The Dark Side of Manifestation
For entertainment purposes only
If you’ve spent any amount of time scrolling through Instagram or TikTok lately (note: I am in no way recommending this because it’s how I lost four hours to ‘researching’ a cold case from the 70s last Tuesday), you’ve likely stumbled across approximately five million videos on how to manifest things into your life.
Unless that’s just my “For You” page exposing me for whatever the hell I watch too much of and nobody else sees these things. If that’s the case… just don’t tell me.
Anyway, assuming this is a universal experience and not just my own algorithmically curated descent into mild chaos, you’ll know the general premise: if you think the right thoughts, feel the right vibes, and maybe buy a crystal or two, the universe will give you what you want.
Great.
Wonderful.
What could possibly go wrong?
I mean, the worst that can happen is your dreams don’t come true and you blame your thoughts for it, right? Because apparently, if the thing you manifested doesn’t happen, it’s not that the system is flawed; it’s just that you’re doing it wrong. You didn’t believe hard enough. You didn’t write it on a sticky note with enough intention. You didn’t visualize success while journaling under a waning moon.
Totally healthy framework. Absolutely no red flags there.
But here's the thing they don’t talk about:
If you believe your thoughts can cause the good things… what happens when you start believing they can also cause the bad things?
Ah, yes. Welcome to the dark side of manifestation.
When intrusive thoughts meet manifestation culture
Now, I’m not saying manifestation is inherently harmful. I don’t believe it is at all. But I might be. To myself. (Not in a psychiatric kind of way. Don’t worry.)
It’s because I am a scientist, and when you give a scientist who’s susceptible to woo-woo concepts (hi!) an idea that they can create their own reality, they don’t just vibe with it. They try to systematize it. Add logic. Create a model! Conduct informal longitudinal self-studies with emotionally devastating conclusions… You know, for fun.
So when I dipped a little too far into something very similar to manifestation culture (far enough in the past for it not to be concerning; too close to admit exactly when), I did what any overthinker would do:
I started noticing all the bad things I might have manifested.
I wasn’t out there trying to think money into my bank account. I was sitting in the car wondering if my thinking about engine failure the day before had just caused the check engine light to come on. The universe and I have somewhat of a toxic relationship.
So, purely for your entertainment, here’s a non-exhaustive list of things I genuinely believed I manifested with my thoughts (which sounds borderline narcissistic now that I look at it written down, but as far as I’m aware, I’m not a narcissist. Which is exactly what a narcissist would say, so you’ll just have to trust me. That’s also what a narcis… I give up):
Mouse infestation in the attic: Said out loud, “It’d be karma for all the mouse experiments I’ve run if I got mice in the attic.” Got mice.
Spiders: Haven’t seen a spider in a while. Look up. Spider. Every time. 10/10 manifestation. Would not recommend.
My car breaking down the day after the warranty expired: Joked about it to a friend the night before. Brake error light came on like it heard me.
The COVID-19 pandemic: Wrote a chapter of a still-unfinished novel in 2018 involving a mysterious virus and a small town in lockdown. So, I’m pretty sure I summoned it. Sorry.
A lab fire: Casually said, “Well, at least nothing’s caught fire yet.” The next day, a brand new piece of equipment that we’d had to take out a window and knock a wall down to get into the lab caught fire.
My skate blade falling off mid-skate: Said, “It’s probably risky to keep skating on this temporary mount.” Kept skating. Blade fell off. I learned nothing, apparently, as my current blades are temporarily mounted.
A job layoff: I bet this job won’t last past six months, I thought. It did not.
My cat knocking over a full cup of tea onto my laptop: Thought, He’s going to knock that over. He stared me in the eyes and did it like it was a dare.
If manifestation works, I am dangerous. If it doesn’t, I’m just catastrophically unlucky. Either way, the moral here is clear:
Stop blaming your thoughts for everything.
Because when manifestation culture collides with perfectionism, anxiety, or good old-fashioned overanalysis, what you get isn’t self-empowerment but magical guilt tripping. The idea that you’re personally responsible for everything that happens to you is… well, exhausting. And if you weren’t anxious before, you will be now.
What started as an attempt to feel in control becomes the opposite: a mental loop of self-blame, where every mildly inconvenient event proves that your vibes are off and your mindset needs a rebrand.
So what can we do instead?
You can still dream big and make vision boards, write all the sticky notes with as much intention as you can find, buy the rose quartz if it sparks joy… But maybe don’t internalize a belief system that says your entire life trajectory is a direct result of whether you journaled correctly last Sunday.
Try this:
Take action toward the thing you want.
Accept that chaos is real and sometimes bad shit just happens.
Give your thoughts a break. They're not running the whole universe.
If your intrusive thoughts are suddenly omnipotent and everything is your fault, get out of your own mind and take a walk*.
*If a tree falls on you after you read this sentence about a tree falling on you, it’s not my fault; this is a 100% manifestation-free zone.