Big Dream Energy: Manifesting the Lifestyle You Actually Want
Achieving our dreams—even the biggest, seemingly over-the-top ones we conjure up—takes hard work and discipline. We say this not to discourage anyone from pursuing them; rather, it’s a reminder that making them a reality isn’t an effortless “wish and you shall receive” process—a common misconception about manifestation. It’s a process that starts with a wish or big dream that fills us with excitement and then harnesses that energy to turn it into an actionable goal. Manifestation, if we let it, can be a central force in achieving our dreams. Let’s explore what manifestation is, and more importantly, its role in helping us live our dream lives.
Manifestation Beyond the Buzzwords
Manifesting isn’t about wishing something to happen and then having it happen. It also isn’t effortless, magical thinking of positive thoughts or only for obtaining material things like wealth and luxury items.
Manifestation is the act of using thoughts to make a dream a reality, following the law of attraction. It’s a significant shift in thinking patterns that asks practitioners to take meaningful action toward their dreams. It emphasizes the positive and emotional aspects of achieving a goal or a dream, both at its fruition and in the process of making it happen.
On the surface, manifestation might seem no different than making a wish, but when we look at it more closely, it’s a heartfelt, inspiring, and motivational method of goal setting. Like any goal setting, it demands effort on our part. Manifestation requires us to think long and hard about what we really want and to clearly identify it. And the “it” can be whatever we want, like owning a home, starting a business, or leading a life of luxury that offers the ability to travel whenever and wherever we want.
Once we’ve identified our dream, manifestation practices encourage us to consider the things that we can do today to move in the right direction towards this vision. Next, we look at what we can do tomorrow, this week, this month, this year, and so on. The thought process also encourages us to be open and aware of opportunities to achieve our dream life.
There is no right or wrong way to practice manifestation, so each person may have a unique approach to the practice and even create their own manifestation style.
Tips to Channel Our Energy with Purpose
As we begin a manifestation process, there are many tools and techniques we can apply to our lives to help us realize our dreams. These range from visualization aids to setting boundaries, all in the name of helping us become the person we need to be to bring our vision to fruition.
Set Intentions
While the manifesting process can reveal the final outcome of our dream life, the process of getting there from where we are currently isn’t always as clear. Taking the time to set intentions related to our vision can help guide us. These intentions take the energy we’ve applied to identifying what we want and turn it into something we can take action on immediately.
Make a Vision Board
Vision boards, the visual representations of our dreams, have been shown in various studies to help people achieve their goals. They instill us with confidence and offer motivation when we’re feeling stuck or like our dream can’t be achieved.
Use Affirmations
When manifesting, our thoughts and mindsets are crucial to success, and affirmations can help us shift negative thought processes that can undermine our efforts. Beyond helping us keep a more positive mindset, affirmations can support our confidence and self-esteem and keep us motivated, all of which set us up for success.
Meditate
Meditation can help us remain mindful and focus on our vision for the future. It also offers the opportunity to implement practices like visualization, which harness our energy and anchor us to our goals.
Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries in our personal and professional lives can set us up for success by giving us opportunities to put dedicated, focused energy into reaching our dream life. This could be dedicating an hour a week to uninterrupted budgeting time to track progress toward homeownership, or having a firm cutoff time for any overtime at work to get a business started.
Exercise
Exercise supports our mental and physical health in countless ways, and when it comes to making strides toward our dream lives, these benefits can help us. Exercise provides an endorphin boost, works through nervous energy, increases our confidence and self-esteem, and supports our overall health, improving our moods and focus.
Trust the Process
Even with a vision board, a regular meditation practice, and clear intentions, it’s easy to feel discouraged when hurdles and obstacles arise that prevent what we’re trying to manifest. But even when these obstacles get in our way, it’s important to trust our process and the work we’re putting in.
There are countless examples of celebrities who have put this into action, but it’s something that anyone can benefit from remembering. The gambler Don Johnson is the perfect example of why this is important. Johnson had been gambling for decades and suffered some serious losses, but by early 2010, he changed his perspective and strategy: he negotiated with some of the most popular casinos in the gambling industry to put the odds of winning in his favor. By 2011, he’d won $15 million from three casinos in Atlantic City. He trusted that his negotiations and gaming strategy would pay off, and they did.
Aligned Action: Where the Magic Becomes Tangible
Manifestation works best when paired with practical steps to support it so that we can start building the life we dream of. We can start taking action by asking ourselves simple questions like, “What can I do daily that will move me closer to my vision?” As we dive into the intricacies of our dreams and see where we can make small, steady progress, we move closer and closer to our dream lives.
While manifestation is largely an internal, unseen process, when we align it with intentional action, it brings our dreams to life—no matter how big or small they may be. Through manifestation, we can become who we want to be.