January 3, 2025 • 39 mins
Manifestation far more mystical than scientific, but there is some important psychology behind how it works and why. In today's episode we break down the exact science and research behind the power of manifestation and 5 important exercises that can help you create powerful, positive shifts in your love. This includes:
- The roots of manifestation
- The science of the law of attraction and detachment
- What is a self fulfilling prophecy?
- How does positive thinking attract a positive reality?
- The power of affirmations, scripted manifestation, music and more
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everybody, Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to
the podcast, new listeners, old listeners. Wherever you are in
the world, it is so great to have you here
back for another episode as we, of course break down
the psychology of our twenties. I hope you all had
a transformative, fun but safe start to the new year.
(00:21):
Welcome to twenty twenty five. Before we get into this episode,
a few months back, I said that I had a
lot of surprises in store for this year. And guess what,
you did not have to wait long for the first one,
and probably one of the biggest ones. I am so
beyond excited to announce that my brand new podcast, Mantra,
(00:43):
will be launching on the thirteenth of January. Yes, that
you heard me write a brand new podcast. And if
you are a fan of the Psychology of your twenties,
you're going to love this. If you're interested in expanding
your mind, improving your mindset, growing as a person, learning
Mantra is going to be the perfect fit for you.
(01:05):
Every Monday, I focus on a new mantra so you
can begin your week with a mental reset, and I
talk to you about the meaning of the mantra. How
to really take advantage of what that Mantra can do
for you where we can see it show up in
our lives and also journal prompts a weekly challenge. We
have been working so hard on this, and the reason
(01:28):
I really wanted to do a show like this is
because I love the psychology of your twenties is of
course my creative baby, but I also wanted to have
a space that isn't just the science. It's more inspirational
and reaffirming, perhaps even more spiritual, which is also an
important part of who I am, along with my love
of humans and numbers and studies and the psychology of things.
(01:51):
And Martra just felt like the perfect way to do this.
Every Monday is a mental reset.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You tune in on.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Your morning commute, when you're at work, when you're the gym,
and it just sets the tone for the rest of
your week. You can be one of the first people
to hear it and listen to the brand new episode
if you subscribe to Mantra now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
It's already up there. It's ready to go. The first
episode drops in less than a week. I hope you
(02:20):
love it. I really really do. It is just such
a passion project for me, is something I think is
going to be such an important thing to put out
into the world, hopefully make a huge difference, hopefully just
inspire you, give you more things to listen to if
you need a new podcast. There it is. Without further ado, though,
(02:41):
let's talk about the psychology of manifestation, which is of
course today's topic, one that I have been really excited
to do for a while. Actually, it's very much been
at the top of the list, but just keeps getting
bumped down by things that felt more important. But it's
a brand new year and this just felt like a
great episode to dive into straight off the bat. So
(03:03):
if you are a brand new to manifestation, I'll give
you a quick one oh one. Manifesting is this very affirming,
significant idea that you can attract your dream life by
using your thoughts. How you view a situation matters, and
it's a powerful way to bring about your greatest desires.
So basically, if we think positive things, they will happen.
(03:26):
If we think we are lucky, lucky things will happen
to us. That is the whole premise and manifesting it's
become so incredibly popular in recent years, specifically after the
success of a book called The Secret Actually was written
by an Australian author back in two thousand and six,
and it reintroduced this ancient idea that your thoughts are
(03:51):
a powerful magnet for the reality that you want. That
premise has of course existed in a number of cultures
for thousands of years. It's important to acknowledge that Buddha,
for example, taught that our thoughts shape us and that
our intentions determine our destinies. So it's definitely not a
new idea, but it's a very powerful one that has
reached a whole new audience. If it sounds too good
(04:14):
to be true, I get you. I totally understand, especially
if you're someone who is quite scientific like me. Anything
that offers a simple, quick fix, easy solution to transform
your life, to make everything possible, to make a million
dollars sounds like a scam. Additionally, we do really have
(04:34):
to talk about how elitist manifestation can sometimes seem for
people who are experiencing poverty or starvation or war, for
whom thinking positive things will most likely not change a
larger systemic problem. There are some criticisms of manifestation. It's
definitely got some major issues. We're going to talk about
(04:55):
that later on, but I also really want to break
it down for you and show that it's not just
a magical, mystical idea for the people who successfully implement manifestation.
A lot of it is really rooted in psychology and
in our cognition and in our subconscious minds, and how
our beliefs in our mindset subliminally control our actions and
(05:16):
our behaviors. You know, if you really believe something will
happen to you, and you have the ability and the
resources to action that belief, that's crucial. It does create
a self fulfilling prophecy where you are more likely to
act in a way that ensures that it will, even
if you don't realize it. You know, obviously, if you
think something will happen and you don't do anything about it,
(05:37):
manifesting will never work for you. If you think, yeah,
it would be nice to be rich and then just
sit twiddling your thumbs waiting for it to happen, That's
not how manifestation works. There are some really powerful psychology
and neuroscience behind this very legitimate self help practice that
can spur on goal directed action, and it really relies
(05:59):
on things from cognitive restructuring to the power of self talk,
the power of self belief, and concepts neurological concepts like
long term potentiation. So today I want to talk about it.
If you're on the fence, if you're completely committed to
the idea, if you're just trying to level up and
improve the way you manifest, this episode is for you.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
There is so.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Much science, so much fascinating research to cover in this episode,
and I also want to provide the five most powerful
manifestation exercises that you can use based on all this psychology.
So all of that and so much more. It is
a jam packed episode. After this short break, manifestation has
(06:44):
definitely been having a moment in the self help wellness
space in recent years. I don't know when I first
really became aware of manifesting as a concept, but when
I did, I will admit I thought it was ridiculous.
You know, how could your thoughts make anything magically happen
for you? You know, I have thousands millions of thoughts
every day, very few of them ever come true. I
(07:05):
think that definitely came down to being a bit of
an overachiever as well. You know, I really believed in
the absolute power of blood, sweat, and tears and hard work.
Really that was my like, that's my equation. You work hard,
you get what you.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Work for and what you deserve.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
But in twenty nineteen, I really had my first instance
of kind of realizing that I had manifested certain things
in my life. I'd gone through a breakup. I was,
you know, really committed to repeating all these positive statements
to myself. I was journaling about what I wanted in
the next month, three months, a year, and strangely a
lot of it was coming true. And when I was
investigating and I was like, Wow, why is this happening?
(07:45):
You know, it can't just all be luck. And I
think it really came down to how these practices were
restructuring and shifting how my mind thought about problems. Okay,
I've already gone off on a tangent. Let's dial it
back for a second. Let's talk about the pillars of manifestation,
the most common manifestation techniques, themes, topics. Basically, so, the
(08:08):
biggest formal theory of manifestation is undoubtedly the law of attraction,
law of attraction. You would have heard it everywhere. And
this law basically suggests that your thoughts and beliefs can
attract people, events, and circumstances into your life. And it's
very much based on the idea that people and their
thoughts are made up of pure energy, and like energy,
(08:31):
similar energy attracts similar energy, thereby allowing us to improve
our health well for personal relationships by thinking positive things
and attracting those positive things to us. So basically, your
thoughts are a magnet. They attract whatever you think, you desire,
that you think of, and that you focus on. Another
(08:53):
very famous form of manifestation is, of course, the law
of detachment. This sounds like the opposite of the law
of traction, but it's definitely not an entire contradiction. It
basically suggests that in order to manifest our desires, we
have to release our attachment to a specific outcome. So
if you are trying to manifest love, I know that's
(09:15):
a big one. You need to release the idea of
what love could look like for you, so you cannot
keep expecting that love is going to be this six
foot four, dark haired person who is a lawyer, who
does these exact specific things, and their name is Andrew
and they're twenty seven. Like, you can't imagine a specific
kind of person. You have to detach from your expectations
(09:39):
about how whatever your desire will come to you, Like
what's the outcome going to be? You have to detach
from a specific outcome. Same with a you know, a
dream job. If you're manifesting your dream career, you have
to accept that maybe what you have in mind isn't right.
