Can you actually manifest yourself a promotion?

Oprah Winfrey features on not one but three of Forbes’ esteemed lists, as one of America’s top self-made women, one of the world’s most powerful women and one of America’s richest people.

And, she’s a big fan of vision boarding.

She even created a vision board for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election: “I was speaking with Michelle [Obama]... at the end of the rally Michelle Obama said something powerful: ‘…I want you to leave here and envision Barack Obama taking the oath of office’.”

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Winfrey went home and created her first vision board with Barack Obama’s picture and a picture of the dress she wanted to wear to his inauguration.

Obama went on to serve two terms as president of the USA, and vision boarding was accepted into the cultural lexicon.

But does visualisation actually work?

One-in-two Australians believe that they’re not good enough and that their self-doubt is stopping them from progressing, new SEEK research has revealed.

And while visualisation can help overcome these barriers, it takes more than just manifesting or creating a vision board to truly change your worklife, SEEK psychologist Sabina Read said.

“Don’t be fooled into thinking that visualisation is as simple as, ‘If you think it…it will come!’” she told Yahoo Finance.

“The machinations of visualisation may appear relatively simple, however many factors impact whether we achieve the end goal including motivation, confidence, self-efficacy, and goal setting to name but a few.”

Visualising a promotion or a successful presentation is most effective when the imagery is aligned with a realistic representation of the activity and desired outcome.

“For example, it can help to consider the physical, environmental, task and emotional components of the outcome you are wanting to create. Generally speaking, the more detailed the imagery is, the more likely that the visualisation will help you to reach your goal.”

Read said the best way to visualise is when the goals themselves feel attainable and manageable.

“Writing down each step can help us visualise each necessary action, and in turn, help us action each step.”

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