Forget Manifesting – and try “Confidence Evoking”

For a long time the big thing was Manifesting – where you were told to think thoughts to attract what you want into your life. You had people sticking pictures of Bugattis on their vision boards, or repeating mantras that they were millionaires or in a perfect relationship in the hope of creating whatever they wanted in their lives. Many books followed, there was a lot of buzz about it – but the results weren’t there, for the readers or the teachers of manifesting (apart from big sales of books and courses for the latter, which is arguably more marketing than manifesting). Although the subject is as popular as ever, people are still looking for the secret to how to apply it. There’s clearly something missing – as many are still patiently waiting for their soulmates, money, and mansions to come in.

I’m not as cynical about manifesting as I’m sounding. In fact, I always had a sense there was something to it – now more than ever – and my research found that the essence of it had been taught in so many philosophies before. It’s just it had become so complicated and confusing, full of contradictions. People had lost their way. And the lack of results had made it a laughing stock.

Discovering a Way That Works

I first started teaching a personal development group back in London in 2008, to find out what really works when it comes to feeling good, dealing with difficult thoughts and emotions and creating your best life. It ran for a decade. After seeing some incredible results over the years, I was finally ready to share my findings in two published books and I continue to work with many people one-to-one as we explore these ideas and embody them in our own lives.

Recently, one of my practices called the Confidence Evoke came back into the fore with shout-outs on social media. It’s already a celebrity secret – but every now and then it gets a mention in the mainstream. It’s a practice which promises to work in a way that visualization just didn’t. Rather than try to wish for what you want, the practice makes logical steps to step into the feeling of having what you want. And the difference is, it does actually work. I know, because I created this technique over years of facilitating groups and workshops – and I’ve seen first-hand incredible results along the way (I share about some of them in my book Feel Better, No Matter What).

Stepping Into Your Dream Life

And so I’m not surprised by the renewed interest. Partly because most of the books about Law of Attraction and manifesting that have come and gone haven’t worked for people, and partly because of the social media sharings by a few well-known influencers. For a long time, this practice has been talked about in certain manifesting circles as a favourite tool that got people their dream relationship, career, and lifestyle; it’s been a secret go-to method that many swear-by even though it’s not yet got the coverage that other practices have got. Unlike visualizing or affirmations, confidence evoking (as it’s described by fans) is more of a gradual and believable way to step into your dreams and make them feel real to you. It gets you into that all-important belief in your dreams.

I’d long understood that visualizing was nowhere near as easy as it sounded. As alluring as it seemed, to simply believe you are experiencing your dreams is no easy feat, and I didn’t see it working for people in the way the teachers were selling it. On my journey, I always wanted to find methods that worked. I knew that so many of the teachings out there were rehashed from older teachings which didn’t work that well to begin with and I didn’t want to add to that. I wanted to be someone who was expert at living the teachings that did work. And then share that with others.

How to Confidence Evoke

You first get clear about what you want. And then, using a template, you start remembering (or “evoking”) times you felt close to this. People find the more they do it, the easier it gets. And very soon you experience actual experiences that match what you’re feeling – it really is quite amazing.

It’s part of the programme in my book so I recommend doing it in collaboration with the other practices.

Discover the Confidence Evoke process – and other empowering practices – in Feel Better, No Matter What published by Watkins.