And let let's say the universe or a higher power.
That's how a lot of people normally talk about this.
(10:00):
How you have to let that guide you. So why
I see this working on a psychological basis is that
this perspective creates an internal shift and it puts us
into a growth and curiosity mindset so that opportunities we
may have previously not looked at now become available to us.
(10:21):
So it keeps us more open. I definitely have some
issues with the premise behind the law of detachment, because
I think, especially for people who are anxious or who
have anxiety or who have OCD, detaching from an outcome
or breaking out of a thought pattern can be extremely hard,
near impossible. That doesn't mean that these individuals don't still
(10:42):
have dreams that come true. So there are certainly some
holes in this logic, right, People who are overly anxious
don't just have bad things happen to them as well.
You know, the opposite of law of attraction. You know,
if law of attraction is correct, you know, thinking about
negative things would make negative things happen to you someone
who is overly anxious. That's not always the case. So
(11:05):
moving back to the law of attraction, because I think
that is really the manifestation technique that we're zoning in
on today. If you think it's simply about asking the
universe to reward you as I once did, I really
want to explain further that psychology.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
In that psychological explanation.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
And we have to start with this very fundamental logic.
Believing that you can accomplish something is going to make
it much more likely that you do compared to not believing.
What does this rest on. It rests on the power
of self belief. Self belief that is the number one
biggest factor in any success story that you will ever hear,
(11:46):
and yet I think it is the least talked about.
You cannot be motivated, you cannot be disciplined. You cannot
be a risk taker. You cannot bet on yourself if
you do not believe that success will be yours. So
not believing in yourself is a goal ending contradiction. The
(12:07):
reason that the law of attraction works and that many
people see manifesting as a very golden key that unlocks
this incredible life of theirs is because of how it
changes out underlying, subconscious, subliminal thoughts to do with self belief.
This is called by another name. It's called cognitive restructure,
which you've already mentioned a couple of times. It's a
(12:27):
very well researched, legitimate therapeutic technique. Basically, what this method
has people do is identify negative thoughts or self limiting
thoughts and challenge them replace them with more positive thoughts.
So let me give you an example of how this
could be used using the American Psychological Associations accredited five
(12:49):
step process to cognitive restructuring your CBT. Firstly, a person
identifies the situation and feeling that they would like to change.
For example, let's say anxiety about the future. It's one
I always use for people in their twenties. Then you
identify the underlying thoughts about the feeling. So, for example,
why am I feeling anxious about the future, Well, probably
(13:12):
because you know, I'm uncertain. I'm scared of failure. I
expect the worst case scenario to happen. And then it
asks people to look for evidence of that being the
case in the past. So, what is your worst case
scenario here? I'm going to fail, I'm going to be miserable,
I'm never going to find success. They say, what's the
(13:32):
evidence for that being the case? Who's telling you this?
Where's the magic ball? And then it gets you to
really focus on the alternative. What if the worst case
scenario didn't happen? What if you were a success? Why
couldn't that happen to you? What if it all worked
out for you? Then they ask you to make a
(13:53):
decision and when a future dilemma like this one comes up,
do you continue to choose the more health helpful thought
or do you continue to choose the less helpful thought.
This really changes how our brain responds to a problem
by changing our thought circuits and pathways that are attached
to it. Cognitive restructuring sounds a lot like manifestation in
(14:16):
that way. Manifestation is working to create more positive thoughts
for a positive outcome, and really, you know what that
entails is introducing positive scenarios into your mind. Cognitive restructuring
kind of sounds the same. There is a lot of
evidence for this kind of technique working. So there was
(14:36):
a twenty twenty study that looked at one hundred and
forty one individuals who received cognitive restructuring treatment and it
found that at a twelve month follow up, individuals reported lower
depressive symptoms, less anxious avoidance. And this is the really
big one, greater self efficacy. So self efficacy we talk
(14:56):
about it a lot. It's probably one of my favorite
concepts and basically says that our ability, our belief, and
our ability to achieve an outcome that we want is
really really important. So self efficacy is basically your self
belief in bringing about your future or being able to
work hard or be consistent. So you know, if you
(15:17):
have a big project at work or you want to
launch a business, people who are high and self efficacy
will say, yeah, I'm capable of that. It's going to
be hard, but I'm ready for the challenge. I can
do it. Whereas if you're low in self efficacy, you'll
doubt yourself into inaction. Basically, luckily, self efficacy is something
(15:37):
that you can change, and this is one way of
doing it, that cognitive re structuring. Another explanation for the
psychology of manifestation is what we know very commonly as
a self fulfilling prophecy. So as self fulfilling prophecy occurs
when our beliefs and expectations influence our actions and ways
that bring those beliefs to life and the context of manifestation,
(16:02):
by visualizing success or a desired outcome, we subconsciously align
our decisions, attitudes, and actions with that goal. This focus
really increases our motivation, our perseverance, and our openness to
those opportunities we might previously overlook. So, in essence, manifestation
(16:24):
leverages the psychological mechanism of a self fulfilling prophecy by
turning positive beliefs into deliberate action, really bridging the gap
between intention and achievement. So, if you walk into a
room thinking everyone in this room is going to fall
in love with you, is going to think that you
are charismatic and attractive and alluring, you are going to
(16:48):
feel better about yourself. And so because of that you'll
probably speak to more people, you'll be more open, you'll
make more eye contact, you'll feel better, and you might
walk out and say, my god, I manifested that that
is really actually a self fulfilling prophecy. And if you
want to see it in action, you've got to hear
about this very famous experiment from the nineteen sixties. You've
(17:10):
probably heard about it before, but it was about how
teachers expectations of students actually determined their grades and the
students who performed best, and it really came down to
the students who wore glasses because the teachers assumed, you know,
if you wear glasses, you're more intelligent, so they treated
them as such. They treated them as if they were
already intelligent, and therefore it created that self fulfilling prophecy.
(17:35):
It meant that they gave them more attention, it meant
that they gave them more praise, It meant that they
spent more time with them, that gave them more challenging work,
and so they were the ones who achieved all because
of a self fulfilling prophecy. And you can use that
same formula on yourself. So two final points on the
psychology and manifestation. The other reason that we tend to
(17:57):
think that what we think about attracts what we experience
also comes down to how the thought patterns that occur
with manifestation unlock a growth versus a fixed mindset. So
a fixed mindset assumes that our abilities are innate and unchangeable,
that what we're born with is what we're given. And
you know, if we're lazy, we're lazy. If we're not
(18:17):
good at sports, we're not good at sports, we're not disciplined,
we're not disciplined. A growth mindset means that we believe
that all humans, you and I are capable of change,
that we can improve, and that means that our beliefs
about our ability to learn, grow, and succeed. Our growth
mindset can indeed affect whether we effectively manifest what we desire. Importantly,
(18:41):
the research really suggests that if we truly believe we
can achieve something, we are more willing to do the
hard work to achieve it. So manifesting by saying all
those positive statements to yourself, by saying this is what
I really want, this is who I am.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
This is what I'm going to achieve, it.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Means that the parts of ourselves that are willing to work,
that are more activated, that we're more willing to grow
into a challenge. And finally, the reason that manifestation works
is what we call the upward spiral of positive emotions.
