Does Manifesting Work? How to Turn Big Dreams Into a Plan
Does manifesting work? Yes, but only when you pair it with the part most people skip. In this episode, I share how writing down your biggest dreams trains your brain to notice the opportunities that move you toward them, and the WOOP method that turns a dream into a plan you can act on today.
Have you ever picked a favorite car and then started seeing it everywhere? There aren't more of those cars on the road. Your brain just started looking for them. Your brain takes in millions of bits of information and filters out almost all of it. Psychologists call this selective attention, and it's often linked to a part of your brain called the reticular activating system. When you write down what you want, you're telling that filter what to keep.
Direction matters too. When Alice asks the Cheshire Cat which way to go, he asks where she wants to get to. She doesn't really care. Then, he says, it doesn't matter which way you go. That's why the SOS approach I teach starts with one step: set your intentions.
So I took my own advice. I grabbed the closest notepad, wrote "Little Book of Big Dreams" on the front, and wrote inside: "This book turns dreams into reality." Then I wrote down my biggest goal: help one million teenagers change their lives.
But writing it down is step one, not the whole plan. Manifestation plus action equals magic. To get from the dream to the action, I walk through the WOOP method from NYU psychologist Gabriele Oettingen:
There's more opportunity in this world than most of us believe. The real question is whether you're willing to dream big, take the steps, and let go of what's holding you back.
Chapters 0:00 Intro
0:55 Can you manifest the life you want?
1:43 Why you start seeing your favorite car everywhere
2:44 Your brain's filter: the reticular activating system
4:04 My big dream: one million teenagers
4:57 Alice in Wonderland and setting your intentions
5:54 How my Little Book of Big Dreams started
8:16 The WOOP method: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan
9:56 There's more opportunity than you think
10:34 Two ways to start today
Two ways to start today:
Know someone who isn't dreaming big enough right now? Send them this episode. And tell me on Instagram @realtannerclark: what's the first dream going in your book? I'd love to support you.
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Go find your one second of strength — and be happy.