Why Wishing Won’t Work (But Manifesting Will)

Ankara, 2025

Some people express those words wishing and manifesting as if they mean the same thing. In fact, they carry very different meanings.

A couple of hours ago, I was listening to a podcast from one of my favorite YouTubers, who often shares insights on finance, health, purpose, and other aspects of life. It was his newest episode, and of course it immediately appeared on my homepage — yeah, I am really into this kind of podcast. When I clicked play, the video began with its intro, which encouraged me to keep watching. I sat seriously and observantly in my chair with a cup of iced coffee, and it actually made my day feel more meaningful.

Until it reached the sentences that I liked…

Back then, I was really amazed by people who studied abroad — anywhere, it didn’t matter — since I was in primary school. I secretly wished I could be like them someday. This truly made my hoping that one day it could be me after I had visited some places abroad. I just wished it would happen. I believed that studying abroad was only a matter of luck, a gift of fate that was beyond my control. I reassured myself that if destiny agreed, it might happen, but I never made any plan or took any action toward it. I had no intention of doing anything to make it happen in the future — I didn’t even know what I could do. I simply dreamed about it and imagined it might magically happen. My mindset was passive, only hoping.

It was a wish.

Everything began to change when I entered secondary school. I was still hoping to realize it, but now with a different concept. Although I did not realize it at the time, my small actions were no longer simple wishes — they were the first steps of manifestation. I would do everything that could make it happen — as long as it halal, and not let it end as a dying goal. One tiny step that I still remember until now was when I took my friends notes about how to study in Imam Hatip — my current school. These exact points were shared by one of our senior who had been accepted to continue her study in Türkiye. She wrote that we have not to bargain with the school’s rules and I have forgotten the rest of it. But it didn’t finish there. I kept doing many stages and full of effort for my long-term vision. Everything that I did — each small action — was actually my manifestation to turn my previous hope into reality. I had a clear intention to reach that dream, and I visualized it. My mindset was now active, believing it was possible and aligning my behavior with that belief.

It was a manifestation.

Wishing is like throwing a coin into a fountain and walking away.

You look in the mirror and think, “I wish I had a healthier body.” But you continue eating fast food and never exercise. Nothing changes.

Wishing = wanting without effort.

Manifesting is like planting a seed, watering it daily, and patiently waiting for it to grow.

You decide, “I will become healthier.” You visualize yourself stronger, then start with small steps: drinking more water and walking every day.

Manifesting = wanting + believing + acting.

This was my brainstorming after I replayed a two-minute part of the video many times, around the first ten minutes. This was when Jay Shetty said, “Manifesting is being in love with the process and wishing is being in love with the result.” And Big Sean said, “Wishing is one thing, but when you put your attention on the intention and add strategy to it, that is how you manifest.”

So, how do you think, guys? Comment your thoughts and…

see you here for a minute every day!