Last year around this time my partner and I moved into a new apartment. Having moved across the country, we sold all our furniture so everything else we owned could fit into our small sedans. You could imagine that first night in our empty apartment filled with half-opened boxes of clothes and us using the cardboard box the frozen pizza came in as a plate for the night. 

The place stayed pretty empty for a while until we discovered, what we liked to call it, the magical dumpster. One person’s trash was in fact another person’s treasure. One night, we were talking about how we needed end tables to put our phones and water on in the evenings. A day later, a beautiful pair of nightstands that matched our limitedly decorated room showed up right outside this dumpster in perfect condition. This had to be a coincidence.

Another night we were looking at coffee tables and a few days later the SAME coffee table that was in my Amazon wishlist was by this dumpster looking brand new. Still a coincidence? Weeks go by and the floor became comfier to sit on than the futon we bought. A comfortable couch shows up, again in perfect condition, and in the very specific grey color I wanted.

On another day we were heading back from the store after looking at vacuums, and we decided to just order one online instead. As we pulled up to our parking spot, we found not one, but two working vacuums by this magical dumpster. When our T.V. started to break, multiples started showing up at the dumpster. When quarantine was in its baby stage and I started working from home, my Ikea dining chair was quickly replaced by a magical dumpster office chair. 

 Was it manifestation? I’d like to think so. 

 Maybe manifestation is something familiar to you, maybe it’s not like it was for me. I mean, I didn’t realize the extent of what it was until it was trending on TikTok. Manifestation is bringing something tangible into your life through attraction and belief. If you think it, it will come.

 Manifestation doesn’t just come in the form of furniture you need showing up near an oversized trash can. It can be applicable to most aspects of your life. The more you think about something and are aware of your surroundings the more that “thing” starts to show up in your day-to-day life. Similar to when you find out what a new word means and then start hearing people use it all the time. 

If you constantly think about what you want to happen, it has more potential to happen. With, of course, some actionable steps. In reverse, if you constantly think about what you DON’T want to have happen you can end up manifesting that instead. *Disclaimer, not everything you think about will or won’t happen. It’s about having a mentality that makes you more aware of the things you want and don’t want in your life. 

Now, there is some science to back up this hocus pocus. Research shows that if you believe you can do something, it makes it more likely that you’ll successfully do it. A.K.A. having a growth mindset can help you pursue what you want. Whether it’s in your career, education, relationship, sports, hobbies, lifestyle changes, you name it. Research also suggests that if we fully believe that we can achieve something, we are willing to put in the difficult work to achieve it. Beliefs can bring about behaviors. 

 Here are some steps to manifest what you want.

 1. What do you want? Be specific. Will it benefit you? Do you really want it?

 2. Cut out things that stand in your way. Negative mindsets, negative people. Procrastination. Doubts. Regrets. Blame. 

3. Visualize it. Picture what you want. Be specific. Focus positive thoughts towards that thing. 

4. Take actions. Work towards what you want. Find ways to switch up your day-to-day actions to allow for new opportunities to show up in unexpected ways.  

5. Recognize It. Maybe things are happening a little differently than you hoped and that’s okay. Acknowledge when small things are happening that get you closer to your end goal. 

6. Don’t be discouraged. Remember, a positive growth mindset is everything when it comes to manifesting hopes and dreams. Things take time. Trust the process and the actions you are taking. Realize when you are getting discouraged or frustrated and channel that energy into an “I can mentality” and not an “I can’t.” All this is easier said than done, and it sounds cliche A.F. 

This shit-show year 2020 is wrapping up, and we're heading into a new year with some sparkling 2021 resolutions. I encourage you (if you aren't already) to start thinking about the things you want to accomplish this upcoming year and the things you want in your life. Don't let the frustrations and hurt from this year hold you back. Instead, let it fuel the fire within you to make positive change happen.

Manifestation doesn’t just come in the form of furniture you need showing up near an oversized trash can. Manifestation is bringing something tangible into your life through attraction and belief. If you think it, it will come.

The Magical Dumpster and Manifestation

Regular

My guess is that most fellow Americans had a similar stat whether it was cell phone or computer use. Our bloodshot eyes were glued to the election and the refresh button never got more love. Perhaps we should petition for a "refresh" emoji. 

If you've followed Black Sheep on social you know music plays a role in our agency. Music is our 12th man or 6th man or some other sports analogy about being a team player. We've hosted concerts for a cause, shared Playlists with Purpose and tweeted countless tracks. Last week to keep some chill our team shared music, songs and albums that brought some peace to a heated election. A way to tune out, space out and chill. 

Now the election is behind us but we have a long way to go to unify this country. This week's news may be as intense as last week. So I'm not saying tune out for long BUT take a mental moment friend. I made a playlist for you to keep it chill.   

With the election behind us and much to happen these upcoming weeks, it's important to take a mental moment for ourselves. Here's a playlist to help keep it chill.  

Keep it chill

My iPhone screen time was up last week by 86%. 