Why Manifesting Doesn’t Always Work

The film, The Secret, makes it all seem so easy: Just think positive thoughts and your wish will come true.

Unfortunately, the filmmakers don’t address some key points about the manifestation process. I learned the hard way…

When I wanted to manifest a new home, I made a vision board, visualized and focused on the positive.

I quickly ran out of steam, feeling inadequate and hopeless. My neighbors became more and more rowdy at around the same time, waking us up at odd hours and ignoring our requests to quiet down.

The unbearable situation forced me to get creative. EFT Tapping has helped me manifest some incredible things, so I dug in further and stumbled upon some surprising insight.

It turns out there wasn’t anything wrong with me. And that manifestation is about much more than making a shopping list for the universe.

If you’re frustrated and wondering why manifesting doesn’t work, read on for 3 reasons that may help ease the process.

Why manifesting doesn’t always work

I often have clients who want to manifest a relationship or success. They can create some things, but not others, and wonder why manifesting doesn’t always work.

First things first, there are a few basic manifestation tips that you’re probably doing already, but just in case:

Define your desire
Visualize
Practice gratitude
Take inspired action

There’s more to each tip, but it’s the general process—whether you’re manifesting a relationship, money or, in my case, a house.

But if you’re already taking the basic steps, one of these pointers below could be delaying or repelling the manifestation.

1) You’re giving your power away

One of the most common pitfalls is believing that the thing you want will make you happy.

I know, I know, that sounds ridiculous…

We want a relationship because we want to feel the joy of sharing our life with someone. That makes sense.

But many of us learned early on to focus on external things to make us feel okay. We tend to feel inadequate if we don’t get what we want. Or we put our life on hold until we get the thing we want.

Ultimately, we give our power away when we seek refuge outside of ourselves. This breeds self-doubt and keeps us small.

Instead of focusing so much on the thing you want, ask yourself: What am I hoping to feel when I get this thing?

For example, I hope to feel loved and cared for when I get my ideal partner. I hope to feel secure when I double my income.

I was hoping to feel peaceful and abundant. With our roaring neighbors, it almost became impossible to feel at peace in our own home. My husband Loïc and I also felt we needed a bigger space to thrive.

Now here’s the juicy part:

You don’t have to wait until you manifest your desires to experience the feeling of being loved, peaceful or abundant. We can cultivate those feelings—right now!

In this moment, I can breathe deeply and connect to my innate peace. Loïc and I explored the woods nearby more often. We felt grateful for the pockets of calm.

Our emotions are more important than our thoughts in the manifestation process.

So, what emotion would you like to feel? How can you cultivate that feeling right now?

Then, when you take inspired action, you’ll more easily attract your desires.

2) You have limiting beliefs

Manifestation doesn’t always work due to limiting beliefs about what we want or the process of getting it.

Many negative beliefs often orchestrate our lives below the surface of our conscious mind. A few popular beliefs include:

I don’t deserve to get what I want.
I’m not good enough.
It’s unsafe.
It’s selfish to want an easy life and more money.
I’ll never find my ideal partner.
It’s too late.
People will be jealous of me.
I must work hard.

As I used EFT Tapping on my living situation, I was stunned to discover a part of me did not want a new home.

I felt comfortable there, despite our deteriorating relationship with the neighbors. Heartwarming memories were made there during our 9-year stay—my longest stay anywhere since I moved to France in 2008.

I dug in further, revealing another key fear…

I didn’t have enough money to secure the payment for a new home. As I tapped on my money blocks, I realized a young part of me refused to ask for help. The people-pleaser in me learned to do everything on her own, even feeling proud of her independent streak.

But what do you think the universe hears? I don’t want your help. Don’t give me more money. I’ll figure it out by myself!

I felt the chunks of cliff falling off my shoulders, as I soothed my younger self.

The next morning, I woke up and immediately felt I needed to contact a housing service here. Lo and behold, we got the exact support we needed to secure a house!

Limiting beliefs were created to help protect us in some way.

How are your limiting beliefs serving you?

*Want some free support? Sign up for a free EFT session here.

3) Your ego is forcing things

Perhaps the hardest lesson when it comes to Law of Attraction and manifestation is learning how to let go.

It can be incredibly hard to let go of expectations when we’re desperate. We want to control the outcome. We want the relationship/money/fill in the blank right now!

But what if right now isn’t the right time?

What if you’re learning how to set better boundaries, so that you can truly enjoy the relationship when you get it?

What if your lack of money is teaching you how to feel abundant and powerful without external crutches?

Loïc and I couldn’t stand our disrespectful neighbors anymore. There were nights when we just fumed, feeling completely powerless. We certainly had a hard time letting go and trusting the universe.

But we knew that created more resistance, pushing our new place further away. So I tapped to reduce anxiety, Even though I’m feeling desperate and powerless to manifest this house, I choose to love and accept myself.

Calm and centered, I could more fully offer my desire to the universe. I turned within to reclaim my power and renewed my trust that everything happens for my highest good. Right here, right now, I’m okay.

When we finally moved, I admired the red roses climbing on the old stone walls in our new garden. Tears rolled down my face, as I stood in awe of my challenging, yet marvelous journey.

I thought, What if the whole manifestation process isn’t about getting what we want? What if it’s a spiritual exercise to strengthen our trust in the universe?

I’m now convinced that manifestation is a humbling way to learn how to fall into the arms of the divine, letting it lead us and show us our place in the grand scheme of things.

Manifestation as a spiritual practice

If we’re not getting the results we want, we may conclude that manifesting doesn’t work.

But there’s often more under the surface that we haven’t considered.

Perhaps we’re giving our power away to an external source. Or we have limiting beliefs, which unconsciously keep our desires from manifesting.

Above all, there isn’t anything wrong with you if you’re not able to manifest what you want.

The Law of Attraction and manifestation process have taught me that it’s about much more than commanding the universe to fetch us stuff.

We’re learning important lessons along the way to evolve, personally and collectively.

Now it’s up to us to take the invitation.

Want some free support?

I’m offering free EFT Tapping sessions in exchange for a short interview via Zoom.

I enjoy connecting with other women and learning about their challenges related to confidence, boundaries and relationships.

In the first 15 minutes, I’ll ask questions like “How did you discover me?” for new content ideas. In the last 15 minutes, you’ll get an EFT session to feel calm and clear. (Yes, things can shift that quickly.)

This offer isn’t a discovery call, where we discuss my paid services. It’s a fun opportunity to connect and support each other!

If you feel inspired to work with me, we can book a free call to make sure we’re a good fit.

I look forward to connecting with you!