Over quarantine, I gave in and did something I told myself I’d never do: I downloaded TikTok. I quickly became addicted to the app and spent hours scrolling through my For You page. At some point, I started to see videos about tarot card readings and manifestation. I had kind of heard about manifestation before, but I didn’t know much about the subject. The concept didn’t really cross my mind again for a while.
When I got back to Gainesville for the fall semester, I talked to one of my friends, Michayla Yost, a senior at the University of Florida, about her experience with manifestation because I was interested in figuring out how to start practicing it in my own life. The world is so chaotic right now between the election and COVID-19. Manifestation seemed so appealing to me because it’s nice to think that, even if my life seems to be at a standstill right now in terms of not being able to go out and see people like I normally would, I can still have some sort of control.
I’m not sure if manifestation can completely change your life yet because I haven’t really done it for that long, but the idea that I could have the power to push my life in the direction I want is well worth trying and looking into.
What is manifestation?
I have heard the word manifestation so much lately, but I didn’t really know what it was until recently. After reading some articles about manifestation, I learned a bit more about what it is and how it works. However, even if you get it, it can be hard to fully understand what manifestation is because there are so many ways to manifest and there isn’t one right way to do it.
Let me break it down a bit: To manifest, you’re supposed to think about what you want in your life. By thinking positive or constant thoughts about it, you attract it into your life. Another way I’ve heard that you can manifest is by acting as if you already have what you want.
When I asked my friend Michayla about how she first got into manifestation, she explained that her mom has always encouraged her to manifest what she wants by being optimistic and reframing her mindset with hopeful language. Instead of saying “I hope I’ll do good on this test,” her mom would encourage her to say “I’m going to do well on this test!”
This is the way I thinks manifesting works, too. It’s all about being positive and confident in yourself and what you will get out of life.
Different ways you can manifest
There are a variety of ways you can manifest what you want into your life. One I’ve heard a lot about is called scripting.
Scripting is when you write down, in great detail, what you want to see happen in your life and what emotions you’d feel in that situation. Here’s the key to scripting: Write it all down in the present tense, like it’s already happening.
I watched this super helpful video that explained how to use scripting to manifest the future you want.
Scripting is my friend Michayla’s favorite manifestation method.
All methods of manifestation are equal, but Michayla believes that scripting is the easiest.
“The whole point [of manifestation] is that you have to know you already have it and feel the emotions you will feel once you get it and visualize [it] as clear as possible in your head,” she said.
Another manifestation method is the 369 method. The way to use the 369 method is to think of what you want and write it down three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon and nine times right before you go to bed.
A method I hadn’t heard about before is called a manifestation box. The idea behind a manifestation box is similar to a vision board. You can use any sort of box, like a shoe box, and fill it with objects that represent what you want in your life. You can fill this box with pictures, quotes or anything you want!
These are just a few of the many methods that are out there for you to use to manifest, but Michayla explained that it doesn’t really matter what method you use. What matters is that you can really visualize and feel the emotions, she said.
If none of these methods are appealing to you, there are so many more you could choose from!
Confidence is key
A big part of manifestation is being in the right mindset. When we are positive, we allow and attract positivity into our lives. And, before you ask: Yes, this is proven by actual science.
If you start manifesting with the idea in your head that it’s not going to work and it’s not real, then odds are nothing is going to happen. This isn’t some sort of magic. In every aspect of our lives, we need to be positive if we want to do well.
Your mindset can have a lot of power and control over how you view yourself and how confident you are. If someone goes into a job interview feeling confident in themselves, they are likely to have a much different (and better!) interview than someone who goes in feeling unsure and anxious about themselves.
Based off her own experiences, Michayla said manifestation can help you have control over what happens in your life.
“If you try it and you really don’t believe in it, it’s likely not going to work that well because you have to trust fully and not worry about how or when it’s going to happen,” she said. If you don’t trust it fully, “that’s basically telling the universe that you don’t have it yet when the goal is to think and act and believe that you already do as best as you can.”
While I was unsure and a little skeptical about manifestation when I first spotted all those TikTok videos on my For You page, after talking to Michayla and doing some more research into manifestation, I’ve realized it’s something I truly want to try.
Michayla told me that she has seen her manifestation actually pay off and she has gotten a lot of things she manifested. Hearing about how it worked for a friend made me want to try to manifest positive changes into my life.
I’ve been at home, almost exclusively doing school work and worrying about applying to law school. As you can imagine, this has not helped my anxiety. It’s nice to think that just by changing my attitude and picturing myself already having what I want, I might be setting myself up for success.
I don’t think that you can sit back, do nothing and manifest everything you want in your life. But I think if you pair hard work and effort with manifestation, it will allow for newfound hope and positivity to enter your life.