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Do you manifest?

Just last weekend, my good friend Heather was in town visiting from London and we talked a lot about the power of manifesting -- essentially willing an intention into reality. As someone who has always been somewhat of a pragmatic optimist, I wasn't sure if I'd ever really get into manifesting -- the idea of it seeming more like wishful thinking than actionable steps. But after a few health scares, family drama and professional turning points over the past several years (all of which have passed and resolved beautifully), I've come to realize how much a shifted mindset can make a difference for actually achieving something, even if it's just the catalyst push to get that first foot moving.

So let's just keep this new age thinking train moving, shall we? I've been reading a lot lately about the Law of Attraction -- the concept that states all energy begets similar energy. Positive thoughts and beliefs bring about positive experiences. Negative thoughts and beliefs bring about negative experiences. And while I'm not someone who lives in absolutes -- I do think there's a lot of truth to this thinking. The more calm and optimistic I approach a situation, the more likely it is I'll draw back in a corresponding energy, whether that's in the form of people, success or opportunities -- a magnetic formula that states when you add positives together, you can only find yourself with more positives.

Of course, this is all a matter of mindset, which is the blessing and the curse here. I find the more aware I become of my thoughts, the more in control of them I feel. Case in point, just a few weekends ago, I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon. While I consider myself a pretty avid runner, my training this time around was sub par -- a fact I can only blame myself for -- but instead of getting down, giving up or making excuses to skip all together, I decided to have fun with the race.

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To run when I felt like running. To walk if I needed to (definitely not here today to advocate careless injuries). And to absorb the energy around me every step of the way. I eliminated any and all pressure I might have been placing on myself to perform and decided instead to take each and every mile as it came and relish it. And it was quite possibly the most fun I've ever had while running a race! I checked in with myself often, taking inventory of my thoughts, praising the encouraging ones and quickly extinguishing the negative ones, reminding myself that I was in control of my race, not the other way around.

So where am I going with all this? I hope, in some way, this can be a positive note for you today, to remind you that the only magic you need to wait for is the magic YOU control. That's all.

OUTFIT DETAILS: Monica Byrne Maison gown (borrowed) // Kenneth Cole heels (gifted) // Red sheer chiffon from Mood Fabrics // Sachin + Babi earrings (gifted)

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Photos by Ty Johnson