Not long ago, people did yoga or Pilates to align their mind and body; now they repeat affirmations in front of the mirror to attract what they want into their lives. From Gwyneth Paltrow to Oprah Winfrey, not to mention Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Toni Breidinger, Ariana Grande, Conor McGregor, and many others, many celebrities have embraced manifesting and attributed part of their success to it.
But will visualizing what you want really make the universe bring it to you? As is often the case with psychological matters, the answer is: it depends. And many of these stars also forget to mention that while they visualize that path paved with roses, their agents take care of the thorns, taking on some of the hard work.
What is manifesting?
Manifesting refers to the idea that you can attract what you want into your life simply through your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. It’s like your neurons agreeing with the cosmos and saying, “Let ‘s go for that new job! “
Its roots go back to the “Law of Attraction,” popularized by Rhonda Byrne’s 2006 book “The Secret,” which, incidentally, has sold 30 million copies worldwide. The Australian writer maintained that thinking positive thoughts will attract positive thoughts, and thinking negative thoughts… well, you know, will attract negative thoughts.
But in TikTok and Instagram version 2.0, manifesting has gotten even more chic: there are vision boards , daily affirmations like “you deserve everything” scripting routines (writing down what you want as if you already have it), and, of course, lots of boho candle aesthetics.
However, the essence remains the same: while negative thoughts create limiting beliefs and, in turn, prevent good things from happening to us, positive thoughts focused on specific goals and outcomes can make those things happen because we become co-creators of the universe. It’s basically a kind of “if you can believe it strongly enough, you can create it.”
Why has manifesting become so popular right now?
The popularity of manifesting is no coincidence. It responds to a mix of cultural, social, and emotional factors that reveal the mood of an entire generation.
A generation that no longer believes in the formula: hard work = success
For decades, we were told that if we worked hard enough, things would work out. That if we studied and worked, sooner or later we would achieve a stable life or achieve our dreams. But it wasn’t like that.
Millennials and Generation Z have grown up in a world marked by successive crises, low wages, precarious living conditions, impossible rents, and access to housing that seems like a utopia. Many feel that, no matter how hard they try, they’re not getting ahead. And when you can’t control your reality… you retreat into your mind.
When traditional avenues don’t offer the stability they need, visualizing what they want is an attempt to regain control. It symbolically gives them back the reins of their lives. In this sense, manifesting serves a regulating function.
In fact, manifestation becomes a kind of intimate resistance against a hostile world. In a way, it’s an emotional escape route, because if reality is too inhospitable and we can’t change it from the outside, at least we can dream it from within. It’s not just a fad; manifesting is a full-blown symbolic survival strategy.
It’s simple and hopeful (and that makes it addictive)
In an increasingly complex world, with rising bills, impossible schedules, and overwhelming life decisions, manifesting presents itself as a surprisingly simple solution: just think about what you want and feel like it’s already yours. It’s that easy! No long processes, tedious procedures, or uncomfortable sacrifices. Just close your eyes, visualize, repeat your daily affirmations, and trust that the universe will take care of the rest.
All you need is your mind… and, if you’re true to the aesthetic, a pretty notebook, pastel markers, and scented candles to “raise your vibration.” All of this is part of the charm of manifesting. It’s something of a daily, almost meditative ritual, providing emotional structure to people who feel everything else is out of their control.
But beyond the aesthetic appeal, what’s truly engaging about manifesting is that it offers a concentrated dose of hope without the pain. In a context of emotional fatigue and information overload, where every decision seems to carry an existential weight, this practice offers a mental respite. You don’t have to understand how markets work or how social structures change: you just need to believe.
Manifesting assures us that in a chaotic and unfair world, everything will come in its own time, or that the universe has a plan for you. This idea, although not empirically proven, is soothing. It calms. It allows us to move forward, freeing ourselves from hopelessness.
In this sense, we could say that manifesting isn’t so much a technique for achieving great goals, but rather an emotional mechanism to prevent ourselves from collapsing in the face of uncertainty. And that’s an achievement in itself (let’s face it).
Social networks as amplifiers of desire
In the digital world, we don’t just see what others have, but how they show it. Instagram and TikTok are filled with videos of people who “manifested their dream home” or “attracted their dream job.” This aesthetic of constant abundance fuels the fantasy that anything is possible… if we just want it bad enough.
Plus, the algorithm rewards the emotional, the visual, and the aspirational. You’re not going to see someone saying, “I put in five years of effort and frustration before achieving something.” You’re going to see the before and after in five minutes, with background music and phrases like, “The universe heard me.” And that’s engaging. Because deep down, we all want to believe that something good can happen to us… even if we don’t quite know how.
The big question: Does manifesting work?
Despite the thousand and one psychologists who respond with a capital “NO,” the truth is that manifesting can work, but not by magic, but rather by human psychology itself. Although not always, in some cases it can also increase frustration, guilt, or passivity.
When it CAN work
- Self-fulfilling prophecy
Believing you can achieve something can lead to a real improvement in your behavior; this is what’s known as a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe you’re going to get that job, you might prepare better, be more confident in the interview, and convey more conviction. It’s not just the universe handing it to you on a silver platter; you’re the real architect.