So the thought process behind manifestation actually incidentally also creates
an important cognitive positive feedback loop where the more we
(19:19):
think positive good things, the more we actually tend to
see positive good things, like a confirmation bias. And then
it goes a step further, which means that we actually
are generally more optimistic, motivated, happy about our current state
because all these good things are happening to us. We
can see all these good things around us because we've
been cue to see those things, prime to see those things.
(19:40):
And of course, someone who is more happy, optimistic is
going to be more motivated. So manifestation techniques, like the
law of attraction or the law of detachment, they really
seemingly work because of how they transform the perception of
our circumstances, our self beliefs, and therefore trigger important goal
in intentional and activating behaviors. I want to be really
(20:03):
really clear, there is zero proof that manifestation works on
its own. Some people do like to cite this idea
of quantum theory, which states that everything in the universe
is made up of energy. So when we declare an
intention and we practice manifestation, we align our energy with
the universe's energy. But specifically, I really think what it
(20:25):
comes down to is our actions, and I want to
talk about how we can get better at activating important,
motivated behaviors and actually going after what we want with
the help of manifestation. Of course, after this shortbreak, so,
(20:46):
the most powerful quote I have ever heard about manifestation
came from an interview with a professor at Stanford University.
His name is doctor James Dottie, and this is really
what he had to say. Manifestation is not about asking
the US universe to reward you. It's about rewiring your
brain to reward itself. Love that quote, absolutely loved when
(21:09):
I heard it for the first time. And what's really
describing is agency. This is how I see it. When
our mind is on board and convinced of our success.
It's kind of like turning the wheel in a huge
semi truck, right, So our positive thoughts turn the wheel
and then all the carriages follow behind it. So once
we have a positive appraisal of our situation and of
(21:30):
our beliefs. Our beliefs will then shift, our attitudes will
then shift, then our ambition, and then our actions will follow.
So when your mind and your thoughts are on board,
your behaviors and intentions follow suit and acknowledging this is
really essential because we are after a really balanced approach.
Your manifestation is not just about wishing, and we don't
(21:52):
want it to lead to a lot of you know,
unrealistic expectations and blame, you know, sitting there being like
I'm wishing for something.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I want it to happen so badly.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
And it's not coming true, and that means I must
be doing it wrong, or I'm a bad person, or
I don't deserve good things because the universe isn't giving
them to me, Absolutely not. It may be because you're
not allowing your actions to follow along. So I want
to talk about five manifestation techniques that can really inspire
that positive restructuring in their full spurun change and how
(22:25):
that can bring about your dream life. And the biggest one,
the first one I really want to speak about that
I see people using all the time, and that I
actually personally use I've just recently been doing this a
lot with the new year. Is scripted journaling or narrative
conjuring sounds fancy, It's actually really simple. What I want
you to do is write out a very detailed journal
(22:47):
entry as if whatever you are desiring has already happened,
and I want you to write it out in as
much detail and I mean overkill with the detail. So
this method I did research. It really emerged as an
offshoot of this nineteen seventies kind of project to do
with neuro linguistic programming. So boring, but basically this project
(23:11):
encouraged individuals, as part of this process to visualize their
futures using all five sensors. And basically what they found
was that when we thought about our future using words
and actions and then using all these different sensory inputs,
our subconscious perception of the world changed and ultimately determined
(23:32):
what we believed was possible for us to attain, achieve,
and attract. So that project kind of like came across
this incidentally, And I'll give you an example of how
you can use scripted journaling in your own life. Say
you are really trying to manifest a huge lifestyle change
or overhaul. So you want to make yourself into someone
(23:52):
who is active, who has a large group of friends,
who will boost each other up, who goes on hikes,
goes to pilates, whatever it is. Get out your journal,
get out of pen and write a journal entry that
sounds like today. I woke up in my beautiful linen
sheets and the sun was shining through my apartment window.
And that apartment looked down onto forty ninth Street, and
(24:13):
I'd bought it a couple months ago, and I decided
that I would text my friend group to go to
pilates with each other. And this was what the picture
for my friends group looked like. And this was what
we called the group chat name. And this is how
many people were in that group chat. And I put
on this outfit that was this color from this brand,
and I ate this for breakfast and these were the
ingredients and this is how it tasted. And this is
(24:34):
what my carpet looks like. And these are my steps
down to the street. And you know, this is what
the POLARATEUS studio looked like. This is the perfume that
my friend was wearing. She smiled when she saw me
every little detail. I feel like you get the picture
as much as possible. If writing isn't really your thing,
you can also use an audio journal where you describe
your perfect work day at your dream job, or an
(24:56):
amazing date you're yet to go on but that you
know is a the future, you know, with as much
detail as possible. That scripting doesn't just have to be,
you know, written down. You can also make it verbal.
That can be really really powerful. And the reason that
it's powerful is because it gets you to think about
aspects of your goal or your dream that you might
not consider. You know, often when we set goals or
(25:19):
we're manifesting something, we're so just focused on it happening, right,
We're so focused on the future and the outcome, and
we don't really have an idea of what we need
to get there, or timelines or small components, or what
needs to happen between then and now and what it
could feel like. And the scripted writing in this narrative
exercise gets us to fill in a lot of the blanks.
(25:42):
And I'm going to get a little bit scientific here,
but there was actually a series of studies conducted between
twenty and eight and twenty fourteen that examined what happened
when we visualize future goals in this way, or we
engage in positive thinking and writing or mentally simulating future events,
and what it found was that two important brain areas
(26:03):
are activated by exercises like this, the ventral medial prefrontal
cortex and the posterior singular cortex, both of which, by
the way, are implicated in attention and self reflection. But
more specifically, these areas of the brain support internally directed action. Basically,
(26:24):
they are the parts of the brain that when a
thought comes in, they say, Okay, we're going to make
this happen.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
How do we do this?
Speaker 1 (26:29):
What parts of our body do we need to put
into action? What other thought processes in our brain do
we need to switch on. Even if a visual or
written script isn't your thing and you're more of a
visual thinker or learner, you can also utilize the power
of a good old fashioned vision board. I'm sure you've
all seen the videos of people sharing their vision boards
(26:52):
from twenty twenty three and how many surprising things from
those boards actually happened. I really think it's because representing
your goals visually in this way is such a great
physical visual queue or reminder of what you are working towards,
and therefore, when you have that more on your focus,
(27:13):
you are more likely to remember, Hey, I actually want
this thing. What have I been doing to make it happen?
Maybe I should be working harder on that. There's a
famous quote that you become what you behold or what
you see your environment and what you are visually exposed
to that really does influence mood, motivation, attitude. Vision board
(27:34):
work actually works on a part of our brain called
the reticular activating system RIS. It's actually located in the
brain stem. It's a very essential part of our brain
that filters information and determines what's important. And when you
visualize your goals frequently, as you do with the vision board,
your RIS becomes more attuned to opportunities that align with
(27:56):
those goals. So this process really helps you notice things
in your environment that can help you achieve your aspirations,
making you more focused and intentional. Here's the thing that
you really need to do, though, to make a vision
board work for you. Don't just choose the photos that
are available to you in a magazine or that you
have lying around. You really have to be intentional with
(28:19):
setting this up. So choose the photos that most resonate
with you. Choose to have a few options. And I
really like to have four segments of my vision board.
