It was the middle of August 2021 when I got sucked into the spiral of the newest thing taking TikTok by storm: manifestation.

Videos of people doing tarot card readings and giving tips on how to manifest things suddenly appeared on my For You page. 

Manifestation refers to the ability to attract and manifest things in our lives using only our minds.

According to a recent British Vogue article by Giselle La Pompe-Moore, “Manifesting is the materialisation of a thought or belief into physical form, based on the idea that our mind is a powerful tool for creation.” It’s like daydreaming and believing that these daydreams will come true and will happen in reality.

There are a lot of ways to manifest things, but here are some steps you can take to enhance your manifestations, and make them happen faster.

First, know exactly what you want to manifest. If you’re not clear about what you want, then the universe itself will not know what it is you actually want in your life. For example, to manifest new friends into your life, think about the qualities you might want in these friends. The more specific you are, the more likely the universe will give you exactly what you want.

Second, visualize how you want this manifestation to come into your life. Think of yourself with this manifestation, and feel all the emotions you’d experience when you finally have the thing you’ve wanted. You can journal these scenarios, acting as if this thing has already happened, and write about howjoyful getting it made you feel. Others use different methods like vision boards or positive affirmations. To add to my example, if you want new friends, think about occasions in which you would spend time with these friends, such as having coffee or shopping dates with them.

Third, change your mindset, especially if you’re just beginning to manifest. Limited beliefs won’t help you in the long run. Doubting yourself may ruin your manifestations, because if you doubt that you’ll be able to get what you want, then you won’t get what you want. And usually, it’s encouraged to manifest or affirm manifestations with positive positive phrases such as “I will make better friends this year,” or “I allow healthy relationships with new people into my life now,” rather than, “I don’t want to have problems with my friends anymore.”

Fourth, practice gratitude and kindness. We all radiate negative or positive energy, and in doing things like showing gratitude or kindness to others, or even toward ourselves, we send this energy into the universe, and the universe gives us good things in return. This can be done in ways as simple as saying “Thank you” to someone for something that they did or complimenting someone’s outfit out of the blue. It’s those acts of kindness and gratitude that help you radiate positivity.

Finally, surrender and trust the process. Let go of the fear that your manifestation won’t come true. An article written by Kenneth Wong talks about the Top 5 Obstacles Before Your Manifestations. The first is time, the second is the judgment of other people, the third is limited beliefs, the fourth is the fear of taking action, and the last is wanting to control the outcome. Each of these are obstacles that the universe may send us to push us to grow our manifestation abilities. Be certain of your manifestation happening and trust that whatever you’re going through is going to lead you to your manifestation! 

Here’s what Academy of Arts and Communication students Sonya Hegarty and Preston Ancheta had to say about manifesations.

I wasn’t surprised to find out that both of them found out about this concept through TikTok, since it was also the place I ended up coming across this concept. 

Hegarty describes manifestations as “Speaking things into reality and asking the universe to make it come true,” though she says, “I feel like there’s a certain borderline between hopeful, and delusional.” Hegarty clarifies, “Sometimes you’re just not meant to have that one thing that you’ve been hoping for. And in a way, that’s when it becomes a delusion at that point, because you don’t want to let go of what you want.”

That’s something I thought about shortly after I interviewed her. There could be a fine line between delusion and the thing that you’re manifesting. You can manifest anything you want in life if you put the effort into it, but also you have to truly think about the thing you want and decide whether it’s worth having in your life. Ask yourself questions like, “Is it worth putting my time and effort into?” or “Will this benefit me in a good way?”

Ancheta says, “Don’t rely on just manifestations. You gotta do things to get your manifestations.” People tend to forget that while you’re thinking things into reality, you also have to put in the work in order to guarantee that you get what you want. For example, you can try to work harder at your job in order to get that raise, or step out of your comfort zone to interact with new people if you want new friendships or bonds.

Overall, manifestation is something all of us are truly capable of. No matter your circumstances, you just have to have a little faith in yourself. Your mind is the creator of your reality, and you can manifest all the things you desire using it. You are capable of creating manifestations, and you’re worthy of those manifestations becoming your reality.