“Put it out into the universe and it will come true.” “If you believe it, it will manifest into existence.” “You just have to visualize the things you want and they will come your way.” We have often heard statements in these forms. Heck, we may even have said them to clients. But does manifesting really work? Does it help clients find ways to improve their lives?
Researchers recently directly tested the question “Does manifesting work?”. They found that beliefs in the ability to manifest opportunities on there own did not contribute to positive change. Study participants high in manifesting beliefs had positive views of their abilities and chances of success. But they did not show greater levels of income or education attainment. They were not more successful in their pursuits than other individuals.
In addition to not conferring benefit, this research also found that holding to manifestation beliefs predicted multiple negative outcomes. Individuals high in manifesting beliefs were more likely to have high preference for risk taking, make riskier financial investments, and to have experienced bankruptcy.
The study researchers propose that these findings may indicate an overconfidence or over-optimism in their abilities to attain success. This may lead to hasty or ill-informed decision-making.
Other research has found that successful emotional coping is linked to using direct problem-solving methods when it is possible to change a stressful situation. Pure manifestation attempts may be ineffective (or even detrimental) when they do not accompany any instrumental efforts to directly affect the situation. For example, things do not improve by simply believing they will. Initiating steps to improve them are also needed.
So statements or beliefs of manifesting may work as long as they are paired with specific actions to achieve those goals. Helping clients build tools and skills to work toward making things they visualize actually come true can provide definitive ways to realize their hopes.
