I Tried Roxie Nafousi’s Manifestation Technique for a Month—and It Transformed How I Handle Stress

I'll level with you: I've always been a bit of a manifestation sceptic. But recently, I've been seeing more and more content around how transformative the practice can be, and I'll bite: I was intrigued.

In case you missed it, manifestation is the idea that we can influence our lives in various ways through the power of thought, attracting greater success and fulfilment via a proactively positive mindset.

If this sounds too good to be true (and trust me when I say that I get it!), you might be interested to learn that, in fact, the technique does have some scientific weight behind it. Studies reveal that people who manifest perceive themselves to be more successful and have stronger aspirations and belief in their success (check out this study from the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin) - and it's also endorsed by the experts.

"Reframing and self-belief definitely have some strong psychological backing," notes psychotherapist Eloise Skinner. "There are fields of therapy that address these behaviours specifically - cognitive reframing, for example, is used across many fields of psychotherapy, while gratitude practices have quite a bit of research behind them, indicating that a consistent gratitude practice can help us feel more positive and intentional."

I'll be honest: a combination of life stressors and hormones has been playing havoc with my brain lately, and I could do with a little purpose and direction, so when I was asked to try out Roxie Nafousi's manifestation mindset technique, it felt serendipitous. Could a month of manifesting clarify my goals and boost my motivation? I couldn't wait to find out.

Keep scrolling to find out how I got on, but in the meantime, you might be interested in our guides to common manifesting mistakes, five steps to manifesting the life of your dreams and quiet magic morning routines here - plus, find out how one Health Writer got on when she tried Dr Tara Swart's four-step manifestation method, too.

I Tried Roxie Nafousi’s Manifestation Mindset Technique To Boost Calm and Restore Balance

What is Roxie Nafousi's manifestation mindset technique?

Firstly, let's dig a little deeper into what manifestation actually looks like - and how it works.

For this, I went straight to the expert herself: Roxie Nafousi is a self-development coach, motivational speaker and bestselling author of the best-selling manifestation bible Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life, and it's her seven-step method taken from this book that I'll be trialling.

"For the Manifest Mindset series, I took the same seven manifestation steps from my book, which were inspired by my own journey of changing my life, and created a short class for each," she tells MC UK. "In each class, I break down the concept behind each step and then guide you through an actionable workshop where you can put it into practice."

Put simply, the technique is a simple, follow-along guided manifestation series for those who need a little extra help along the way - perfect for this manifestation newbie.

So, how does it work? "I created the 7-step method to be an entry point, so if you've never manifested a day in your life and think it all sounds like a bit much, this is for you," shares Nafousi. "But it's just as useful if you've read my book already and want a more guided, practical way to work through the steps. It's for anyone who's in a season of wanting change but doesn't know where to start."

The main tenets are visualisation, gratitude and reframing - tenets that are all psychologically backed, as we'll go into more detail below.

What are the benefits of the manifestation mindset technique?

Manifestation has plenty of purported benefits, provided you're willing to also put in the work: this isn't as simple as making an aesthetically pleasing vision board and gazing at it each morning (although, if that helps, you do you!). The techniques you use are grounded in strong neuroscientific principles - centrally, the idea of neuroplasticity. If you've never heard of it, prepare to have your mind blown.

Put simply, our brains aren't fixed - how we think can, quite literally, change them. The more often you have a specific thought, the deeper those neural pathways become, meaning you're then more likely to continue thinking in that particular way. Fascinating, right?

But beyond this, Nafousi's method has benefits of its own, too.

1. Visualisation focuses the brain

"Visualisation can be incredibly powerful in several ways," shares career coach Hannah Salton. "Firstly, it forces you to focus on what specifically you want. It sounds simple, but often when we’re not satisfied, we think quite vaguely. Visualisation encourages people to say exactly what they want, write it down, and picture it.

"This focuses the brain and triggers something called the reticular activating system – the part of the brain that filters information and starts drawing your attention to things relevant to what you're focused on. That’s why, for example, if you decide you want to buy a blue car, you suddenly start seeing blue cars everywhere."

2. Gratitude promotes a more positive outlook

"Gratitude works in a similar way to visualisation," continues Salton. "When we focus on what we already have, it makes us feel grateful, or lucky. Once we feel that way, our mindset shifts – and a more positive mindset makes us more open to possibilities and more likely to spot and act on opportunities we might otherwise have missed.

"Self-belief is something that grows over time – it's not something you can click your fingers and make magic. But by reminding yourself of what you already have and what exactly you want, you are more likely to develop self-belief. Other things that help with self-belief are focusing on your strengths – what you are naturally good at – and reminding yourself of what you have achieved so far."

3. Reframing helps shift our perspective

Manifestation isn't just about picturing your best life. While that's one aspect of it, it also forces us to challenge our habitual thought processes - some of which might not be altogether helpful. Working on reframing thoughts and situations is a key manifestation skill - and one that can have benefits way beyond the technique itself.

