How I Think About Manifesting
Perhaps you have heard about the Law of Attraction and Manifesting from people who want to teach you how to get all the money, notoriety, job titles or whatever else you want. Unfortunately, a lot of folks think that if you use the Law of Attraction you can think about what you want and it will appear. Like a million dollars in your bank account or a fancy new car or a promotion and accompanying pay raise. It’s a very convenient way to justify not doing a whole lot. You can simply wrap your inaction in a shiny package and say the Law of Attraction will take care of it. Things will manifest and arrive on your doorstep just because you want them to and you think about them everyday.
Every once in a while, you get lucky and something unexpected happens and the Law of Attraction gets the credit because, after all, you were thinking about something exactly like this.
Here’s how I like to think about manifesting. At least this is how I think it works for me. Perhaps there is something useful for you in here too.
During the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve I spend some time paging through my paper planner and reviewing what things have happened over the past year. Here is a short list that I jotted down:
52 newsletters written
8 blog posts
2 podcast interviews
28 YouTube videos
2 weekend art fairs
4 group exhibitions
Acceptance into the National Association of Women Artists
Travel to Hawaii, Peru, Machu Picchu, Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands
1 Teen Arts Workshop
1 Award from NAWA at the group show
Over 25 art quilts completed
Over 20 Collages completed
Over 275 visits to my studio(and counting)
Several rejections to submissions and applications
Several creative tangents that didn’t really get much traction
Several art themed outings
These things did not happen because I thought about them. They did not happen because I wished for them. They happened because I got in my studio and worked, made videos and edited them, found opportunities and applied to them. I manifested all the good stuff and the lessons in humility by practicing my creative work, writing out applications, sharing my efforts with people like you and putting my work out for exhibit.
Manifesting, for me, is not a mysterious force from the Universe coming down and giving me what I want. It is the act of catching an inspirational spark and fanning it into a flame. It is the grind of pushing through the production of work once the spark has ignited. Manifesting does not come from somewhere else. Art, opportunities and creative endeavors appear because I have made it a regular practice to look for them and then act on the ones that interest me most.
If you are waiting for something to appear just because you want it, you are letting time pass you by. I believe that taking a look at what you have achieved, created or accomplished over the course of the past year is a great place to start looking as you direct what you want to manifest in your life this coming year. If you were able to manifest all the things on your annual review list, then you are holding proof that you are able to manifest what you want. Now that you have proof that you can manifest things into your life, you can review what actions you took that made these things possible. If you got a promotion, you probably upped your skills and excelled at your job. I doubt you did it sitting on the sofa wishing for it.
I hope you will take some time to clarify exactly what you want. Having a direction is essential to taking action toward achieving what you set out to do. I am taking this week to look at what I have manifested through action last year and what I would like to manifest in the coming year. I already have proof that I can accomplish things I once felt were out of my reach. I believe you can do those things you want to accomplish too. Focus on your habits and how you invest your time and energy. What you want is within your reach when you take it one step at a time.
I wish you a Happy and Fulfilling New Year!
