On Purpose with Jay Shetty - You’re Manifesting Wrong! Follow THIS 3-Step Alignment Formula That Actually Works (This is Life Changing!)

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

Do you believe in manifestation? What are you currently manifesting? Manifestation isn’t about magic, shortcuts, or wishing something into existence, it’s about clarity, belief, and intentional action. In today’s episode, Jay unpacks the biggest myths around manifestation and explains why vision boards, affirmations, and journaling alone often leave us feeling stuck or unfulfilled. Instead, he shows us how to set clear goals, pair affirmations with real action, and create systems that actually move us forward. Through practical steps and powerful research, Jay reshapes our understanding of manifestation, not as wishful thinking, but as the alignment of our thoughts, words, and actions. He reveals why positivity without effort quickly falls flat, how struggle signals growth rather than failure, and why surrender can be an act of wisdom instead of passivity. Jay shows us how to actively create the life we imagine. Whether your pursuit is abundance, purpose, or simply the courage to take the next step, he reminds us that manifestation isn’t about waiting for the universe to deliver, it’s about showing up ready, prepared, and fully present for the opportunities ahead. In this episode, you'll learn: How to Set Clear Goals for Manifestation How to Pair Affirmations with Daily Action How to Break Big Dreams into Small Steps How to Turn Desire Into Direction How to Value Growth Over Outcome Growth is rarely smooth or instant, but it’s always possible when you stay committed to the process. Keep showing up with clarity, with consistency, and courage, because the life you dream of is created one intentional choice at a time. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here. Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast   What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 00:50 What is Manifestation? 01:52 Myth #1: Manifestation isn't Magic 05:42 Myth #2: Positive Thoughts Alone Attract Success 08:12 Myth #3: Writing it Down is Not Enough 11:11 Myth #4: The Universe Rewards Wanting 13:35 Myth #5: The Path Will Be Smooth If It's Meant to Be 16:14 Myth #6: Manifesting is Passive 20:07 Myth #7: Manifestation is About StuffSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the psychology podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about how to be a better you. When you think about emotion regulation, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denials easier.

Complex problem solving takes effort. Listen to the psychology podcast on the. iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Manifestation is not magic. Manifestation is not wishing and waiting. Manifestation is not writing it once in a journal and closing the book. Manifestation is not saying affirmations while avoiding action. Manifestation is not the universe delivering without your participation.

Manifestation is not a shortcut around hard work. It's clarity, belief, and consistent action in alignment. The number one health and wellness podcast. Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. He won, the only. Jay Shetty. Hey, everyone.

Welcome back to On Purpose. I'm Jay Shetty, author of New York Times bestsellers, Think Like a Monk, and Eight Rules of Love. And today I want to talk to you about a topic that I feel we're all completely fascinated by, but I think we really don't understand manifestation. There is so much about this word out there, there's so many interpretations, there's so much about how to do it and what it is. And I feel like often we set ourselves up for failure by subscribing to a word that we don't fully understand, by subscribing to an idea that sounds

good, it makes us feel good, but it doesn't really transfer into reality. How many of you have ever tried to manifest a vision board and not seen it come to life? How many of you have tried to repeat something constantly in affirmations and not seen it come to life? How many of you have tried to manifest something big and beautiful in your life and actually felt like you went down the wrong path? If that applies to any of you, this episode is for you because I'm going to talk about the myths of manifestation and how to actually build the life that you truly want. Myth number one, manifestation is magic. We think if I think about it hard enough, it will appear. Here's the reality. Your brain isn't a genie. It's a GPS. If you don't type in the address,

it can't take you anywhere. Do you ever get in the car and just start driving without a destination? you'd waste gas, you'd waste time, and energy. That's what wishing without clarity does to your life. Research from Locke and Latham's goal-setting theory of 2002 shows specific goals lead to higher motivation and success than vague intentions. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to swap, I want to be successful, for I want to grow my business revenue by 20. 70% this year. Vague wishes, drift, clear goals, direct. So anyone who's saying manifestation is just, I want abundance, I want to be free, I want

to create greatness. These are beautiful aspirations. There's nothing wrong with them. But without clarity, we don't know what action to take. Your goal has to be clear. Your vision of what you're building has to be clear. Now, I'm not saying that it's going to work out just as you think it is. I'm not even saying you're going to get exactly what you envision,

but the truth is to start any journey, you need clarity. Manifestation is not magic. Manifestation is not wishing and waiting. Manifestation is not writing it once in a journal and closing the book. Manifestation is not saying affirmations while avoiding action. Manifestation is not the universe delivering without your participation. Manifestation is not a shortcut around hard work.

