How to Manifest When You Don't Know What You Want (2024)

Today I want to talk about how to manifest positive change when you’re not sure what you want yet. When you’re still waiting on that clarity to come. Or maybe, when life is so chaotic, that you’re struggling to specify where you want to be 6 months from now, let alone 6 years from now.

Don’t get me wrong.... having clarity is extremely important, but sometimes clarity around “the what” comes with time and you might need some time before you manifest specific things. Maybe you’re not ready to decide on a career path, or where you want to live, or what you plan to accomplish in life. And that’s okay. You can still manifest a positive life for yourself without having these things figured out.

Sometimes we can get overwhelmed with the idea of manifestation and everything that we feel that we need to manifest.

Where to start when you don't know what to manifest

It can get really stressful when you first start thinking about every part of your life that you want to change or every part of your life that you want to re-design. And, if you listened to episode 16, you know that you never want to manifest from a place of overwhelm.

Instead of thinking through the type of relationship you want, how much money you want, where you want to live, where you will travel, and all of those other things you could manifest... why not just start with something a little closer to home? Your emotions, or what I like to call “feeling goals”.

Feeling goals exercise

Writing down all the areas of you life that you need to address in one massive list can be a good way to get your cortisol pumping. And we don’t want that. If you don’t know where to start and the idea of this kind of list is causing you stress...Stop and put all things and ideas aside. Start with the basics. Start with your emotions, or what I call your “feeling goals”.

The beautiful thing about a manifestation practice that focuses on the emotions is that it also helps give you clarity over time. We talk a lot about knowing what it is that you want and being very clear and specific about it. But, we have to let go of the how and the what. Sometimes, we’re not in a place where we can be specific about the exact thing we want. Sometimes, it is simply enough to be very clear about how your life will feel. The Universe does not like to be micromanaged…

Get out your pen and paper and instead of focusing on a list of goals or things, people, and places you want to manifest…instead, describe in a paragraph how you want your life to feel. What emotions will you embody?

At first, don’t think about any particular area in your life either. Think big picture... how do you want your life to feel? That is where you’re going to start if you’re overwhelmed with the prospect of manifesting big dreams. How do you want your life to feel? What does your intuition tell you?

How I used this "Feeling Goal" to manifest my partner

I’ll give you a personal example. If you’ve checked out my past podcast episodes, you’ve already heard that I manifested my relationship with my partner, Evan. But, I haven’t covered this part of it yet. I applied this “feeling goal” exercise as I went about my life waiting for the Universe to introduce me to my partner. I leaned into the first goal that came to mind, to my intuition.

The feeling goal that I wanted for my “future” relationship was “my relationship is peaceful and uncomplicated.” Before meeting Evan, I had a series of terrible partners. Some were abusive, some were manipulative, most were at the very least dramatic and jealous. I wanted out of that cycle of bad relationships.

My feeling goal embodied exactly what I wanted… calmness, ease, peace. And those are exactly the words I’d use to describe the relationship I’m in with Evan. I’m not saying it’s not also fun and exciting, but I’d already had that… What my intuition knew I needed in this partnership was ease and peace. And I was finally in a place to accept it. To understand I was worth that.

But I caution that you will get the exact emotion you ask for… or you manifest the feeling goal you ask for. Remember, I was a younger woman in my early 20s who ONLY had turbulent, jealous, and very complicated relationships before meeting Evan. There was a point in our relationship before we got married that I mistook this stability and easiness as our relationship being boring and dispassionate! But of course it would seem that way when I compared this new mature relationship to my past partners!

I’d compared the easiness and this calmness THAT I’D ASKED FOR to the chaotic relationships that I’d been in previously and already knew I DID NOT WANT anymore. With Evan there is no jealousy, manipulation, or even much drama. With Evan, things are easy. They’re exciting and fun too, but still easy.

Thankfully, I had a moment of awakening when I was backpacking Italy that led me to discover that no… this relationship is right… this is exactly what I asked for and I can be happy without having to work hard for it… and that was probably one of the first few limiting beliefs that I had to work through. You can be happy without having to work for it. I never saw that between my parents, so I didn’t know what it looked like until I met Evan. thankfully, my intuition knew what I needed and I followed that.

If it feels right, try being specific with these “feeling goals”. Instead of “I am happy” or “I am proud”, take it a step further and describe in detail how you will feel. As an example you can say, “I wake up everyday elated to get to work” Or “I am excited about the traveling I get to do” or “I am filled with love for those around me and receive their abundant love in return”.

I've chosen my "Feeling Goals", now what?

If you’re doing this exercise and you’ve already defined your feeling goals for your life; move to the next step and start breaking down what feelings you want to manifest in each area of your life. What emotions do you want to feel when you work? When you’re In a relationship? When you travel? Spiritually? With your future friends? With your future in-laws?

After defining your life’s feeling goals, break off into these specific areas and expand upon this exercise.

We do this “feeling goal” exercise because the Universe can understand the energy and the intent behind the positive emotions and doesn’t need any other directions to get us there.

Y’all know I am all for gaining clarity and I want to be clear that I am NOT telling you that you shouldn’t get clarity. If you’ve heard my other podcasts you know how I feel about this, but sometimes we get so caught up in the “how” something will happen by describing EVERY single detail that will get us there, that we unintentionally keep ourselves from the outcome that will actually make us happy and fulfilled. We try and retain control for ourselves instead of giving it to the Universe and it’s divine plan.

It’s like those people we hear about, or you may even know, who work their entire lives to manifest the highest position of success that they envision for themselves and still aren’t satisfied with their lives. Just because they manifested the success they thought they “wanted” does not mean they are happy.

Instead, if they had focused on manifesting fulfillment, joy, curiosity, or passion, maybe the Universe would have given them an entirely different path to follow....one that would have been better than they could have ever imagined. And that’s a critical point. Sometimes, we don’t know... what we don’t know. And we usually can’t know what will make us the happiest.

The Universe can see our best outcome out of a billion. It is all knowing. All we need to do is give it an outline. The Universe can work magic for you with just a blueprint that starts with the ultimate feeling goal. “I am thrilled with my life and feel expansive and bright. That is enough of a blue print to start with.

By the way, I'm not saying that this "feeling goal" is ALL that is required. If you've listed to my past podcast episodes, you know that there is so much more to manifestation! However, this can be a great place to start your manifestation journey.

Once you have these emotions described it’s going to be a lot easier for you to manifest. You will already know the feeling that you’re manifesting, regardless of whether or not you understand the what or the how. Let go and allow the Universe to work for you. An emotional parameter is enough for the Universe to get to work.

The last tip I have for you is to get into the feeling of that emotion. Once you're clear on how you want to feel, spend a few minutes everyday sitting in that emotion. Get into the physical sensation of having experienced that emotion. It is a lot like the power stance that self help books mention.

Step into the emotion mentally and physically to start each day. Do this consistently, reset each day with this energetic frequency, and imagine where you will be a year from now.

So decide today how your life will FEEL next month, next year, in 5 years. How will your romantic relationships feel? Your friendships? Your work?

My challenge for you today is to choose the word that embodies your future. Post this word on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @ModernManifestation. Share your word with me, and inspire your friends to choose theirs.

My word will be “Inspired” and I will post it on my IG later this week.

Have a fantastic rest of your week, and I will catch y’all next Monday.

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Additional resources mentioned:

Is Your Overwhelm Keeping You From Manifesting, Bre Brown