How to Manifest What You Want

WRITTEN BY NICOLE ENTZEROTH | 2 Minute Read

They say your life is a book and you’re the author (or something like that). But if you are the creator of your own reality, how do you do it? If there’s a class on Manifesting 101 I definitely missed it in life’s course catalog.

The word “manifest” gets thrown around often. We’re manifesting. I’m not thinking about it, I’m manifesting. If we manifest, it will come true. It can sound a little woo-woo, but in an age of comparison and putting way too much pressure on ourselves, I’ve found it to be one of my #1 confidence-builders personally and professionally.

We usually want to manifest things like happiness, our ideal selves, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and so on. The bottom line about manifesting is this: we want to turn a dream into a reality. 

The key to manifesting successfully? Actually believing in yourself, not just saying that you do.

Why actually believing in yourself matters so much:

Research by Dr. Carol Dweck illustrates that believing you can do something makes it more likely that you'll do it, and do it successfully to boot. This means that your beliefs about your ability to achieve what you’re manifesting are the key players - more so than simply what you’re manifesting.

If you truly believe you can achieve something, you are much more willing to do the hard work to achieve it.

Here’s a simple example:

You want to run a marathon, it’s been a big life goal for the past 10 years. Imagine telling yourself this: “It’s going to be hard and I haven’t been in shape at all, but I’ll try my best.”

Versus telling yourself this: “I trust myself to stick to my training schedule and absolutely crush my first marathon.”

Your mind can tell when you’re fibbing.

The first internal dialogue doesn’t truly believe that you can run a marathon - it’s faking it for you. You might attempt your training plan, but it’s nothing against the annoying voice in the background full of self-doubt. 

The second internal dialogue doesn’t have any doubt that you can run the marathon and that you’ll take the necessary steps to do it. You’ll do your training plan and probably have some difficulty, but you’ll push through with a supportive voice in the background that’s confident in your abilities.

Here’s how to start believing in yourself, really this time.

You start by holding out your hands in front of you, palms facing up.

You in that position? Good. Next you…

Think about what it is that you want to manifest - a career move, a dream home, a risk you’re debating on taking and if it will pay off, or maybe just a different mindset than the one you’re used to. Next, repeat this phrase as many times as it takes for you to actually believe it.

“I trust myself

I trust myself

I trust myself.”

No matter how small or large your dream is, you fully trust in your abilities to achieve it. Picture this trust going into your left palm that you have facing up. I like to move my hand up and down when I’m repeating “I trust myself” to get an even fuller effect of the trust piling up. Lay it on thick!

After that, take your right hand and sprinkle on your dream.

You heard that right. With your trust in your left hand ready to go, take your right hand and sprinkle your dream on top.

Think about it like a cupcake.

The most important thing to remember with this exercise is that you can’t sprinkle if you don’t have trust. You can’t put sprinkles on a cupcake that’s not there.

Sometimes I have to go back and really focus on the mantra “I trust myself” and then return to the sprinkles.

Add this exercise into your meditation routine, before a big moment, or as you’re planning your next steps.

Remember, you can’t sprinkle on a cupcake that’s not there. Trust in yourself for real this time.