3 examples of manifesting a great outcome
I was talking with a friend about manifesting the other day and she was told she needed to be really specific in terms of deciding what she wanted and how she was going to achieve it, whereas my take on manifesting is it is better to focus on the outcome you want - my thinking being is that if you are too rigid in the ‘how’ then you might miss opportunities that you haven’t thought of.
Manifestation and the Law of Attraction
Manifestation and the Law of Attraction are often used synonymously. The Law of Attraction is that your energy, actions, thoughts and feelings, whether positive or negative, will attract more of the same into your life. It is the principle behind keeping a gratitude journal whereby focusing on things you are grateful for you will attune yourself to more easily see things to be grateful for.
Manifesting has received some criticism when it comes to those that talk about only needing to visualise and think about what you want. As I talked about in a previous blog post, I think there is benefit to visualisation and focusing on what you want to achieve and being clear about that end outcome you want to accomplish, but I also think it is about taking action to achieve your goals.
I have my own examples of why I believe the focus should be on the outcome rather than a specific version of how to achieve that:
When I took voluntary redundancy from the bank, I wanted to work for a ‘hip’ company (in my mind I had a Google style office) that was close to Waterloo Station so it was easy for me to commute to as I didn’t believe this type of working environment would be available in Southampton (where I lived). I could visualise myself working in a funky office and wearing jeans to work every day. The action I took was applying for jobs, researching companies and going for opportunities. I had no idea that there were many cool companies in Southampton and I was fortunate enough to land myself a one year contract with one of them - they had swings, a slide between floors, restaurant style cubicles for informal meetings, a cinema room, a rooftop terrace overlooking the Solent and a bar. This was less than 4 miles from my home! And the London office - which was equally as cool with it’s pool table, telephone boxes and 7th floor views over London was based on Waterloo bridge! If I had been really specific and decided on a particular company, I may have missed this opportunity and ultimately I achieved what I wanted (the end outcome) of working in this kind of environment.
I always wanted to be a published author since I can remember. When I was younger I had thought this would be a novel because, at the time, I wasn’t aware of the self-help industry. I also thought I would have a publisher. I connected with Authors and Co via LinkedIn, and had a call to understand more about their services. They bridged the gap between traditional and self-publishing and offered a high level of support and knowledge. I decided to work with them to publish my first book, Live a BIG Life in a Quiet Way, which became an Amazon bestseller on the day of release! If I had stuck solely to my original version of success I may have missed out on becoming an author.
When I left college I didn’t know what I wanted to study for 3 years, so decided to work but said I would achieve a degree when I had figured out what I wanted to do. My original vision was of going to university but my end goal was a degree, not necessarily the student lifestyle. I also found a way to achieve a degree without having to decide on a single discipline through the Open University and studying for an open degree. After 5 years of part time study I achieved a Batchelors of Science degree and got my outcome even though the execution was different to how my younger self had thought I’d get it.
Think and Grow Rich
I have recently re-read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. He talks about needing a definite goal and transmuting the desire into thought, which is energy. It is then taking this energy and committing to the actions that move you towards that desired goal. The desire for the end goal needs to be specific however I interpret what he is saying as needing to be open to the myriad of ways to how you could achieve it. If you know the idea and how you can achieve it, then great - it is this desire and thoughts that will propel you forward by taking the steps along that path. However, you can still have the idea for what you want to achieve, the real desire to achieve this and focus your energy on finding ways to do this, being open to opportunities as they arise without knowing at the outset exactly the ‘how’ to achieve your ‘what’ and ‘why’. However, having the desire isn’t enough - it is about having the energy behind it to start moving forward, taking action and finding the ways to take that end point and make it a reality.
So, I agree with my friend that it is important to know the end point you are trying to achieve. If you know how you can achieve this and have a definite plan then go ahead and start on this track. However, if you don’t have a definite plan but still have that burning desire to achieve something, keep strong that vision of what you want, be specific on the outcome you are desiring, whether it is tangible or intangible, a sum of money, a job, a possession or a feeling, experience or state of being; trust if you can imagine it then it can come into being and then start finding ways of how this will happen, being open to seeing the signs for progress as they show themselves to you.
What are your thoughts about manifestation?
