The Secret To Manifesting: Knowing Your Why

In this article, learn how knowing your why can make all your manifestations richer and more meaningful, and get helpful tips and practices for uncovering your why and aligning with your deepest purpose each and every day.

Uncovering Your “Why”

Behind every goal and intention is a greater purpose for why you want this specific thing.

And often, this purpose is much deeper than most of us even realize on the surface.

To illustrate this, let’s start with an example. Let’s say you’re a ten-year-old kid playing on your little league baseball or softball team. You’re up to bat, and your team is down by one run. There’s one runner on base. That means if you hit a home run, your team will go ahead. 

So your goal at this moment is to hit a home run.

But what’s the purpose behind wanting to hit a home run?

Consider this:

• You want to hit a home run so you can help your team win the game.

• Okay. So why do you want to help your team win the game?

• You want to help your team win the game because you want to feel like a winner.

• And why do you want to feel like a winner?

• You want to feel like a winner because you believe it will make your parents proud.

• And why do you want to make your parents proud? 

• You want to make your parents proud because you believe it shows you’re worthy of their love.

• And why do you want to feel worthy of their love?

• You want to feel worthy of their love because you deeply desire love and validation from others.

• And why do you desire love and validation from others?

• You want love and validation from others because receiving love from others will show you that you’re worthy of loving yourself.

Wanting to hit a home run to help your team win the game has a purpose so much deeper than simply winning.

For a child, it might validate that they’re worthy of love and acceptance. It might also act as proof that their contributions matter. Kids (and adults) often want to be the hero because they crave the love, validation, and praise that comes with being a hero.

(To be very clear, you are always worthy of love, acceptance, and praise, no matter what you do or don’t do.)

And this is true for all of our deepest dreams and most heartfelt desires. It’s never simply about just obtaining a single thing. It’s about so much more. And when we can learn to recognize what this more is, we gain a greater understanding of our deepest motivations and what drives us to keep going.

By connecting to your why every day, you’re less likely to quit when challenges and obstacles appear on your path, thus fostering deeper resilience. It also helps you to connect with the fundamental feeling of your desired manifestation. We’ll discuss this in more depth below, plus I’ll give you practices to uncover your why and tips for aligning with your why each day.

In This Article

• The Story Of My Why
• How To Uncover Your Why
• How To Align With Your Why

The Story Of My Why

Before I became a full-time website owner and writer, I job-hopped a lot.

I existed in an endless cycle in which I’d set out to find some kind of administrative office position in the hope that it would bring me happiness and fulfillment. I’d stay in this job for about a year before inevitably deciding to seek out a new job that would (again) hopefully bring me the happiness and fulfillment I was seeking.

The last position I took was actually pretty perfect on paper. I was able to do meaningful work with people I truly liked. But after several months, I once again started feeling empty. No matter how much I tried to force myself to fit into these office positions, nothing ever felt right.

I was a square peg trying to fit myself into a round hole.

One day, I went on an afternoon walk to clear my head. I was listening to a guided walking meditation, and the meditation teacher instructed her listeners to visualize an image that represented how we were feeling in that moment. I can still remember that moment so clearly. One second, I was walking through the neighborhood surrounded by houses and trees. And the next, all I could see in my mind’s eye was a pair of cold, metal handcuffs encircling my wrists.

And I realized in that moment just how trapped and imprisoned I felt in my current life situation.

That was when I realized my soul craved freedom and independence more than just about anything else. Everything inside me knew I’d be trapped in this endless cycle of job-hopping and working for other people unless I consciously decided to break it.

And I knew what that meant. I’d known since I was seven year old, when the dream of being a writer was first put into my heart.

Breaking out of my cycle meant doing the thing I feared the most: stepping out from the shadows, putting my words out there for the world to read, and taking charge of my life.

So I did something that was kind of crazy: I took a leap and followed my heart. I quit my job. I started this website. I began sharing my words for the first time on Instagram. I started to show up for myself in a way I never had the courage to do before.

And for the first several months of blogging, I earned no money at all. Zero. Nothing. I made a lot of mistakes, and I spent eighty to ninety hours a week working on my blog and social media accounts, often seeing no immediate positive results. I almost quit about a thousand times.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t.

And the thing that kept me going during my heaviest, most difficult moments was knowing my why.

• I craved the freedom and independence to have my own schedule and build a life that felt truly meaningful for both myself and others.

• I wanted to make my family proud. (Probably for the same reason the kid in the example above wanted to hit the home run.)

• And finally, my deepest purpose of all was to lift up, help, and inspire others to live a life aligned with their own purpose and passions – to be a beacon of love, hope, and a belief in something more. The thing that kept me going through it all was believing that if I could help just one person, that would be enough. I can’t emphasize enough how powerful it is to uncover a deeper purpose within that isn’t about you at all – to be inspired by something greater than yourself. When life is no longer happening to you or even for you, but rather, when life is happening through you to help other people – that’s when you will begin manifesting things beyond your wildest dreams. Why? Writer Vex King has a quote that sums it up better than I ever could: “You can do anything that comes from a place of love.”