Manifestation is not about getting everything you want instantly. Manifestation isn't magic. It's clarity, belief, and consistent action in alignment. For so many people, they may tell an amazing story about how they manifested something. It's not that they didn't vision it. It's not that they didn't have clarity. They also aligned their action, their time, their energy, their resources in that direction. Manifestation truly is the alignment of what you think, what you say, and what you do.

When those three things are aligned, that's what creates impact in the world and in your life. Whereas when you think in your head I want abundance, you say it out loud, but your action, are completely the opposite, nothing changes. The problem is, we think manifestation means if I think abundantly, then I'll be abundant in my business. No, you might actually have a beautiful habit for happiness, but the strategy for success is watching the patterns of success. It's analyzing the journeys of success. It's being locked in to a different mind. Myth number two is that positive thoughts alone attract success. People think if I stay positive, the universe will deliver. This sets us up for a lot of disappointment because I know so many people, good people, who think positively, but then

difficult things happen in their life, hard things happen in their life. The reality is positivity is fuel, but it's not the vehicle. It gets you moving, but you still have to drive. Imagine this. Think of going to the gym, telling yourself, I believe in myself. That won't build muscle unless you pick up the weights. But it's great that it made you show up. So it's important. It's just incomplete. Barbara Fredrickson's broaden and build theory shows positivity, expands our creativity and problem solving, but without action, it just fades. Here's your step. Pair every affirmation with one action. If you say, I'm building wealth, then at the same time, set up an automatic transfer to savings as soon as you get your paycheck. The moment you take

action, your life will change. The moment you take action, clarity replaces confusion. The moment you take action, momentum begins. The moment you take action, the right time finally arrives. The moment you take action, you stop waiting for permission. Notice how affirmation and action together creates alignment. Affirmation on its own is wishful thinking. Action on its own doesn't feel like it's fueled with a higher way of living. Affirmation and action together are an unbeatable formula. And so I want you to really think about in your life about the things you've been struggling with, the things you're always trying to pump yourself up about, and ask yourself, what habits have I not built? What actions have I not built? What systems

have I not built? We're not failed by our desires or our expectations. We're failed by the systems we don't build. We're failed by the processes we don't create. We're failed by the criteria we don't have. We're failed by the boundaries we don't make. That's what fails us. Myth number three, writing it down is not enough. We think, I wrote in my journal, so it's on its way. Here's the reality. Writing helps focus the brain, but it's step one, not the finish line. Think of it like making a grocery list. Everyone needs one of those. You need to know what you're missing, what you need to fill your fridge with, what you need this week. But, if you never go to the store, the list doesn't feed you. Research, known as the generation

effect, shows writing improves memory and focus. But memory isn't momentum. Here's the step. After journaling, add, what's one step I can take today toward this? If you write, start a podcast, your next step could be outline an episode, learn how to record a podcast, read, research a podcast. For so many of us, we write down what we want. We don't write down how we're going to get there. It's the how we're going to get there that makes things seem manageable. What our mind does is when we say I want to start a podcast, it feels so big. We feel overwhelmed. We feel overburdened by doing this huge thing. When you break it down into all the multiple steps of how to get there, the key is to figure out the next step you can take right now.

The next step you can take right now, which is calling up a friend who has a podcast, watching podcasts to find out a format that works for you, looking up a YouTube video from a creator telling you how to start one. Without those steps, you can think about starting a podcast for months and years and nothing will ever happen. Manifestation is clarity about what you want and what it takes. Manifestation is writing it down and then building it step by step. manifestation is persistence when motivation fades manifestation is aligning your choices with your values not just your wishes

if you just make it about your wishes if you just make it about what you're writing if you don't ever make it about the how right people say start with why really important you should know why you're doing what you're doing you should know what you want to build but if you don't know how you're going to get there it's almost the hardest thing right if you don't know how you're going to get to the party on a Saturday night if you don't know how you're going to get to your vacation destination if you don't

