Why Manifesting is a Strategic Planning Process

Many people first heard about manifesting when Rhonda Byrne, the creator of the film The Secret, was a guest on Oprah in the mid 2000s. The concept took off like wildfire, particularly in spiritual circles. But is manifesting “just” a New Age spiritual belief, or is it also a powerful strategic planning process?

WHAT IS MANIFESTING?

According to the authors of The Secret, The Law of Attraction is that “like attracts like. What you think about, you bring about.”

Manifesting is the process of using The Law of Attraction (what Byrne calls “The Secret”) to achieve your desired outcome - personally or professionally.

Your thoughts set your destination. When you focus on the positive places you want to go, your life unfolds in that direction.

Manifesting is the process of clarifying your intention for the future and then aligning your thoughts and actions toward achieving that intention.

WHAT IS STRATEGIC PLANNING?

According to Harvard Business School, “strategic planning is the ongoing organizational process of using available knowledge to document a business's intended direction.”

Strategic planning is the process of clarifying your vision for the future of your organization or department and aligning your business actions toward achieving that vision.

Sounds incredibly similar, doesn’t it? Manifesting and strategic planning are both explaining a very similar process of clarifying and working toward our goals.

So what exactly is that process? And how can you apply it?

THE MANIFESTING PROCESS

Here are five guidelines for manifesting the future of your business or your life:

1. Get Crystal Clear on Your Vision
   One of the most important steps in any strategic plan is to know where you want to end up. A former professor gave this analogy that always stuck with me. When you go on a trip, you don’t just get in the car and start driving. First you set your destination. Are you going 20 minutes down the road? Across the country? Across the ocean? Each of these is a very different destination that requires different resources and different planning to achieve.

2. Write it Down
   Write down a clear, succinct statement of your intention or goal. Make it your desktop wallpaper. Look at it every day. Just how on a road trip you continue to check in with your GPS and the signs on the highway to ensure you’re headed in the right direction. When you’re manifesting, keep reminding yourself of your intended destination.

3. Align Your Actions
   Next, identify a few manageable actions that you can take to achieve your goals and get working! As you make decisions along the way, keep checking in with that intended destination. Will this choice move me toward my goal? Have I moved off track? Do I need to course correct?

4. Lean into Abundance
   Often when we are looking to make a change we get hung up on what isn’t working. We haven’t reached our sales goals for this quarter. We haven’t been making it to the gym much lately. But this scarcity mindset can keep us frustrated and focused on the problem instead of the solution. Instead of focusing on what isn’t working, focus on what is. How can you lean into your strengths and do more of what’s working? (This sounds a lot like Appreciative Inquiry, doesn’t it?)

5. Let Go of the Results
   The last guideline is the least intuitive - let go of results. The future is uncertain. We aren’t able to predict what new challenges or unexpected opportunities will come our way. Flexibility is so important because it allows us to adapt to our changing environment and make the most out of the opportunities that enter our path. So instead of hyper-focusing on a specific intended result, focus on the process. When you are driving intentionally towards your intended direction, progress happens!

Have you tried manifesting? What wisdom have you gained from the process?