that “you can only connect the dots looking back”.

If you’re working arduously towards an end goal, those little slips along the way are pretty much irrelevant to the grand scheme of things. Your overall progress is still in an upward direction, it’s just in the moment it’s extremely hard to feel that way. It’s like looking at a stock portfolio over a 5 or 10-year period. Yes, the gains in the short run are minuscule, you’re extremely lucky if you get an 8% return. But in the long run, this is how people actually become wealthy. They invest for the long-term and don’t let emotions allow them to pull or back out.

Instead of waiting for something to happen, believe in your own capability

I’m extremely guilty of this— if I just wait, things will happen for me right? The truth is every opportunity I’ve been met with, has not been completely random. For example, I didn’t accidentally fall into writing. I’ve been writing since I was little, when the opportunity arose, I pursued a relevant connection in the field. 

I didn’t fall into my relationship. I’ve known the person for three years and developed that bond over time before I was actually ready to commit.

And even then, none of these career or relationship-related events are without their imperfections. 

So yes, there is a degree of luck that goes into outcomes, but for the majority of time, I had to prepare. Working hard and putting effort into developing yourself as a person pays off in ways you otherwise wouldn’t think it would. The random skills you picked up an era ago, might just be the differentiator now.

Never wait for something to happen. Start doing something right away, even if at the moment it seems irrelevant to the cause.

Conclusion

Maybe this post will allow you to think twice before you use the word manifestation, I don’t know. I hope it encouraged or reminded you to keep those grand aspirations ashore, but also take the necessary actions on a daily basis. These actions don’t have to be as grand as the goal itself, but it’s all about building a consistent practice and discipline, so you can go on and achieve those things eventually.