Megan Fox believes she ‘manifested’ her fiancé – what is manifesting?

Megan Fox believes she “manifested” her fiancé Machine Gun Kelly, explaining she had been thinking about the type of man she wanted to be with since she was four years old.

The couple announced their engagement in January this year with an intimate video showing the US rapper, real name Colson Baker, getting down on one knee.

Speaking to fashion magazine Glamour UK, the actor opened up about her relationship with the US rapper, and revealed she has been manifesting Baker since she was a young girl.

"He’s literally my exact physical type that I’ve been manifesting since I was four," she told the publication.

"I’m also four years older than him. So, I think I made him. My thoughts and intentions grew him into the person that he is. Who knows what he would’ve looked like or been like if it wasn’t for me?”

Interestingly, Baker has also previously spoken about how he believes he manifested his relationship with Fox too, revealing to GQ that he had his future girlfriend's poster on his bedroom wall when he was in high school and vowed he would marry her one day.

What is manifesting?

The subject of manifesting is having a moment right now.

The practice of thinking deeply about what you want in life, with the intention of turning those thoughts into reality has seen a surge of interest of late with over 13.9BN views on #manifestation videos on TikTok.

Defined by Urban Dictionary as “a hope for a desire until it comes true using the law of attraction”, the concept is also proving popular with the A-list with everyone from Oprah Winfrey, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga extolling the benefits of thinking your dreams a reality.

Oprah Winfrey has spoken on multiple occasions about manifesting her role in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple through repeatedly visualising herself as an actor and in the role itself.

Meanwhile Lady Gaga also believed she used the power of thought to manifest her dreams.

In an interview back in 2011 she shared how she repeated the affirmation to herself over and over that she was famous.

“You repeat it to yourself every day," she says. "And it’s not yet, it’s a lie. You’re saying a lie over and over and over again, and then, one day the lie is true.”

Read more: Holly Willoughby suffered from impostor syndrome – how to overcome it

More recently Cara Delevingne has been trying to manifest a baby. Unusually, the 29-year-old model says she buys baby clothes for her “child who doesn’t exist” as a way to manifest babies into her future.

“Baby shoes really get me — they break my heart. I went shopping the other day and I bought these tiny Air Jordans, which are purple and they have a lion on them. I’m manifesting," Delevingne told Harper’s Bazaar UK.

Grace McMahon (@TheHonestCoach), the resident life coach for wellbeing platform, Beingwell says manifesting is the act of willing your dreams into existence.

"It is the practice of transforming thoughts and ideas into reality, using intention to create an image of a goal you want to achieve and then taking action to get there. It requires self-discipline, visualisation and positive thinking."

Watch: Cara Delevingne buys baby clothes for child she's 'manifesting'

Is manifesting unrealistic?

Essentially, manifestation is bringing something tangible into our lives through attraction and belief – the idea that if you visualise it, your dream will happen.

But while it sounds magical, some people are sceptical about how realistic it is to believe you can make your hopes a reality just by thinking about them hard enough.

While many swear by the concept of manifestation and use the idea regularly, McMahon says there are some key things to be wary of when testing out the process.

"Positive thinking can become toxic," she explains. "The idea that positive thinking brings positive outcomes to our lives (and vice versa with negative thinking) can be damaging as of course most of us have negative thoughts sometimes."

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McMahon explains that the brain naturally focuses on negatives rather than positives, which might lead some to worry that their lives will become more negative, or their negative thoughts will manifest into reality.

"We all face challenging situations, as part of life. These situations will affect our mood, thoughts and feelings regardless of positive thinking," she adds. "Be compassionate with yourself in challenging times and remember thoughts are not always true, and they can only manifest by us acting on them."

As for positive thinking becoming toxic, McMahon says there is also a risk of manifesting worsening our mental wellbeing.

"We all make mistakes and get stuff wrong, it’s how we bounce back and move on that counts," she says. "All the universe-asking, gratitude practice and positive thinking in the world can’t stop us making mistakes. Pay attention to what you’ve learnt from those step backs rather than what it might say about you."

How to start manifesting

Despite some things to be aware of, there are many who swear by the virtues of manifesting their goals, so if you're keen to give it a go, here are some tips for getting started.

Clearly define your goal

Whatever your goal is you need to define it. "In order to get it we need to know exactly what we’re trying to achieve," explains McMahon.

"It’s not just wishing for a new job in a new industry. What exact job are you looking for, which industry, how do you want to feel in this job?

"The more specific the goals are, the more intention there is, and the higher chance of sticking with and achieving it," she adds.

Ask the universe for it

Here’s where the eye-rolling likely starts. What on earth does 'asking the universe' mean? According to McMahon, it can be whatever it means to you. And there’s a variety of ways to ask.

"From prayer to meditation, visualising to saying it out loud," she explains. "Just ensure you’re asking for exactly what you want.

"A popular technique on TikTok right now is the 369 technique; write it down three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon, nine times in an evening for 33-45 days. But it could be as simple as writing a letter addressed to ‘The Universe’."

Read more: Britney Spears pregnant with her third child – rise of age gap families

Take active steps

According to McMahon as well as asking the universe we still need to take action to achieve our goals. She recommends setting aside some time to plan the steps you can take to achieve your ambitions, then building them into your routine.

"Sticking with the new job example, you might research some networking events to go to, prepare for job interviews, update your CV and plan these into your daily routine," she adds.

Practice gratitude and mindfulness

When manifesting a goal, McMahon says it is important to focus on the present. "It's about noticing changes and signs, and acknowledging what you’ve already got – no matter how big or small," she says. "Gratuity and presence is important to the manifesting process because to focus long-term energy on a positive outcome we need to stay positive in the short-term."

McMahon says practising gratitude helps us shift our mindset from ‘lacking’ to ‘abundance’. "Even though we’re taking steps to get something we don’t currently have, we’re relying on what we do have to get there so we need to acknowledge that," she adds.