know how you're going to build that company it becomes a lot harder spend more time figuring out the how and you'll know that you're making momentum you'll know you're making progress you'll know you're moving in the right direction so the thing is I really want you to get there I really want you to experience the joy of building something you love. I don't just want it to remain a dream in your mind and your heart space that never gets to see the light of day. Myth number four, the universe rewards wanting. If I want it badly enough, I'll get it. It does not work that way. Desire its fuel, but direction is the map. Without it, you spin in circles. Have you ever desperately wanted a job, relationship, or whatever it may be, but you had no strategy. Desire without direction

is like stepping on the gas with no steering wheel. The reticular activating system, also known as RAS, filters what you notice. Define a goal and your brain literally starts spotting opportunities. For example, once you think of buying a red car, you see them everywhere. So here's the step. Each morning, write down three things you want to notice that day. Maybe new clients, learning opportunities, or ways to connect. Your RAS will tune in. This is so important. If you have a goal to write a book, start a podcast, build a company, ask yourself, what is it that you need? I was talking to a friend the other day. And I'd said to him how important it was for him to show up to networking events. I said, if you're out with those events, you're going to meet people, people are going to see you,

you're going to get to connect with them. He was avoiding it for months and months and months. He finally went to one and he was shocked at what it felt like to be front of mind. When you're present, you get to have the conversations you would never get to if you weren't there. So many of us avoid the actual action, even though in our mind we're wondering, why is this business not taking off? Why is it not starting off? Because we're not positioning ourselves in the places that we need to be. Remember, you don't see things as they are. You see them through your own fears and hopes. You don't see yourself as you are. You see the story you keep repeating about who you are. You don't see the future as it is. You see the version you believe is possible. So many of us have the wish. We have the want.

We have the desire. We don't have the direction. We don't have the drive. And where does that drive come from. Comes from picking something that you really value. I mean, everyone would want to be financially free. Everyone would want abundance. Those are things we all want. What does that look like for you? How does that manifest for you? When I say that, what I mean is how do you envision that? How is it unique to you and how are you going to get there that's unique to you? Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human potential.

I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills, and I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like, it's easier to punch someone in the face. When you think about emotion regulation, like, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy, which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it, if it's going to be beneficial to you. Because it's easy to say, like, go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer.

It's easy to ignore, to suppress, seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just, like, walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort. Listen to the psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Myth number five, the path will be smooth if it's meant to be. We think if I face obstacle, maybe it's not my destiny. The reality is struggle doesn't mean you're on the wrong path. It usually means you're on a real one, right? Struggle doesn't mean you're making a mistake. Struggle could mean that you have a lot to learn to get to this goal. If you have something you really value, don't change what you value. Change the path to get there.

Ask any athlete, artist or entrepreneur. I've interviewed so many of them on the podcast. The dream always comes with resistance. You'll get to where you want in life, just not in the way you imagined it. Pain isn't proof of misalignment. It's proof you're growing. It's proof it matters. And ultimately, it reveals to you whether it matters enough. If you give up because something's hard, it means you didn't care enough about the thing. We do the most difficult things as humans for things we care about. Parenting is one of the most

thankless jobs. It's one of the hardest jobs. But people do it because they love their child. Their love outweighs the pain. That's what purposes. That's what manifesting really is, is where your love for something, your dedication, your devotion to something is more than your pain, stress, and difficulty that you go through to get there. Angela Duckworth's grit research shows sustained effort through challenges, predicts achievement more than talent. Here's a step. When you hit resistance, reframe it.

This is the workout, not the wall. Write down what this obstacle is teaching you. just because something is right for you doesn't mean it will be easy just because something is meant for you doesn't mean it will come quickly just because it's your purpose doesn't mean it won't test your patience just because you've found your calling doesn't mean you won't doubt yourself along the way and just because you're ready doesn't mean life won't make you wait Myth number six, manifesting is passive. I just have to wait and trust. I was at an event the other day and someone asked me about how do you surrender? How do you create detachment? How do you do

something but then leave the result up to what's going on? And here's what I said. I said surrender only starts when you've already done everything under your control. If you have given 100% of your energy if you have left no stone unturned and if you have given it all you've got that's when surrender starts sometimes we only do 50% of that and then we're thinking there's 50% of surrender that's not surrender that's just hoping wishing and waiting surrender says i've done everything i possibly could i've put in all the energy knowledge and wisdom i have at this point in my life I'm now detached from the result because I realize whatever comes is what's truly meant for me and I have no idea of what I'm being prepared for.