One segment is for career, one is for relationships, one
is for lifestyle. One is for personal growth goals, so
things like cobbies, travel, spiritual goals. And I really really
(28:39):
make sure that it's not all material things. There should
be experiences on there too. There should be things that
really activate my senses, things that are small and daily.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
And something that.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Mel Robbins actually said that was really powerful in a
recent episode of Hers is that you can't just have
big life changing goals on a vision board. This is
more about the lifestyle that surrounds achieving those goals. You
can't just have a picture of the finish line of
you know, the New York Marathon without a few pictures
of you running, you know, or of a training plan
(29:13):
or of healthy fuel. Your vision board needs to be
focused on the building blocks as well as the big outcomes.
Let's talk about another very well known manifestation strategy or
accompany meant and that it's affirmations. This is probably the
strategy that I rely on most heavily in my own life,
mainly because I know that scientifically speaking, how I talk
(29:37):
to myself matters. Also, affirmations are so accessible on a
daily basis, you know, vision boards, scripting. They're a real
time commitment and a very worthy time commitment, not necessarily
something that you can do every day, but affirmations you
can even do a few times a day. And when
I was going through a really transformative time when I
(29:57):
was twenty two, I had a list of t affirmations
written on a big piece of paper on the inside
of my bedroom door. And these affirmations were genuinely so
important to me, and I really think that they were
a huge, huge kind of way in which I was
able to lead a more fulfilling life compared to the
(30:18):
life I was living before. And I actually went searching
for these because I was like, these affirmations are really good,
and it took me a while to come up with them,
like it was a very finely tuned in the list,
And finally I found a picture in my phone of
this list on the back of my door, and I
want to read these out to you. These were the
affirmations I used to really help me bring about a
(30:41):
more positive way of seeing my life and therefore a
more positive life. I radiate confidence and self assurance. I
have an attractive aura. I am someone who goes after
what I want. People feel good around me. I trust
myself to make the right decisions. I am a powerful
(31:02):
creator of my reality. I am a hard worker. I
am constantly attracting incredible things into my life. I release
the need for others approval. I am in control of
my best and my worst thoughts. These were the affirmations
(31:22):
that I would recite to myself every morning for over
a year, and it was like putting on a mental armor.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Every day.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
The first thing I said to myself in the morning
was I'm not stressed about the day. I'm not overwhelmed.
I'm not worried about how I look. All of these
natural thoughts were would pop up, and instead I would
put myself into a place of self empowerment by making
sure I left my house every single morning with a
more positive statement and positive feeling about myself and mind.
(31:54):
And it really did change how I approach challenges, change
how I approach people, how productive I was as well.
I really think that it also changed how I made friends,
Like there was this huge shift for me between being
quite lonely and then suddenly having all these people in
my life because I was I really think entering the
(32:16):
outside world radiating positive energy because I felt good about myself.
I also have affirmations that I use for specific circumstances.
Before you know, I mentioned a public speaking I have
five affirmations for that in my notes up. Anytime I
need to public speak, I say, I am prepared for this.
My voice is strong and steady. The people in this
(32:37):
room will be captivated by me. I speak and communicate
with ease, and I am excited for the opportunity to
share knowledge. Very very effective. And if you want a
fund psychology study that provides evidence for the effectiveness of
this method, we can actually look at one from twenty
fifteen conducted at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where sixty
(32:59):
seven students were to either participate in an affirmation exercise
before a task or not, and those who outperformed the
other students All of them were those who had done
affirmations because they felt more capable. And it's free, like
that's the crazy part.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
You don't need to do some crazy thing.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
You just have to make your list and stick to it. Okay,
before we talk about limitations, I want to talk about
one final way to combine manifestation and psychology and your
pursuit of your goals. And it's called a sensory anchor.
And the sensory anchor we're going to be talking about
today is music. So a sensory anchor is a stimulus
(33:37):
such as a sound, smell, touch, that triggers a specific
emotional or mental state. Music in particular is highly effective
because music is very emotional and it directly triggers a
lot of emotional centers of the brain. It's why we
get tingles when we listen to songs, That's why we
have a physical reaction, it's why it evokes memories. By
(33:58):
pairing music with your visualization or manifestation practice, you can
train your brain to associate certain songs or sounds with
a mindset of success or confidence or joy. So what
I want you to do is put together a playlist
of songs that make you really like motivated, inspired, pumped up,
(34:19):
feeling good about yourself, like alive. Make a playlist like that,
and anytime you are in the mindset, you're in the mood,
you're in the place to achieve something to get shit done,
or you're just feeling low as well, play that playlist.
I've already seen so many examples of these on Spotify,
Like you can look up manifestation playlist or mindset shift
(34:42):
playlists anything like that, and people have already curated music
that is intended to evoke a really like excited, motivated, passionate,
creative mindset. And I just want to say one final
thing with all these methods, the thing that real links
them and why they are implicated in the manifestation process
(35:04):
is that all of them, in some way, using you know, writing,
using your words, using what you see, using what you hear,
all of them are influencing us to see outcomes is
happening in our favor by influencing how we think about things.
(35:25):
So before we conclude this episode, I really think that
it would be remissive me to not consider the limitations
of manifestation and the privilege that definitely comes with being
able to implement things like scripting or affirmations and see
them as being effective, you know, manifesting that lifestyle that
(35:45):
we want. If that's something that is really happening for people,
we have to question why it's not happening for others.
And let's be honest, a lot of the things that
we want to manifest, they are luxuries, and we could
not begin to be you know, even dream of them,
let alone receive them, receive first class flights, receive dream jobs,
(36:06):
receive money if our fundamental basic human needs weren't already met.
So food, water, security, safety, health, emotional and social support.
Those are the fundamental foundations of human life, and so
many people don't have those things. There are people in
(36:30):
war zones or experiencing violence or poverty who may be
wishing harder than any of us, than you and me
for a life of peace, of safety, food, and their
abilities bellies, and they're not receiving it. So I think
that we also have to recognize that in order to
(36:50):
manifest anything, you do actually have to have the ability
to action your desires, and that means privilege and resources.
You know, if we think manifestation is just this immaterial,
energetic quantum force at work, why is the quantum force
not helping so many people who are really doing it hard.
(37:13):
Why does the universe's energy seem to neglect people that
are struggling with poverty or that are less privileged than us,
because I don't think that's how energy works. You know,
if the quantum theory is positive energy attracts positive energy,
like it's forgetting about a large group of people. So
it is a privilege to be able to use psychological
(37:36):
methods of manifestation to really bridge the gap between intention
and motivation and therefore achievement. And I think that before
we go out there and say, yeah, I like just
manifest it, like, just think positive things and good things
will happen, you've got to remember that's not the case
for everyone, and that it is really a blessing and
something you should be grateful for, that this is a
(37:59):
technique that you are exploring and that could work for you.
So I find that when I think about manifestation as
an exercise that is rooted in self belief psychology and
then having the ability to take actions based on your
positive thinking, that makes a lot more sense to me.
And that's something that, yeah, again I think we should
(38:20):
be grateful for. So I really hope that you learned
something from this episode. You learn something about the science,
from the studies, about the research the concepts that make
up manifestation is such a powerful method of attraction or
of detachment, whichever one you choose to believe in. If
there's something I missed here, I would love to hear
(38:41):
from you. Please share your manifestation exercises that you use.
I would love to hear from them, like I would
love to hear them. Sorry, and love to hear from you,
because there's so many out there that I probably haven't
mentioned that people could learn a lot from. If you
enjoyed this episode, make sure you share it with a friend,
share it with family men, Share with your partner someone
who you think could learn as well. We are always
(39:04):
open to episode suggestions. You just have to DM me
on Instagram. That is how we get so many ideas
for the psychology of your twenties, and make sure you're
following along. Make sure you're subscribed. Make sure you follow
us over there on Instagram. And until next time, stay safe,
be kind, be gentle with yourself, and we will talk
very very soon.