How To Uncover Your Why

When you can uncover your why and understand your deepest purpose for why you want to manifest your specific desires, your manifestations will open up for you in ways they never have before. Instead of focusing on short-term results, you’ll be able to keep your vision on the big picture. Your why will keep you centered, grounded, and stable through all of life’s ups and downs.

This is your root. Your foundation. Your deepest, most authentic motivation for all that you do.

Here are a few ways you can begin uncovering your why today:

• Go Beyond The Surface: Once you identify your goal, ask why you desire this thing. But don’t stop there. Like in the baseball example in the introduction, keep asking yourself why. Continue to probe until you get to the very foundation of what you want most. (Usually, you’ll have to ask yourself “Why?” at least seven to eight times before you reach your deepest reason.)

• Identify The Primary Feelings You’re Looking For: Most of the time, when you want to manifest something, you don’t simply want this thing just because. It’s often a feeling that you’re after. For instance, if you want to manifest financial wealth, maybe what you’re truly seeking is freedom. If you want to manifest a romantic partner, you may be seeking the feeling of being truly and deeply loved. Once you identify these feelings, the power is entirely in your hands. You don’t have to wait for these things to come into your life before you start feeling these positive emotions. Feel free now. Feel loved now. Feel everything you desire right now. It never starts outside of yourself; it begins within. You have the power to create the life of your dreams by creating it inside of you first.

• Speak To Your Higher Self: When it comes to your why, your higher self knows your deepest purpose. Meet this part of you in meditation. Connect to your inner wisdom through journaling. When you go within, the answers you discover may surprise you – but they’ll also feel good and right. (Click here to learn more about who your higher self is and how to connect to this deepest part of you.)

Here are some questions that can help you uncover your why. You might find it helpful to write down your thoughts in a notebook or journal:

• What’s your greatest passion?

• What makes you feel most alive?

• What are your greatest strengths?

• How can your unique talents, skills, knowledge, and abilities serve the world?

• What primary feelings do you crave most in your life? (i.e. peace, freedom, love, abundance)

• When you look back on your life, how will you evaluate it as a whole? Will you evaluate it by the lives you touched? By your achievements? By the love of your family and community? By what you’ve left behind to serve future generations? Note that there’s no right or wrong answer here. It’s solely a matter of what feels good and true to you.

How To Align With Your Why

When you know your why, your goal has more impact. You’re no longer manifesting aimlessly; you’re manifesting with purpose, on purpose. 

But it can be easy to lose sight of your why, especially in the beginning. We can lose ourselves in the presence of outer noise. Doubts and insecurities can stop us from moving forward. It’s all too easy to forget why we started in the first place.

So it’s important to find ways to consciously remind yourself of your why each and every day.

Here are some practices you can try:

• Write down your “why” statement on a piece of paper or a note on your phone. Read it to yourself multiple times a day. Read it even more when you experience challenges and obstacles that make you question whether this is the right path for you.

• Turn your why statement into an affirmation. For instance, if your deepest purpose is to lift the vibration of the planet, you might say, “I am lifting the vibration of the planet with my thoughts, words, and actions.” If you’re seeking a life of freedom, you might affirm that you are free. You might also affirm that freedom is your fundamental, true state, and that it’s also your birthright. Repeat affirmations that align with your why and allow yourself to feel the positive emotions associated with these empowering words.

• Connect to the primary feeling of your “why” statement. Whether it’s freedom, peace, love, abundance, or happiness, focus on cultivating this feeling within you. Don’t look for what you desire out there. Find it within, align with it every day, and let it come to you.

Remember this: every goal you possess has a deeper meaning and purpose behind it. And there’s a reason this dream exists within you. It was entrusted to you for a reason. It’s your specific vision for a reason. Nothing is by accident. Nothing is a mistake. 

During your journey, you will face difficult choices. Some of these choices will require you to either choose fear or courage – to shrink back or expand. Choose the path most aligned with your why. Make your choices as your highest, most authentic self. Follow the pull of your deep inner wisdom. Let your heart lead.

---

---

How has knowing your why helped you in your manifestation journey? What is your process for uncovering and aligning with your why? Share your tips and experiences in the comment box below!

And for more manifesting tips, daily affirmations, and lots of positive vibes, be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram.

More Manifestation Resources

• The Importance Of Taking Small Steps (For Manifestation)
• How To Manifest On Paper In 5 Easy Steps
• Morning Routine Checklist For Manifestation (Free Printable PDF)
• Manifestation Challenge: Free 30-Day Manifestation Calendar
• Candle Colors For Manifestation (A Complete Guide)

---