How to Manifest Your Dreams

An in-depth guide to manifesting your desires and getting the future you want

Written by Jennifer McVey, Cht | Edited by Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA

Last Updated: June 24, 2024

“A dream is a wish your heart makes”—according to Cinderella. With manifestation, you can make those wishes come true! You might not know this, but you’re already manifesting things in your life by focusing your thoughts on them. We’re here to help you shift your energy toward your goals instead. We’ll walk you through all the steps you need to take to manifest your dreams, and it might be easier than you think.

This article is based on an interview with our spiritualist and seer, Jennifer McVey, Cht. Check out the full interview here.

Things You Should Know

Write a description of your dream life to help you manifest your future.
Visualize yourself accomplishing your goals and imagine how you’ll feel when you achieve them.
Be positive and grateful to raise your vibration and attract your dreams to you.
Trust in the universe to help you achieve your goals in life.

1

Write out your dream using specific details.

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Use clear, positive wording to tell the universe what you want. Writing is one of the best things you can do when you’re manifesting. When you write a manifestation, always use the present tense to give it more power. After you finish, date your manifestation and put it somewhere safe. You might keep a journal of your dreams and manifestations.
- “My new house has great natural light from lots of windows and always smells like cookies in the oven. I feel warmth from the sunlight flooding my space, but the fans keep me cool.”
- “At my dream job, I work on an amazing team and enjoy spending time with my coworkers. I have lots of space and have decorated my office with my favorite mementos. The coffee in the break room always smells fresh, and I grab a cup whenever I want.”
- “My partner is kind, hilarious, and a great cook. We go on exciting dates every weekend and enjoy snuggling while we watch TV.”

2

Visualize yourself living your dream life.

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Create a picture for yourself in your mind. Use visualization by imagining yourself in the future after you’ve accomplished your goal. Then, take it one step further and look up photos or information about the things you want.^{[1]
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Research source} Really immerse yourself in your dream to help bring it into reality.
- You might look up the area where you want to live, or what it’s like to do your dream job. You could even read about the car you dream of driving one day or the places you plan to visit.
- Try making a vision board to help you visualize your future.

3

Connect your dream to your emotions.

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Imagine how you’ll feel when your dream comes true. Will you be happy? Will you feel a sense of success? Will you be excited? Let these emotions wash over you so you feel like your dream life is already happening. This signals to the universe that you’re ready to achieve your goal.
- Close your eyes and pretend everything is just like you imagined and described. Really let yourself feel a sense of success.

4

Take action toward your goal.

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Make an action plan and start checking things off. You gotta take that first step if you want to make your dreams come true. Start small and try to do one thing today that will help you achieve your goal. Since obstacles always pop-up, create “if-then” plans so you have a fallback to help you stay on track.^{[2]
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Research source}
- If your dream is to be a singer, your action plan might say, 1) Do open mic nights; 2) Record myself singing at home and post it online; 3) Do some small gigs in coffee shops and restaurants; 4) Record an EP; 5) Post my music on Spotify and iTunes.
- Your “if-then” plan might include things like, “If I can’t find open mic nights near me, I’ll branch out to other cities,” or “If my recordings don’t sound good, I’ll watch a tutorial to learn how to improve them.”

5

Raise your vibration to attract what you want.

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Adopt a positive mindset so you have good energy. Higher vibrations help you manifest more easily. When you’re having trouble achieving a goal, it’s possible that your vibration just isn’t quite matching your dream—yet. You can raise your vibration with these easy habits:
- Practice gratitude.
- Be positive.
- Hang out with positive, friendly people.
- Be compassionate.
- Meditate.

6

Release your fears and limiting beliefs.

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Shift into a growth mindset to help you overcome your inner critic. We all have that annoying little voice inside that points out what could go wrong. With a growth mindset, you approach setbacks in a different way. Instead of getting discouraged, see them as an opportunity to get even better.^{[3]
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Research source} You can totally achieve your dreams, so tell your inner critic to shut it.
- Let’s say you wrote a novel, but your friend says it was hard to follow. It hurts to get criticism like that, but everyone who’s written a good book went through the same thing. Ask your friend to point out where they got confused so you can make your book even better.
- Similarly, you might have applied for your dream job and not gotten hired. Maybe there’s an even better opportunity still out there, and now you’ve had a chance to do a practice run so you can really impress next time.

7

Use affirmations to pump yourself up.

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Positive self-talk can help you live the life you want. What you say to yourself can have a big impact on your habits and how you feel about yourself. Give yourself encouragement to go after your goals and truly be happy. When you catch yourself doubting, reframe the thought into something more empowering, like, “I can do this.” Additionally, say positive affirmations to yourself every day.
- “I’m sure of myself.”
- “I know I’m capable.”
- “I’m going to succeed.”

8

Keep a gratitude journal.

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Be grateful for everything you already have. When you express your gratitude, you send a message to the universe that you value what you receive. In turn, you’ll continue to receive blessings.^{[4]
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Research source} It’s super easy to start a gratitude journal. Simply write down 3 things you’re grateful for every day and keep adding to your list.
- If you start feeling down, read your gratitude journal for a quick pick-me-up.
- If you prefer to go digital, keep your gratitude journal in a Google Doc or your phone’s notes.

9

Trust the universe—and yourself.

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Believe that you can achieve your dream. With manifestation, believing is achieving.^{[5]
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Research source} You gotta stop worrying about when your dreams will come true or how they’ll happen. Just keep taking action and trusting that the universe will come through for you.
- Tell yourself, “I believe in myself,” and “I have everything I need.”

10

Be flexible about what success looks like.

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Open your mind to different possibilities. Think about what you were doing 5 years ago, and what you’re doing now. Chances are, there are awesome things in your life that you never imagined, like a new friend, a partner, or a unique job. Since there’s no way to know every opportunity coming your way, your dream life could look a little different once you achieve it.
- Let’s say you want to be a published author. Right now, you might envision yourself working with a big publisher. However, you might realize down the road that you like being able to control your work through self-publishing.
- Maybe you want to be a chef. You might dream of opening up your own restaurant but realize later that being head chef in your city’s premiere eatery appeals to you more because you get to focus more on cooking.

11

Stay focused on your dream.

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Keep going until you have the life you want. It’s totally possible for you to make your dreams come true. It might take some time, but you’ll get there. You deserve this, so don’t let anyone hold you back. You can do it!
- Celebrate small successes and milestones along the way. Be proud of all the progress you make, even if it seems small.
- When you achieve your dream, go back to your manifestation journal and check it off. Congrats!

How Do You Start a Manifestation?

Expert Q&A

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Question

Why is manifestation writing important?

Jennifer McVey, Cht
Spiritual Director
Jennifer McVey is a Spiritualist, Seer, and the Spiritual Director of Spiritual Answers and Solutions. With more than 22 years of experience, she specializes in manifesting, ghosts and spirit attachments, hypnotherapy, channeling, and spiritually based life coaching. Jennifer has also published 13 Affirmation Image and six Word Search Puzzle books in spirituality and self-help and has produced over 600 audio sessions.

Jennifer McVey, Cht

Spiritual Director

Expert Answer

Think about how many times you say something to yourself and then change your mind. Your subconscious mind is the part of your mind that tells the future, but it's also the part that creates your future. If you're always changing your mind, your subconscious never knows what you're serious about. When you write something (as opposed to typing it), it makes an impression on your mind since you're doing something so out of the norm.

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Writing down your goal more than once can give your manifestation more power. You might choose to write your goal every day for a week or once a week for a month.

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Periodically reevaluate to make sure you’re still on a path that makes you happy. You can always change directions if you want something better.

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