I suppose it’s natural when we have a desire for something to then immediately wonder, When will I get it? How long will it take? Hey Universe, what’s the timeframe to manifest what I want?

When we ask these questions, most of us are thinking in terms of time. How many days, weeks, months will it take?

  • Can I get the promotion at work by the end of the year?
  • Will we be in our new house by the holidays?
  • How many more months will I be single?

We think in terms of time and we create project plans and deadlines for our desires. We look at the calendar and hope we’ll have it by X date.

Many of us—maybe even most of us—don’t think about vibration and resistance as the answer to how long it will take to manifest what we want.

What I hope to do is shift the focus from time—days, weeks, months, years—to what is truly at the core of manifesting: which is vibration and resistance.

Rather than giving the Universe deadlines—I’d like to find my partner before the holidays—and rather than focusing on time—How many months will it take?, we would be better served to focus our attention on vibration and resistance.

“When people ask us how long does it take for something to manifest, we say, “It takes as long as it takes you to release the resistance. Could be 30 years, could be 40 years, could be 50 years, could be a week. Could be tomorrow afternoon.” —Abraham

This is such an important distinction about how manifestation works.

Thinking in terms of time is rather old school. It’s the manual way of going about trying to get what you want, trying to make what you want happen.

But that’s now using Law of Attraction to your advantage.

And so Abraham is saying, Sure it could take a long long time, but it could also take no time at all. Because it’s not about time. It’s about resistance. And more to the point, it’s about allowing. It’s about whether you are allowing or resisting your desire.

And when I say resisting your desire, you might think, Why would I do that? I want what I want. I am not resisting my desire.

But when you think thoughts that contradict your desire, you are resisting. Thoughts like:

  • I’m not sure it will happen.
  • I don’t know if I can get what I want.
  • Am I worthy?
  • Is it too late?

These are examples of the tip of the iceberg when it comes to contradicting your desire. When you think thoughts about what you want that cause you to feel negative emotion instead of excited anticipation, that is contradicting your desire. That’s resistance.

Someone can have the desire for abundance. But then her go-to thought on this subject is, I’ve just never been good with money. That’s resistance.

When you think about what you want to manifest, if you are feeling any flavor of negative emotion, that’s resistance. Plain and simple.

We sometimes like to dress it up with I’m just being realistic or I don’t want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed.

Well, if you are being “realistic”, then all you can manifest is more of what-is. And if you don’t want to get your hopes up and be disappointed, then disappointment is your vibration to which Law of Attraction responds, and you get a life experience where you feel disappointment.

  • When you think about what you want, and then have doubts it will manifest, that’s resistance.
  • When you think about what you want, and are frustrated it hasn’t yet happened, that’s resistance.
  • When you think about what you want, and have this nagging question about deserving it, that’s resistance.

On the flip side, when you think about what you want and feel any flavor of positive emotion, like excitement and optimism and positive expectation, that’s allowing.

Manifesting what you want takes as long as it takes you to release the resistance.

That’s why indulging in negative emotion about what you want is not benign. Your negative emotion is a creative force; it’s a sign you are mis-creating.

When I have a desire for something, I know with absolute certainty any thought I have about what I want that causes me to feel negative emotion means I’ve got resistance, and that resistance is gunking up manifesting.

When I feel excitement about what I want, positive expectation and anticipation, when I have an inner knowing, a certainty it’s coming, when I feel eagerness for what I want and appreciation in advance of it manifesting, then I know I’ve got it! I’m in a state of allowing.

Which means I am in state to receive what it is I desire rather than in a state of resistance.

Bottom line: Resistance prevents receiving.

“The amount of time it takes you to get from where you are to where you want to be, is only the amount of time it takes you to change the vibration within you. Instant manifestation could be yours if you could instantly change the vibration.” —Abraham

What often happens when you have a desire for something you want to manifest and you immediately start thinking, When will I get what I want? and look at the calendar and create these deadlines in your mind for when it has to happen—all of that often causes negative emotion. It creates impatience about what you are wanting.

And it simply has you looking over there at the calendar instead of where you would be better off focused, which is on your vibration. How are you feeling about what you want?

Sure, you want it. But are you feeling excited about receiving it or worried you won’t get it? Are you so appreciating the unfolding of your desire or are you impatiently tapping your foot and thinking, Why is it taking so long?

“The only manifestation that matters is the way you feel. And when you get control of that one, you’ve got control of every other manifestation.” —Abraham

This is so important to understand and embrace and practice.

The only manifestation that matters is the way you feel.

That’s because the way you feel is going to create and attract what manifests. Everything that manifests—that shows up in your physical reality—is coming from how you feel, from the vibration you offer.

When you get control of the first manifestation—as in, the way you feel, then you have control of every other manifestation. When you offer your vibration on purpose, you are a deliberate creator. You are able to manifest what you want with ease.

I know you want what you want. And your desire is a beautiful thing.

But we have to be clear about the feeling being the first manifestation. And so when you feel friction in your vibration because you’re focused on the timing of what you want, that first manifestation of feeling has already gone awry.

Often we look around and notice the absence of what we want and feel negative emotion.

  • You look at your bank statement and notice the absence of the money you desire.
  • You wake up and dread going to work feeling the absence of the fulfilling job you want.
  • You are out and about and notice all the couples and feel the absence of the relationship you desire.

This is so common to observe what-is, which is lacking at this moment what it is we want. And so we focus on the lack or absence of what we want and we feel bad. We feel negative emotion.

“If you are observing with your emotions, if you are observing vibration, now you are observing pre-manifestation. And therefore, you have control of what manifests. But if you are observing with your physical senses, you are observing post-manifestation.” —Abraham

Abraham says: “…the less resistance there is, then the less delay between the idea of the thought, and the receiving of it.”

That’s what we all want, right? We want less delay between launching the rocket of desire and receiving our desired manifestation.

Could it really take 30 years to manifest what you want?

The short answer: Yes. I suppose it could.

And…it could be a week, it could be tomorrow afternoon.

The bottom line: Manifesting takes as long as it takes you to release the resistance.

“Negative emotion is your indicator of resistance, while positive emotion is your indicator of allowance.” —Abraham

One easy way to know whether you are resisting or allowing is to notice how you feel.

When you think about what you want, how do you feel? When you talk about what you are wanting, how do you feel?

It is countless the number of times a client has been sharing her desire and the conversation is peppered with negative thoughts she’s having.

  • Pessimistic thoughts about her ability to have what she wants.
  • Frustrated and impatient thoughts about why it’s taking so long
  • Overwhelmed thoughts about all she needs to do to get what she wants.
  • Disappointed thoughts it hasn’t already happened.
  • Doubt-filled and discouraged thoughts about whether it will ever manifest.
  • Jealous thoughts because others already have what she wants.
  • Unworthy thoughts about being deserving.

You get the idea.

Thoughts causing any flavor of negative emotion are a sign of resistance, which means you are not allowing the receiving of what you want.

“Pure desire is always accompanied by positive emotion.” —Abraham

This is an invitation to shift how you think about how long it will take to get what you want.

Rather than thinking in terms of the calendar and days, weeks, and months, I invite you to think about your desire through the lens of allowing versus resistance.

Consider your desire and whether your thoughts and words about what you want fill you with positive emotion—that’s allowing—or whether when you think or speak about what you want, you are feeling negative emotion—that’s resistance.

Put away the calendar and observe your emotions, notice your vibration.