How to Manifest Your Dreams
You may have heard of manifesting or positive visualisation for realising one’s goals. And you may have even heard of the self-help book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Does manifesting work or is it totally woo-woo?
The act of manifesting or visualisation has become more mainstream during the past decade or so. Manifesting is often defined as the ability to create the life that you want by the power of your own mind, and create the reality you experience. It’s all about becoming the master of your own story. Self-esteem is at the core of manifestation. It can be an effective tool to change our beliefs about what could be possible. Recently, I listened to an episode of the Mindbodygreen podcast with Tara Swart, M.D.,Ph.D,, who is a neuroscientist and author. She explained the role of neuro-plasticity, which refers to the brain’s ability to flex and change, and how you can literally change your brain chemistry by visualisation.
During challenging times I found visualisation empowering. It can give you hope and direction when you are going through transformation. It has helped me to stay optimistic and see opportunities that I would have otherwise ignored. After all, we attract the energy we put out in the world. When you learn to live in synchronicity, you start to be more at the right place at the right time. Manifestation can also help to turn envy into inspiration, and fear into courage. And whether you believe it or not, most successful people manifest or do something very similar: they have a clear vision, routines, and they are willing to work hard. And when they face challenges, they don’t give up - they become stronger.
I think manifesting goes hand in hand with creating good habits to achieve your goals. In the book, Atomic Habits, James Clear, explains the power of small improvements over time, and how you can create good habits for a lifetime. A habit means a routine or behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically. Habits are not only useful when trying to reach a goal. They also create more freedom - even though some may believe the opposite. If you have no good financial habits, or good health habits, you are going to have less freedom in the future: less money, and less energy to experience adventures in life. Your good habits will also save your time: you know how to schedule your day. You don’t need to waste time worrying when to workout, or where to write, or when to pay the bills. When you automate things with good habits, you reduce your cognitive load, and free up mental space for free thinking and creativity. Before you start to create any strategies, remember that all good things take time! Good habits are a compound interest of self improvement.
Next I will share ideas on how to manifest your dreams and become proactive by creating good habits!
Become aware who you wish to become
First and foremost, decide who you wish to become. Who is the type of person that could get the results you desire? What would that person do to get that outcome? What are your principles and values? Now journal and/ collect images or photos to create your future life on a vision board. Vision boards help you get clarity on what you want your life to look like. Allow yourself to dream big! You also need to let go of your old identity and stories that no longer serve you because your old identity can sabotage all your wonderful plans. Before even trying to turn your dreams into realities, the art of manifesting starts with feeling worthy. Journaling can be a useful tool to let go of limiting beliefs and heal old wounds.
Then check in with yourself whether your current habits are in line with your desired future. As a simple exercise, Clear recommends in his book to make a list of your daily habits, such as “wake up at 7am, check my phone and social media, take a shower, brush my teeth, ,” etc. If a habit is good, write “+” next to it. If it’s a bad one, write “-”. If it is a neutral habit, write “=”. The Habits Scorecard, as he calls it, helps you to become aware of your behavior patterns that are not serving you. Our modern life is full of pleasure-packed experiences (entertainment at our fingertips 24/7, junk food delivered to your home,...), and if we don’t pause, and pay attention to these things, we can just go on with our daily lives on autopilot and keep on choosing sub-optimal things.
Focus your attention on the things you can control
Notice any negative thoughts or behaviors that are holding you back from getting what you want. Similarly, when something good happens and takes you closer to your goal, acknowledge that and give gratitude for it. This helps to let go of self-limiting beliefs, fear, or shame. The positive shift in the brain also brings more trust and love in the process which is essential for manifestation. Over time your confidence will increase as you realize how all your actions and decisions have an impact on your life.
There are many things in life that are out of our control. Always have been, and always will be. The world is what it is, and it’s better to become the best version of yourself, before you start judging or worrying too much about the rest of the world. This does not mean you shouldn’t care about others. What I am trying to say here is that you should not waste your precious life and time worrying about things that may not even happen. If you are a sensitive person and tend to get anxious, maybe stop following so much mainstream media that creates fear and makes you feel small and dependent on the system. This material world is full of distractions. So it’s better to learn to clear your mind and stay awake.