"Reframing can be an incredibly powerful tool, and involves deciding to view a situation differently," notes Salton. "For example, many of my career coaching clients experience rejection when job searching, and it’s easy to tell yourself it's because you're not good enough. In reality, there are so many reasons why you might not get a job offer – for example, the challenging job market, competition from other candidates, roles being paused."

"Reframing your perceived failure as being part of a broader, more complex situation can remind you that your worth isn’t defined by one outcome."

4. It's simple and accessible

Nafousi's method draws on all the techniques referenced above, but in an easy and accessible way.

"Using small, repeatable steps like in my 7-step method helps to build momentum," shares Nafousi. "I believe you don’t need to wait for a big breakthrough in your life, but stacking small wins helps start to shift how you see yourself and what you think is possible. Over time, you’ll start to notice more opportunities and show up as a more confident version of yourself."

Who is manifestation best for?

The experts are clear: manifestation can be useful for anyone and everyone - with an important caveat: you have to put in the work.

"Anyone and everyone can use these techniques; we all have this incredible superpower that we can use," agrees holistic life coach Nichola Henderson. "We can unlock our personal potential to achieve what we’re capable of by removing our own self-imposed limitations.

"There are many examples of incredible people who have achieved amazing things by unlocking their own potential. Take Olympian Eileen Gu, for example, who recently spoke so eloquently and openly about using some of these techniques to help her become who she wanted to be. She described how she spends a lot of time in her mind, breaking down her thought processes and controlling what she thinks using an analytical lens; this is the power of metacognition to move towards whatever your goal may be.

"This doesn’t mean we can all become Olympic athletes, but it does mean we can experiment with what we are capable of. If we are brave enough to treat ourselves like a beautiful artwork, we can experiment, mould ourselves over time, knowing that it’s OK to do it just for ourselves; then we get to consider what might be possible.

"Generally, these techniques can be especially useful for people going through change or transition, rebuilding confidence after a setback, developing a new habit, or anyone feeling stuck or lacking clarity."

I tried Roxie Nafousi's manifestation mindest technique for a month - here are my honest thoughts

Steps one to three

Full disclosure: I've never manifested before. I'm notoriously poor even at basic mindfulness skills like journalling, so it's safe to say I'm slightly apprehensive about getting started.

Added to this, we're deep into school summer holidays, meaning that there's little to no time for me to get stuck in - but I don't have the luxury of choosing a perfect time, so there's nothing for it but to start. And, to my relief, the first step is all about learning all about the process - nothing too scary here.

Step one is where things begin to ramp up a little, but honestly - it's totally achievable - the longest class is only just over twelve minutes, so even time-poor parents like me can manage to squeeze it in. PSA, though - listening to the instructions and attempting to lock in on a busy commuter train is not the one!

This being said, it's interesting to take some time to think about things I haven't really considered recently - if ever - such as asking myself what I really want from my life. In fact, it's pretty confronting - and when it comes to making a vision board, I'm well and truly stumped. But then my newfound reframing skills come into play, and I consider that maybe this is the perfect task for me.

Steps two and three involve removing fear and doubt and aligning behaviour, and I'll be honest, it takes me a few days to settle into it - but Nafousi is clear that this is all part of the process. "Start with step one and don't rush it," she advises. "Being clear on your vision is the part people want to skip, but it's the foundation for everything that comes after. Sit with the meditation, do the vision boarding exercise, and put it somewhere where you’ll see it every day. From there, go at your own pace and move through the steps one at a time.

"Some will take you ten minutes, while others may take you a few days to sit with, and that's fine. The workshops are created to help get you in the habit, and you can revisit any of the classes whenever you need a reminder."

Maybe I can work on my impatience at the same time...

Steps four to seven

Steps four to seven feel a little more intense; I won't lie. Step four is overcoming tests from the universe; it's all about the reframing skill- how to overcome those things that don't quite go our way: the tough times, rejections and failures.

Parenting three children in the summer holidays is essentially one long series of failures and rejections, so it feels like this has come at exactly the right time. I'm surprised to find out that actually, I'm already pretty resilient, and able to bounce back from setbacks - I'm taking this as a win.

Moving on to step five - embracing gratitude - feels relatively simple. I try and apporach life with a gratitude mindset always, and this task builds on the skills I know I already have. Likewise, step six (turning envy into inspiration) feels straightforward to me. I've long used feelings of jealousy as a driver for what I need to go after in my own life, transforming one of life's least constructive emotions into a powerful goal-setting message.

After a few weeks of deep work, it's time for the final step: trusting in the universe. Nafousi is clear that this isn't a passive step; it's not about sitting back and doing nothing; rather, it's about trusting the process and relinquishing control. Put simply, the art of letting go. As I'm about to go on my summer holiday, I'm more excited than ever to have a week off - and allow the universe to do its thing.

And I'll admit - I really do feel calmer than I have for months. Somehow, allowing myself to really let go of things helps me feel calmer and - confusingly - more in control than before. I'll have to report back on whether the universe delivers what I want - but for now, this sceptic is firmly on board.

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