Hello everybody, Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to
the podcast, new listeners, old listeners. Wherever you are in
the world, it is so great to have you here
back for another episode as we, of course break down
the psychology of our twenties. I hope you all had
a transformative, fun but safe start to the new year.
(00:21):
Welcome to twenty twenty five. Before we get into this episode,
a few months back, I said that I had a
lot of surprises in store for this year. And guess what,
you did not have to wait long for the first one,
and probably one of the biggest ones. I am so
beyond excited to announce that my brand new podcast, Mantra,
(00:43):
will be launching on the thirteenth of January. Yes, that
you heard me write a brand new podcast. And if
you are a fan of the Psychology of your twenties,
you're going to love this. If you're interested in expanding
your mind, improving your mindset, growing as a person, learning
Mantra is going to be the perfect fit for you.
(01:05):
Every Monday, I focus on a new mantra so you
can begin your week with a mental reset, and I
talk to you about the meaning of the mantra. How
to really take advantage of what that Mantra can do
for you where we can see it show up in
our lives and also journal prompts a weekly challenge. We
have been working so hard on this, and the reason
(01:28):
I really wanted to do a show like this is
because I love the psychology of your twenties is of
course my creative baby, but I also wanted to have
a space that isn't just the science. It's more inspirational
and reaffirming, perhaps even more spiritual, which is also an
important part of who I am, along with my love
of humans and numbers and studies and the psychology of things.
(01:51):
And Martra just felt like the perfect way to do this.
Every Monday is a mental reset.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You tune in on.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Your morning commute, when you're at work, when you're the gym,
and it just sets the tone for the rest of
your week. You can be one of the first people
to hear it and listen to the brand new episode
if you subscribe to Mantra now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
It's already up there. It's ready to go. The first
episode drops in less than a week. I hope you
(02:20):
love it. I really really do. It is just such
a passion project for me, is something I think is
going to be such an important thing to put out
into the world, hopefully make a huge difference, hopefully just
inspire you, give you more things to listen to if
you need a new podcast. There it is. Without further ado, though,
(02:41):
let's talk about the psychology of manifestation, which is of
course today's topic, one that I have been really excited
to do for a while. Actually, it's very much been
at the top of the list, but just keeps getting
bumped down by things that felt more important. But it's
a brand new year and this just felt like a
great episode to dive into straight off the bat. So
(03:03):
if you are a brand new to manifestation, I'll give
you a quick one oh one. Manifesting is this very affirming,
significant idea that you can attract your dream life by
using your thoughts. How you view a situation matters, and
it's a powerful way to bring about your greatest desires.
So basically, if we think positive things, they will happen.
(03:26):
If we think we are lucky, lucky things will happen
to us. That is the whole premise and manifesting it's
become so incredibly popular in recent years, specifically after the
success of a book called The Secret Actually was written
by an Australian author back in two thousand and six,
and it reintroduced this ancient idea that your thoughts are
(03:51):
a powerful magnet for the reality that you want. That
premise has of course existed in a number of cultures
for thousands of years. It's important to acknowledge that Buddha,
for example, taught that our thoughts shape us and that
our intentions determine our destinies. So it's definitely not a
new idea, but it's a very powerful one that has
reached a whole new audience. If it sounds too good
(04:14):
to be true, I get you. I totally understand, especially
if you're someone who is quite scientific like me. Anything
that offers a simple, quick fix, easy solution to transform
your life, to make everything possible, to make a million
dollars sounds like a scam. Additionally, we do really have
(04:34):
to talk about how elitist manifestation can sometimes seem for
people who are experiencing poverty or starvation or war, for
whom thinking positive things will most likely not change a
larger systemic problem. There are some criticisms of manifestation. It's
definitely got some major issues. We're going to talk about
(04:55):
that later on, but I also really want to break
it down for you and show that it's not just
a magical, mystical idea for the people who successfully implement manifestation.
A lot of it is really rooted in psychology and
in our cognition and in our subconscious minds, and how
our beliefs in our mindset subliminally control our actions and
(05:16):
our behaviors. You know, if you really believe something will
happen to you, and you have the ability and the
resources to action that belief, that's crucial. It does create
a self fulfilling prophecy where you are more likely to
act in a way that ensures that it will, even
if you don't realize it. You know, obviously, if you
think something will happen and you don't do anything about it,
(05:37):
manifesting will never work for you. If you think, yeah,
it would be nice to be rich and then just
sit twiddling your thumbs waiting for it to happen, That's
not how manifestation works. There are some really powerful psychology
and neuroscience behind this very legitimate self help practice that
can spur on goal directed action, and it really relies
(05:59):
on things from cognitive restructuring to the power of self talk,
the power of self belief, and concepts neurological concepts like
long term potentiation. So today I want to talk about it.
If you're on the fence, if you're completely committed to
the idea, if you're just trying to level up and
improve the way you manifest, this episode is for you.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
There is so.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Much science, so much fascinating research to cover in this episode,
and I also want to provide the five most powerful
manifestation exercises that you can use based on all this psychology.
So all of that and so much more. It is
a jam packed episode. After this short break, manifestation has
(06:44):
definitely been having a moment in the self help wellness
space in recent years. I don't know when I first
really became aware of manifesting as a concept, but when
I did, I will admit I thought it was ridiculous.
You know, how could your thoughts make anything magically happen
for you? You know, I have thousands millions of thoughts
every day, very few of them ever come true. I
(07:05):
think that definitely came down to being a bit of
an overachiever as well. You know, I really believed in
the absolute power of blood, sweat, and tears and hard work.
Really that was my like, that's my equation. You work hard,
you get what you.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Work for and what you deserve.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
But in twenty nineteen, I really had my first instance
of kind of realizing that I had manifested certain things
in my life. I'd gone through a breakup. I was,
you know, really committed to repeating all these positive statements
to myself. I was journaling about what I wanted in
the next month, three months, a year, and strangely a
lot of it was coming true. And when I was
investigating and I was like, Wow, why is this happening?
(07:45):
You know, it can't just all be luck. And I
think it really came down to how these practices were
restructuring and shifting how my mind thought about problems. Okay,
I've already gone off on a tangent. Let's dial it
back for a second. Let's talk about the pillars of manifestation,
the most common manifestation techniques, themes, topics. Basically, so, the
(08:08):
biggest formal theory of manifestation is undoubtedly the law of attraction,
law of attraction. You would have heard it everywhere. And
this law basically suggests that your thoughts and beliefs can
attract people, events, and circumstances into your life. And it's
very much based on the idea that people and their
thoughts are made up of pure energy, and like energy,
(08:31):
similar energy attracts similar energy, thereby allowing us to improve
our health well for personal relationships by thinking positive things
and attracting those positive things to us. So basically, your
thoughts are a magnet. They attract whatever you think, you desire,
that you think of, and that you focus on. Another
(08:53):
very famous form of manifestation is, of course, the law
of detachment. This sounds like the opposite of the law
of traction, but it's definitely not an entire contradiction. It
basically suggests that in order to manifest our desires, we
have to release our attachment to a specific outcome. So
if you are trying to manifest love, I know that's
(09:15):
a big one. You need to release the idea of
what love could look like for you, so you cannot
keep expecting that love is going to be this six
foot four, dark haired person who is a lawyer, who
does these exact specific things, and their name is Andrew
and they're twenty seven. Like, you can't imagine a specific
kind of person. You have to detach from your expectations
(09:39):
about how whatever your desire will come to you, Like
what's the outcome going to be? You have to detach
from a specific outcome. Same with a you know, a
dream job. If you're manifesting your dream career, you have
to accept that maybe what you have in mind isn't right.
And let let's say the universe or a higher power.
That's how a lot of people normally talk about this.
(10:00):
How you have to let that guide you. So why
I see this working on a psychological basis is that
this perspective creates an internal shift and it puts us
into a growth and curiosity mindset so that opportunities we
may have previously not looked at now become available to us.
(10:21):
So it keeps us more open. I definitely have some
issues with the premise behind the law of detachment, because
I think, especially for people who are anxious or who
have anxiety or who have OCD, detaching from an outcome
or breaking out of a thought pattern can be extremely hard,
near impossible. That doesn't mean that these individuals don't still
(10:42):
have dreams that come true. So there are certainly some
holes in this logic, right, People who are overly anxious
don't just have bad things happen to them as well.
You know, the opposite of law of attraction. You know,
if law of attraction is correct, you know, thinking about
negative things would make negative things happen to you someone
who is overly anxious. That's not always the case. So
(11:05):
moving back to the law of attraction, because I think
that is really the manifestation technique that we're zoning in
on today. If you think it's simply about asking the
universe to reward you as I once did, I really
want to explain further that psychology.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
In that psychological explanation.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
And we have to start with this very fundamental logic.
Believing that you can accomplish something is going to make
it much more likely that you do compared to not believing.
What does this rest on. It rests on the power
of self belief. Self belief that is the number one
biggest factor in any success story that you will ever hear,
(11:46):
and yet I think it is the least talked about.
You cannot be motivated, you cannot be disciplined. You cannot
be a risk taker. You cannot bet on yourself if
you do not believe that success will be yours. So
not believing in yourself is a goal ending contradiction. The
(12:07):
reason that the law of attraction works and that many
people see manifesting as a very golden key that unlocks
this incredible life of theirs is because of how it
changes out underlying, subconscious, subliminal thoughts to do with self belief.
This is called by another name. It's called cognitive restructure,
which you've already mentioned a couple of times. It's a
(12:27):
very well researched, legitimate therapeutic technique. Basically, what this method
has people do is identify negative thoughts or self limiting
thoughts and challenge them replace them with more positive thoughts.
So let me give you an example of how this
could be used using the American Psychological Associations accredited five
(12:49):
step process to cognitive restructuring your CBT. Firstly, a person
identifies the situation and feeling that they would like to change.
For example, let's say anxiety about the future. It's one
I always use for people in their twenties. Then you
identify the underlying thoughts about the feeling. So, for example,
why am I feeling anxious about the future, Well, probably
(13:12):
because you know, I'm uncertain. I'm scared of failure. I
expect the worst case scenario to happen. And then it
asks people to look for evidence of that being the
case in the past. So, what is your worst case
scenario here? I'm going to fail, I'm going to be miserable,
I'm never going to find success. They say, what's the
(13:32):
evidence for that being the case? Who's telling you this?
Where's the magic ball? And then it gets you to
really focus on the alternative. What if the worst case
scenario didn't happen? What if you were a success? Why
couldn't that happen to you? What if it all worked
out for you? Then they ask you to make a
(13:53):
decision and when a future dilemma like this one comes up,
do you continue to choose the more health helpful thought
or do you continue to choose the less helpful thought.
This really changes how our brain responds to a problem
by changing our thought circuits and pathways that are attached
to it. Cognitive restructuring sounds a lot like manifestation in
(14:16):
that way. Manifestation is working to create more positive thoughts
for a positive outcome, and really, you know what that
entails is introducing positive scenarios into your mind. Cognitive restructuring
kind of sounds the same. There is a lot of
evidence for this kind of technique working. So there was
(14:36):
a twenty twenty study that looked at one hundred and
forty one individuals who received cognitive restructuring treatment and it
found that at a twelve month follow up, individuals reported lower
depressive symptoms, less anxious avoidance. And this is the really
big one, greater self efficacy. So self efficacy we talk
(14:56):
about it a lot. It's probably one of my favorite
concepts and basically says that our ability, our belief, and
our ability to achieve an outcome that we want is
really really important. So self efficacy is basically your self
belief in bringing about your future or being able to
work hard or be consistent. So you know, if you
(15:17):
have a big project at work or you want to
launch a business, people who are high and self efficacy
will say, yeah, I'm capable of that. It's going to
be hard, but I'm ready for the challenge. I can
do it. Whereas if you're low in self efficacy, you'll
doubt yourself into inaction. Basically, luckily, self efficacy is something
(15:37):
that you can change, and this is one way of
doing it, that cognitive re structuring. Another explanation for the
psychology of manifestation is what we know very commonly as
a self fulfilling prophecy. So as self fulfilling prophecy occurs
when our beliefs and expectations influence our actions and ways
that bring those beliefs to life and the context of manifestation,
(16:02):
by visualizing success or a desired outcome, we subconsciously align
our decisions, attitudes, and actions with that goal. This focus
really increases our motivation, our perseverance, and our openness to
those opportunities we might previously overlook. So, in essence, manifestation
(16:24):
leverages the psychological mechanism of a self fulfilling prophecy by
turning positive beliefs into deliberate action, really bridging the gap
between intention and achievement. So, if you walk into a
room thinking everyone in this room is going to fall
in love with you, is going to think that you
are charismatic and attractive and alluring, you are going to
(16:48):
feel better about yourself. And so because of that you'll
probably speak to more people, you'll be more open, you'll
make more eye contact, you'll feel better, and you might
walk out and say, my god, I manifested that that
is really actually a self fulfilling prophecy. And if you
want to see it in action, you've got to hear
about this very famous experiment from the nineteen sixties. You've
(17:10):
probably heard about it before, but it was about how
teachers expectations of students actually determined their grades and the
students who performed best, and it really came down to
the students who wore glasses because the teachers assumed, you know,
if you wear glasses, you're more intelligent, so they treated
them as such. They treated them as if they were
already intelligent, and therefore it created that self fulfilling prophecy.
(17:35):
It meant that they gave them more attention, it meant
that they gave them more praise, It meant that they
spent more time with them, that gave them more challenging work,
and so they were the ones who achieved all because
of a self fulfilling prophecy. And you can use that
same formula on yourself. So two final points on the
psychology and manifestation. The other reason that we tend to
(17:57):
think that what we think about attracts what we experience
also comes down to how the thought patterns that occur
with manifestation unlock a growth versus a fixed mindset. So
a fixed mindset assumes that our abilities are innate and unchangeable,
that what we're born with is what we're given. And
you know, if we're lazy, we're lazy. If we're not
(18:17):
good at sports, we're not good at sports, we're not disciplined,
we're not disciplined. A growth mindset means that we believe
that all humans, you and I are capable of change,
that we can improve, and that means that our beliefs
about our ability to learn, grow, and succeed. Our growth
mindset can indeed affect whether we effectively manifest what we desire. Importantly,
(18:41):
the research really suggests that if we truly believe we
can achieve something, we are more willing to do the
hard work to achieve it. So manifesting by saying all
those positive statements to yourself, by saying this is what
I really want, this is who I am.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
This is what I'm going to achieve, it.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Means that the parts of ourselves that are willing to work,
that are more activated, that we're more willing to grow
into a challenge. And finally, the reason that manifestation works
is what we call the upward spiral of positive emotions.
So the thought process behind manifestation actually incidentally also creates
an important cognitive positive feedback loop where the more we
(19:19):
think positive good things, the more we actually tend to
see positive good things, like a confirmation bias. And then
it goes a step further, which means that we actually
are generally more optimistic, motivated, happy about our current state
because all these good things are happening to us. We
can see all these good things around us because we've
been cue to see those things, prime to see those things.
(19:40):
And of course, someone who is more happy, optimistic is
going to be more motivated. So manifestation techniques, like the
law of attraction or the law of detachment, they really
seemingly work because of how they transform the perception of
our circumstances, our self beliefs, and therefore trigger important goal
in intentional and activating behaviors. I want to be really
(20:03):
really clear, there is zero proof that manifestation works on
its own. Some people do like to cite this idea
of quantum theory, which states that everything in the universe
is made up of energy. So when we declare an
intention and we practice manifestation, we align our energy with
the universe's energy. But specifically, I really think what it
(20:25):
comes down to is our actions, and I want to
talk about how we can get better at activating important,
motivated behaviors and actually going after what we want with
the help of manifestation. Of course, after this shortbreak, so,
(20:46):
the most powerful quote I have ever heard about manifestation
came from an interview with a professor at Stanford University.
His name is doctor James Dottie, and this is really
what he had to say. Manifestation is not about asking
the US universe to reward you. It's about rewiring your
brain to reward itself. Love that quote, absolutely loved when
(21:09):
I heard it for the first time. And what's really
describing is agency. This is how I see it. When
our mind is on board and convinced of our success.
It's kind of like turning the wheel in a huge
semi truck, right, So our positive thoughts turn the wheel
and then all the carriages follow behind it. So once
we have a positive appraisal of our situation and of
(21:30):
our beliefs. Our beliefs will then shift, our attitudes will
then shift, then our ambition, and then our actions will follow.
So when your mind and your thoughts are on board,
your behaviors and intentions follow suit and acknowledging this is
really essential because we are after a really balanced approach.
Your manifestation is not just about wishing, and we don't
(21:52):
want it to lead to a lot of you know,
unrealistic expectations and blame, you know, sitting there being like
I'm wishing for something.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I want it to happen so badly.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
And it's not coming true, and that means I must
be doing it wrong, or I'm a bad person, or
I don't deserve good things because the universe isn't giving
them to me, Absolutely not. It may be because you're
not allowing your actions to follow along. So I want
to talk about five manifestation techniques that can really inspire
that positive restructuring in their full spurun change and how
(22:25):
that can bring about your dream life. And the biggest one,
the first one I really want to speak about that
I see people using all the time, and that I
actually personally use I've just recently been doing this a
lot with the new year. Is scripted journaling or narrative
conjuring sounds fancy, It's actually really simple. What I want
you to do is write out a very detailed journal
(22:47):
entry as if whatever you are desiring has already happened,
and I want you to write it out in as
much detail and I mean overkill with the detail. So
this method I did research. It really emerged as an
offshoot of this nineteen seventies kind of project to do
with neuro linguistic programming. So boring, but basically this project
(23:11):
encouraged individuals, as part of this process to visualize their
futures using all five sensors. And basically what they found
was that when we thought about our future using words
and actions and then using all these different sensory inputs,
our subconscious perception of the world changed and ultimately determined
(23:32):
what we believed was possible for us to attain, achieve,
and attract. So that project kind of like came across
this incidentally, And I'll give you an example of how
you can use scripted journaling in your own life. Say
you are really trying to manifest a huge lifestyle change
or overhaul. So you want to make yourself into someone
(23:52):
who is active, who has a large group of friends,
who will boost each other up, who goes on hikes,
goes to pilates, whatever it is. Get out your journal,
get out of pen and write a journal entry that
sounds like today. I woke up in my beautiful linen
sheets and the sun was shining through my apartment window.
And that apartment looked down onto forty ninth Street, and
(24:13):
I'd bought it a couple months ago, and I decided
that I would text my friend group to go to
pilates with each other. And this was what the picture
for my friends group looked like. And this was what
we called the group chat name. And this is how
many people were in that group chat. And I put
on this outfit that was this color from this brand,
and I ate this for breakfast and these were the
ingredients and this is how it tasted. And this is
(24:34):
what my carpet looks like. And these are my steps
down to the street. And you know, this is what
the POLARATEUS studio looked like. This is the perfume that
my friend was wearing. She smiled when she saw me
every little detail. I feel like you get the picture
as much as possible. If writing isn't really your thing,
you can also use an audio journal where you describe
your perfect work day at your dream job, or an
(24:56):
amazing date you're yet to go on but that you
know is a the future, you know, with as much
detail as possible. That scripting doesn't just have to be,
you know, written down. You can also make it verbal.
That can be really really powerful. And the reason that
it's powerful is because it gets you to think about
aspects of your goal or your dream that you might
not consider. You know, often when we set goals or
(25:19):
we're manifesting something, we're so just focused on it happening, right,
We're so focused on the future and the outcome, and
we don't really have an idea of what we need
to get there, or timelines or small components, or what
needs to happen between then and now and what it
could feel like. And the scripted writing in this narrative
exercise gets us to fill in a lot of the blanks.
(25:42):
And I'm going to get a little bit scientific here,
but there was actually a series of studies conducted between
twenty and eight and twenty fourteen that examined what happened
when we visualize future goals in this way, or we
engage in positive thinking and writing or mentally simulating future events,
and what it found was that two important brain areas
(26:03):
are activated by exercises like this, the ventral medial prefrontal
cortex and the posterior singular cortex, both of which, by
the way, are implicated in attention and self reflection. But
more specifically, these areas of the brain support internally directed action. Basically,
(26:24):
they are the parts of the brain that when a
thought comes in, they say, Okay, we're going to make
this happen.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
How do we do this?
Speaker 1 (26:29):
What parts of our body do we need to put
into action? What other thought processes in our brain do
we need to switch on. Even if a visual or
written script isn't your thing and you're more of a
visual thinker or learner, you can also utilize the power
of a good old fashioned vision board. I'm sure you've
all seen the videos of people sharing their vision boards
(26:52):
from twenty twenty three and how many surprising things from
those boards actually happened. I really think it's because representing
your goals visually in this way is such a great
physical visual queue or reminder of what you are working towards,
and therefore, when you have that more on your focus,
(27:13):
you are more likely to remember, Hey, I actually want
this thing. What have I been doing to make it happen?
Maybe I should be working harder on that. There's a
famous quote that you become what you behold or what
you see your environment and what you are visually exposed
to that really does influence mood, motivation, attitude. Vision board
(27:34):
work actually works on a part of our brain called
the reticular activating system RIS. It's actually located in the
brain stem. It's a very essential part of our brain
that filters information and determines what's important. And when you
visualize your goals frequently, as you do with the vision board,
your RIS becomes more attuned to opportunities that align with
(27:56):
those goals. So this process really helps you notice things
in your environment that can help you achieve your aspirations,
making you more focused and intentional. Here's the thing that
you really need to do, though, to make a vision
board work for you. Don't just choose the photos that
are available to you in a magazine or that you
have lying around. You really have to be intentional with
(28:19):
setting this up. So choose the photos that most resonate
with you. Choose to have a few options. And I
really like to have four segments of my vision board.
One segment is for career, one is for relationships, one
is for lifestyle. One is for personal growth goals, so
things like cobbies, travel, spiritual goals. And I really really
(28:39):
make sure that it's not all material things. There should
be experiences on there too. There should be things that
really activate my senses, things that are small and daily.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
And something that.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Mel Robbins actually said that was really powerful in a
recent episode of Hers is that you can't just have
big life changing goals on a vision board. This is
more about the lifestyle that surrounds achieving those goals. You
can't just have a picture of the finish line of
you know, the New York Marathon without a few pictures
of you running, you know, or of a training plan
(29:13):
or of healthy fuel. Your vision board needs to be
focused on the building blocks as well as the big outcomes.