Commit to continuous small improvements
Visualization on its own won’t make you a millionaire, a brilliant writer, bring love to your life, or make your body toned, and strong. You need to take action and be proactive about achieving your goals. You cannot expect someone else to make the money for you, or go to the gym for you. Or find the perfect romantic partner for you. At least that’s the case for 99 percent of the people or something like that. Yes, some can inherit significant amounts of money, or accidentally meet the love of their life. But even in those cases, you need to keep the good habits going unless you want to let the inflation eat all the money, or let love fade away. See, we all benefit from continuous small improvements!
First break your goal into bite-size pieces so that it doesn’t feel too big and overwhelming. Fix the root cause of the issue. If you only focus on the outcome, you will soon end up in the same situation again. For instance, if you don’t have enough money, getting more money is never going to solve the issue, if the root cause is your low self-esteem which you are trying to compensate by living a lavish lifestyle you cannot actually afford.
Keep in mind that natural talents or “innate gifts” can only take you so far. Often less talented individuals can progress way more and transform beyond their dreams if they are disciplined enough to show up consistently and are willing to do the work.
Reduce the barriers
Make your behavior change as obvious as you can. Choose a specific time and location for the desired habit. When and where are you most likely to be successful? If you are not accurate about the time and place, it’s easy to procrastinate and eventually forget the whole thing. If you want to become more active physically but have a hectic schedule, and never know how long your days are going to be, schedule yourself a quiet time in the morning to do a 15-minute training session.
The environment is the invisible hand influencing our behavior. We often choose the most obvious option. Since the most powerful of all human sensory abilities is our vision, the greatest catalyst for our behaviour change are visual cues. Where you live and work can have a huge-huge impact on your wellbeing and overall success in life. Know that you can literally become the architect of your own life instead of being the victim of it. You can always alter your home environment and make it more clutter free and clean, and then add visual cues to draw your attention to the desired habit. Think about how easy it is not to exercise when you keep trainers and active wear tucked away in the closet out of sight. Therefore, place your activewear next to your bed and put a sticky note on the bathroom mirror! Similarly, remove the triggers for bad habits: if you can’t focus on your work, keep your phone in another room.
Habits can often be easier to change in new environments. If you want to think more creatively, stepping out of your typical work environment can help because your space is linked to your current thought patterns. Likewise, if you feel stuck with your workouts, taking classes at a new studio with a new trainer can spark your interest again. Whenever possible, avoid mixing the context of one habit with another. I find it chaotic if I need to do everything in the same room: work, workout, sleep, and eat. Each context or space should be associated with a specific habit and state of mind. It’s easier to focus when you are at your work desk, and easier to do home workouts in a spacious room that is free of distractions.
Monthly Check-ins
Pause to reflect periodically, and adjust your action steps accordingly. Each month I like to do a modified version of the Circle of Life -exercise that I learned during my IIN Health Coach Training program. Split your life into categories, like career, health, love, social life, home environment, creativity, physical activity, education, etc. Give each category a score from 1 to 10 depending on how satisfied you are with that area in your life. For each category write down the dreams you have for them. Be as specific as you can, and don’t let fear hold you back! Set dates for your goals, i.e. one month, or five years from now. This is a super powerful tool because it helps to shed light on those areas in life that are out of balance. After that I pay attention to those areas that I gave a low score, and brainstorm 1-3 ideas how I could improve that area with simple daily actions.
Trust even when things go wrong
The universe is always going to test you. If you don’t get what you want (the job, the property, the partner, etc.), don’t feel discouraged. Remain optimistic, and know that there’s always something better waiting for you. It’s that optimistic open mindset that attracts more abundance into your life. You know when you are on the right path, and when you follow your path, you are able to deal with rejection or something going wrong with greater ease because you know that all those challenges are only going to make you more resilient and wiser.
Sending you so much love!
RESOURCES:
Podcast:
Books:
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear