Does Positive Thinking Always Lead to Success?

This photo illustration shows three Australian banknotes taken in Melbourne, Australia on Oct. 12, 2020. William West/AFP via Getty Images

It’s an often repeated mantra in sales or business: “Visualise this thing that you want. See it, feel it, and believe in it. Make your mental blueprint, and begin to build.”

Yet some researchers believe this approach has risks and has resulted in individuals getting caught up in speculative financial investments and bankruptcy.

To explore whether sheer belief can lead to success, Dr. Lucas Dixon from the University of Queensland’s Business School led a project to explore this relationship while creating a so-called “Manifestation Scale.”

“The business world is filled with self-described experts, gurus, and influencers who promise success through manifestation, but many of these beliefs and practices lack solid evidence,” said Dr. Dixon, in comments obtained by UQ News.

“Although manifesters felt more confident and optimistic about achieving success, we didn’t find objective proof to support the effectiveness of manifestation.”

Twenty dollar bills sit in a wallet in San Anselmo, Calif., on Aug. 29, 2017. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What Is ‘Manifestation Belief?’

“Manifestation“ means to turn an idea into a reality, and manifestation beliefs are a set of ideas or principles that revolve around the concept of manifesting one’s desires or goals into reality through focused thoughts, intentions, and actions.

These beliefs are often associated with the New Age and self-help movements and are rooted in the idea that your thoughts and emotions can influence the physical world around you.

The Law of Attraction is perhaps the most well-known.

It posits that like attracts like, meaning that positive thoughts and emotions will attract positive experiences, while negative thoughts will attract negative experiences. Practitioners of the Law of Attraction often use techniques like visualisation and positive affirmations to manifest their desires.

Another manifestation belief type is the Power of Positive Thinking, which emphasises the importance of maintaining a positive mindset to achieve one’s goals—a positive attitude can lead to positive outcomes, while negative thinking can hinder progress.

Visualisation involves mentally picturing the desired outcome as if it has already been achieved, and by vividly imagining your goals, you will create a mental blueprint towards achieving them, according to Sage Journals.

A man counts US dollar banknotes at al-Kifah stock market in Baghdad on Dec. 27, 2022. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

How Did Researchers Measure the Success Rate?

This research looked into the psychology of people who believe in the display, or the manifestation of wealth, and how they “were also more likely to be drawn to risky investments, have experienced bankruptcy, and to believe they could achieve an unlikely level of success more quickly,” the authors said in the paper.

“We discuss the potential positives and negatives of this belief system in the context of growing public desire for success and an industry that capitalises on these desires.”

They undertook three studies involving 1,023 participants and found that over a third of them were believers in manifestation.

“Those who scored higher on our manifestation scale perceived themselves as more successful, had stronger aspirations for success, and believed they were more likely to achieve future success,” said Dr. Dixon in a statement.

“But they were also more likely to be drawn to risky investments, have experienced bankruptcy, and dangerously believed they could achieve an unlikely level of success more quickly.”

Gold bullion is displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore, on June 19, 2017. Edgar Su/Reuters

Key Findings

Based on their 11-item Manifestation Scale, scientists found that when a person’s manifestation belief was high, there was little evidence of it on their level of success, yet those people were more likely to sustain a positive view of themselves and their financial future.

Another observation was that some manifesters still remained positive, despite a gap between their goals and current situation, suggesting overoptimism or overconfidence.

In addition, this research found that compared to non-believers, were more likely to reach high levels of success (earning US$300,000 per year) in shorter periods of time.

“Typically, we found manifesters maintained their optimism even when their current financial situation was poor,” said Associate Professor Nicole Hartley, a co-author of the paper.

“Those with a stronger manifestation belief were also more likely to believe they could get rich quickly, and hence may not see the pitfalls of get-rich-quick schemes or the unlikelihood of financial reward from these schemes.

“We’d encourage more research into the so-called manifestation influencers who promise success in high-stakes areas like career and financial decision-making.”

American Eagle and South African Krugerrand gold bullion. Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images