Let's talk about another very well known manifestation strategy or
accompany meant and that it's affirmations. This is probably the
strategy that I rely on most heavily in my own life,
mainly because I know that scientifically speaking, how I talk
(29:37):
to myself matters. Also, affirmations are so accessible on a
daily basis, you know, vision boards, scripting. They're a real
time commitment and a very worthy time commitment, not necessarily
something that you can do every day, but affirmations you
can even do a few times a day. And when
I was going through a really transformative time when I
(29:57):
was twenty two, I had a list of t affirmations
written on a big piece of paper on the inside
of my bedroom door. And these affirmations were genuinely so
important to me, and I really think that they were
a huge, huge kind of way in which I was
able to lead a more fulfilling life compared to the
(30:18):
life I was living before. And I actually went searching
for these because I was like, these affirmations are really good,
and it took me a while to come up with them,
like it was a very finely tuned in the list,
And finally I found a picture in my phone of
this list on the back of my door, and I
want to read these out to you. These were the
affirmations I used to really help me bring about a
(30:41):
more positive way of seeing my life and therefore a
more positive life. I radiate confidence and self assurance. I
have an attractive aura. I am someone who goes after
what I want. People feel good around me. I trust
myself to make the right decisions. I am a powerful
(31:02):
creator of my reality. I am a hard worker. I
am constantly attracting incredible things into my life. I release
the need for others approval. I am in control of
my best and my worst thoughts. These were the affirmations
(31:22):
that I would recite to myself every morning for over
a year, and it was like putting on a mental armor.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Every day.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
The first thing I said to myself in the morning
was I'm not stressed about the day. I'm not overwhelmed.
I'm not worried about how I look. All of these
natural thoughts were would pop up, and instead I would
put myself into a place of self empowerment by making
sure I left my house every single morning with a
more positive statement and positive feeling about myself and mind.
(31:54):
And it really did change how I approach challenges, change
how I approach people, how productive I was as well.
I really think that it also changed how I made friends,
Like there was this huge shift for me between being
quite lonely and then suddenly having all these people in
my life because I was I really think entering the
(32:16):
outside world radiating positive energy because I felt good about myself.
I also have affirmations that I use for specific circumstances.
Before you know, I mentioned a public speaking I have
five affirmations for that in my notes up. Anytime I
need to public speak, I say, I am prepared for this.
My voice is strong and steady. The people in this
(32:37):
room will be captivated by me. I speak and communicate
with ease, and I am excited for the opportunity to
share knowledge. Very very effective. And if you want a
fund psychology study that provides evidence for the effectiveness of
this method, we can actually look at one from twenty
fifteen conducted at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where sixty
(32:59):
seven students were to either participate in an affirmation exercise
before a task or not, and those who outperformed the
other students All of them were those who had done
affirmations because they felt more capable. And it's free, like
that's the crazy part.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
You don't need to do some crazy thing.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
You just have to make your list and stick to it. Okay,
before we talk about limitations, I want to talk about
one final way to combine manifestation and psychology and your
pursuit of your goals. And it's called a sensory anchor.
And the sensory anchor we're going to be talking about
today is music. So a sensory anchor is a stimulus
(33:37):
such as a sound, smell, touch, that triggers a specific
emotional or mental state. Music in particular is highly effective
because music is very emotional and it directly triggers a
lot of emotional centers of the brain. It's why we
get tingles when we listen to songs, That's why we
have a physical reaction, it's why it evokes memories. By
(33:58):
pairing music with your visualization or manifestation practice, you can
train your brain to associate certain songs or sounds with
a mindset of success or confidence or joy. So what
I want you to do is put together a playlist
of songs that make you really like motivated, inspired, pumped up,
(34:19):
feeling good about yourself, like alive. Make a playlist like that,
and anytime you are in the mindset, you're in the mood,
you're in the place to achieve something to get shit done,
or you're just feeling low as well, play that playlist.
I've already seen so many examples of these on Spotify,
Like you can look up manifestation playlist or mindset shift
(34:42):
playlists anything like that, and people have already curated music
that is intended to evoke a really like excited, motivated, passionate,
creative mindset. And I just want to say one final
thing with all these methods, the thing that real links
them and why they are implicated in the manifestation process
(35:04):
is that all of them, in some way, using you know, writing,
using your words, using what you see, using what you hear,
all of them are influencing us to see outcomes is
happening in our favor by influencing how we think about things.
(35:25):
So before we conclude this episode, I really think that
it would be remissive me to not consider the limitations
of manifestation and the privilege that definitely comes with being
able to implement things like scripting or affirmations and see
them as being effective, you know, manifesting that lifestyle that
(35:45):
we want. If that's something that is really happening for people,
we have to question why it's not happening for others.
And let's be honest, a lot of the things that
we want to manifest, they are luxuries, and we could
not begin to be you know, even dream of them,
let alone receive them, receive first class flights, receive dream jobs,
(36:06):
receive money if our fundamental basic human needs weren't already met.
So food, water, security, safety, health, emotional and social support.
Those are the fundamental foundations of human life, and so
many people don't have those things. There are people in
(36:30):
war zones or experiencing violence or poverty who may be
wishing harder than any of us, than you and me
for a life of peace, of safety, food, and their
abilities bellies, and they're not receiving it. So I think
that we also have to recognize that in order to
(36:50):
manifest anything, you do actually have to have the ability
to action your desires, and that means privilege and resources.
You know, if we think manifestation is just this immaterial,
energetic quantum force at work, why is the quantum force
not helping so many people who are really doing it hard.
(37:13):
Why does the universe's energy seem to neglect people that
are struggling with poverty or that are less privileged than us,
because I don't think that's how energy works. You know,
if the quantum theory is positive energy attracts positive energy,
like it's forgetting about a large group of people. So
it is a privilege to be able to use psychological
(37:36):
methods of manifestation to really bridge the gap between intention
and motivation and therefore achievement. And I think that before
we go out there and say, yeah, I like just
manifest it, like, just think positive things and good things
will happen, you've got to remember that's not the case
for everyone, and that it is really a blessing and
something you should be grateful for, that this is a
(37:59):
technique that you are exploring and that could work for you.
So I find that when I think about manifestation as
an exercise that is rooted in self belief psychology and
then having the ability to take actions based on your
positive thinking, that makes a lot more sense to me.
And that's something that, yeah, again I think we should
(38:20):
be grateful for. So I really hope that you learned
something from this episode. You learn something about the science,
from the studies, about the research the concepts that make
up manifestation is such a powerful method of attraction or
of detachment, whichever one you choose to believe in. If
there's something I missed here, I would love to hear
(38:41):
from you. Please share your manifestation exercises that you use.
I would love to hear from them, like I would
love to hear them. Sorry, and love to hear from you,
because there's so many out there that I probably haven't
mentioned that people could learn a lot from. If you
enjoyed this episode, make sure you share it with a friend,
share it with family men, Share with your partner someone
who you think could learn as well. We are always
(39:04):
open to episode suggestions. You just have to DM me
on Instagram. That is how we get so many ideas
for the psychology of your twenties, and make sure you're
following along. Make sure you're subscribed. Make sure you follow
us over there on Instagram. And until next time, stay safe,
be kind, be gentle with yourself, and we will talk
very very soon.
Host
Jemma Sbeghen
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