Tegbir Kaur Week 10 - Manifest Your Destiny
The concept of manifestation has always been one regarded with incredulity and scorn. The idea of making something come true by just putting it out into the universe. Yeah, it doesn’t sound too great.
Just because a person believes something or wants something to happen, it does not change the fact that there are dozens of other factors which could prevent it from actually occurring. Humans don’t have that ultimate control over their own lives, and to say anything else would be false and seem supernatural.
It also feels like just a lazy way out—trying to bypass all the hard work and still expecting the same outcome. It may at first seem like just an excuse not to put in any effort.
While I do not believe that the act of manifesting is necessarily what can make something more likely to come true, I do think there is immense power in the way we think about our lives—about ourselves, our goals, and our future.
When we “manifest” something, we consciously block out all the negative “what-if”s that naturally weasel their way into our mind whenever we want to accomplish something. We assign them no power, because our goal will be achieved. It just will. End of story.
By shifting our mindset to only positive thoughts, we increase our optimism, motivation, and drive to achieve a goal.
It not only works as a type of placebo effect, but also simultaneously shows the effect of such a concept. With the placebo effect, anything labeled as “treatment” can help a person feel better when ill, even if it has no medical value—it works because a person simply thinks that they have been treated. They have shifted their thinking and see the results because they approach their difficulties with a different attitude. Such a psychological concept demonstrates the true power behind our thoughts and attitudes toward life.
While it is true that “positive thinking isn’t a magical cure for self-esteem or mental health problems” and may even be dangerous in too high quantities, it is clear that manifestation does encourage a more healthy outlook on life—even if steps must be taken to make sure that it is in moderation.
After all, isn’t one of the biggest causes of procrastination self-doubt? It is easy to feel incapable of beginning to work on something because you are plagued with questions about your own capabilities and fears of failure. In turn, procrastination stops you from achieving your goals.
Manifesting something does not make it happen. It makes you start making it happen.
Hey Tegbir! I’m curious to hear what you have to say about manifestation! I have thought about it sometimes, but I never really looked into it a great amount. I was introduced to it a while back, and I remember doubting it at first, just as you said in the first few lines. When looking at it at face value, simply thinking shouldn’t be the way for somebody to achieve something, and I also get what you say about it feeling like the lazy way out. People who just think but don’t do won’t and shouldn’t achieve as much as someone who actually works hard. I do agree that there is power in the way we think about our lives, for sure! My brother, a pretty anxious individual, asked me the other day if he’s bad at soccer because he thinks he’s bad or if he’s really bad. I told him to just play and believe in yourself, no matter what happens. Not sure if that was the best advice, but I also mentioned how if you keep telling yourself something, it might happen. The placebo effect is also very interesting to me, as I am interested in psychology. I think it’s really fascinating how powerful it can really be. Nice ending to your blog! Thanks for sharing, Tegbir!
ReplyDeleteHi Tegbir. I completely understand your sentiment towards mindfulness and how it is not actually the root cause and indicator of success. I believe that your opinion on how thinking about achieving something does not directly translate into achieving that thing. I really liked how you gave the example of procrastination a possible side effect that could come from trying mindfulness without the discipline and right motivation to get things done. A reason why I share most for argument would be due to my dad always telling me to be more mindful and nagging me on how it would change everything, but whenever I look at mindfulness from a far, I can only see another sorry excuse to get me to procrastinate further. I really like how you took the subject and critically analyzed it, after which you compared it to an issue that plagues many of us. The writing had great fervor and felt like it would serve as a good wake up call to many.
ReplyDeleteHi Tegbir, I always get intimidated while reading your blog, because you have such a sophisticated and analytical sense of writing that makes me think if I am doing enough. Even your comments are a work of art! This is such an interesting and much-needed topic to discuss as many people, including me, would say a sentence and casually throw around “hopefully, manifesting, fingers crossed.” Like you said, the idea of manifesting provides a sense of hope towards individuals who have a very practical outlook on life. Take college acceptances, for example. There are so many colleges that I outright decide not to apply to because I think I will not get in based on my statistics, but I hear my parents lecturing me every night to not lose an opportunity because my pragmatic approach on life does not think you will get in. A major event occurred in my life during the end of last semester that changed my perspective on manifestation. While you are right about manifestation not being the direct cause behind an achievement, I also believe that it is a power in itself that makes things work out when you have lost all hope and let it go out of your hands because there is nothing you can do. But mostly, it is a sense of hope in times of darkness that pushes us to strive for the best.
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