I'll give an example. Eight years ago when one of my videos went crazy viral on social media, a TV company in LA reached out to me and said they wanted to make a TV show. I had no idea what that meant. So I spoke to a friend who I thought made a TV show, someone who I was producing with. We created a sizzle rule. We made a deck. We flew out to LA on our own money. I used to live in New York at that time. I went and built this and went back and forth. We went around and pitched it to every major TV network and streamer at the time. Everyone rejected it. No one

wanted it. Now, I had done everything I possibly could. Was I upset? Yes. Was I disappointed? Of course. but I'd done everything I possibly could to make that the best pitch I could have. I was detached, I was surrendered. It's only because I got rejected that I started on purpose, something that was built by me, something that I started from scratch,

something that I get to define who I speak to, when I speak to them, what we talk about, where we go. I would never have this if I got given a TV show that could have lasted two to three seasons and got cancelled. I would never have this opportunity. Surrender begins when endeavor is complete.

If your endeavor is incomplete, there's no surrender. It's just wishing, hoping, and wanting. Put in all the energy that you possibly have, all the wisdom and knowledge you possibly have, and then surrender to the fact that what you receive may save you for what's to come. I was given something better than I imagined in On Purpose than I could have ever imagined from any show I could have created. Waiting isn't manifesting. It's stalling. Action is what flips vision into reality.

Imagine planting seeds and then sitting indoors hoping they grow without watering, sunlight or care. That's what waiting does to your dreams. Research by Bandura's self-efficacy theory, shows confidence comes from doing small things successfully, not from waiting for a big break. Here's a step. Break one big dream into a seven-day goal.

You want to change careers? Update your resume this week. Momentum builds confidence. Myth number seven. Manifestation is about stuff. We think if I manifested money, a car, a house, I'll be happy. And here's the reality. Stuff is a byproduct of meaning and value that you create.

It's not bad, it's great to have, it's wonderful to have, but it can't be the goal in and of itself. Here's the context. How many times have you gotten what you wanted? The promotion, the gadget, the trip, and still felt empty after a week. That's because fulfillment is about alignment with values, not just getting the thing. Research from the Harvard study of adult development, this is the grant study that last over 85 years shows quality relationships, not wealth or fame, are the strongest predictors of long-term happiness. Now, I'm not saying, and I always want to clarify this, wealth is important,

success is important. That's why we have so many amazing money experts on-on-purpose to help you figure that out. When you write a goal, add your why. So don't just write, I want $100,000 salary or whatever it may be. Right, I want $100,000 salary so I can have freedom to travel, take care of my parents, and live without stress. When you make the end goal about a thing or stuff, it ends up letting you down versus when that is just a byproduct of creating value and success. If you analyze patents, you'll become successful. If you learn how to market your product, you'll become successful. If you learn how to solve someone's problem, you'll become successful. If you do all of those things, the car, the house, the travel, that will all come from

that. So that's what you want to put your energy into, not the vision of what that thing is that you that doesn't make you a better salesperson. It doesn't make you a better marketer. It doesn't make you a better coder. It doesn't make you a better user of AI. It doesn't make you a better videographer, photographer by looking at a picture of the car or the house you want every day. That will come by becoming better at your art, better at your skill. That's what you want to focus on. Don't overvalue the goal and undervalue the growth. Don't overvalue speed and undervalue direction. Don't overvalue success and undervalue sanity. Don't overvalue approval and undervalue authenticity. Don't overvalue being right and undervalue being kind. Don't overvalue recognition and undervalue consistency. Don't

overvalue the outcome and undervalue the process. Don't overvalue what you gain and undervalue who you become. It's not about wanting for the universe to deliver. It's about getting clear, rewiring your brain to see opportunities and taking consistent steps until your vision becomes a reality. Thank you so much for listening to me. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Pass it on to a friend. Tag me on social media and let me know what resonated with you. And I'll see you on the next episode. Remember, I'm forever in your corner, and I'm always rooting for you. If you love this podcast, you'll love my episode with Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis and I talk about why you should stop chasing society's definition of success and how to be more intentional with your goals. You don't want to miss it. Like, it's not about being perfect. It's about just every day, one step at a time, trying to be better, trying to do more. I'm learning a lot about myself. I have to break myself down in order to be able. to be better. This is an iHeart podcast.