Rosenthal and Jacobson’s classic study of classroom expectations demonstrates that students who are treated as more “promising” improve their performance, in part because teachers (unconsciously) modify their behavior toward them, paying more attention to them and being more gracious about their mistakes.
- Goal activation and motivation
Visualizing a goal can activate brain networks related to planning and motivation. Research conducted at the University of California found that positive visualization can be effective, but only if it focuses on the process and not the results.
Basically, students who visualized the final results of their exams didn’t perform better. Instead, those who visualized the study process step by step achieved better grades.
The key is that visualizing the process allows us to focus our attention on the steps we need to take to achieve our goal. This not only boosts motivation and makes us more proactive, but also gives us a greater sense of security and reduces anxiety.
- Cognitive priming
Another positive aspect of manifesting is that it can help us separate the wheat from the chaff, something that is appreciated in today’s hectic world. In other words, it encourages us to clarify our goals, which enhances focus.
When you focus on a desire, your mind begins to detect more opportunities related to it. It’s not magic, it’s selective attention. In fact, have you ever thought about buying a bike and suddenly see bikes everywhere? The same thing happens with manifesting: thinking about your goal activates a kind of internal radar.
As a result, you’re likely better equipped to seize opportunities on the fly, rather than letting them slip away because you were too busy thinking about something else or your head was in a mess. In a way, manifestation brings clarity to your life.
When it DOESN’T work (and can frustrate you)
- Magical thinking without action
Visualizing getting a call for your dream job while spending all day in your pajamas watching TV shows doesn’t usually work. Positive thinking doesn’t replace effort or erase real obstacles. It’s not enough to want something intensely for it to happen. The universe isn’t some kind of cosmic Amazon delivery guy.
A study conducted at New York University found that people who spent more time recreating positive fantasies performed worse than those who adopted a more realistic approach. These participants were followed for two years, at the end of which it was found that those who visualized more positive situations performed worse because they were less proactive.
Perhaps living out the fantasy is already rewarding in itself and motivates people less to strive for their goal. The brain might relax, and by imagining that we’ve already achieved what we want, the body acts as if we no longer have to strive. This means that fantasizing too much can leave us stuck.
- Avoiding the discomfort of change
Change hurts. Leaving behind certain patterns, facing your fears, taking responsibility, or examining your emotional wounds isn’t pleasant. Growth often involves doing things you don’t want to do: apologizing, going to therapy, closing a cycle, tolerating uncertainty, or stopping self-deception. That’s why we often prefer to feel like we’re doing something… without doing anything that truly makes us uncomfortable.
In these cases, manifesting can become a very seductive emotional alibi. Instead of facing your self-esteem problem, you simply repeat to yourself in the mirror: “I deeply love myself just the way I am.” However, a phrase repeated a thousand times doesn’t become true without a deep and conscious intervention into the real causes of the discomfort.
In this sense, manifesting can function as a sophisticated form of procrastination. Like when you buy a pair of sneakers to motivate yourself to run, but you don’t leave the house. The intention is there, the gesture is there… but the transformative action is missing. Manifesting may be more convenient, but it’s also infinitely less effective than other strategies for achieving goals.
- Ignoring structural factors
The reality is that we don’t all start from the same place. Demonstrating “abundance” from a position of economic stability, with access to resources, a support network, free time, and even an agent who strives to find you the best contracts, isn’t the same as doing so from a position of precariousness, discrimination, loneliness, or structural violence.
Reducing reality to a matter of “vibrations” or “frequencies” is, in many cases, an elegant way of blaming the individual for their suffering while ignoring the material, social, and cultural conditions that surround them.
Well-being and success don’t depend solely on personal attitude. Factors such as educational level, place of birth, gender, immigration status, or skin color directly influence a person’s actual opportunities to prosper. Pretending that everyone can achieve the same thing just by wanting it is, at the very least, naive; and at the very most, cruel.
This doesn’t mean that people in difficult situations can’t aspire to pursue their dreams. But they’ll likely struggle much more to achieve them. Manifesting without social awareness is like asking a plant to flourish without soil, sun, or water.
In fact, one of the dangers of manifesting is that if you don’t achieve what you want, you may end up thinking it’s your fault for not visualizing it well, not tuning into the “right frequency,” or not believing in yourself enough. This narrative, instead of empowering, silently punishes.
So… what do we do with manifesting?
Manifesting can be an interesting tool if used with a sense of purpose. There’s nothing wrong with fostering optimistic thoughts, using validating affirmations, or visualizing your goals. The problem arises when you think that’s enough.
Manifestation isn’t magic, but it’s not a complete fraud either. It’s a practice that can help you… if you use it with common sense. You won’t attract what you want just by thinking about it, but you can create the internal conditions (motivation, clarity, action) to make it happen.
So yes, you can still make your vision board. But don’t forget to keep moving, get your hands dirty, make calls, send out resumes, train, or set boundaries if that’s what you want.
After all, the universe can lend a hand… but you also have to do your part.
Bibliographic:
Oettingen, G. & Mayer, Doris. (2002) The motivating function of thinking about the future: Expectations versus fantasies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; 83(5): 1198-1212.
Pham, LB & Taylor, SE (1999) From Thought to Action: Effects of Process-Versus Outcome-Based Mental Simulations on Performance. Pers Soc Psychol Bull; 25(2): 250-260.
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