Manifesting wasn’t new. Our parents just didn’t call it that.
Before Pinterest mood boards, before “soft life affirmations,” before TikTok manifestations; our parents had their own way of calling things into existence.
It was quieter… but stronger than we realized.
The Words They Spoke Into the Air
Manifesting today: “I attract abundance.”
Manifesting back then: “E go better.”
It sounds simple, but that phrase carried more faith than a thousand vision boards.
They spoke what they wanted even when life didn’t match it at all.
That was their own version of scripting:
- Saying “You will go far” to a child who had never left the village.
- Saying “God go run am” when the problem looked bigger than their salary.
- Saying “No worry, better days dey ahead,” even when fuel price had doubled.
Their words weren’t aesthetic, they were survival.
The Way They Carried Themselves
Our generation does “lifestyle manifestation”:
Dress like the person you want to become.
They did it first.
Our fathers wore their best outfits to places they hoped their future self would belong.
Our mothers walked with a level of quiet grace even when life was loud.
They lived as if tomorrow could see them.
That alone was manifestation.
Their Rituals, Their Routines
Today we journal.
They prayed.
We recite affirmations in front of a mirror.
They tied wrapper, looked at the sky, and declared peace over the next day.
Different language.
Same intention: Call good things near. Push bad things away.
The Community Effect
We manifest in private notes apps.
They manifested through community:
- Aunties saying, “Your time go come.”
- Neighbours praying over your exam.
- Entire families fasting over one person’s breakthrough.
Their belief wasn’t solo, it was collective.
And sometimes, that’s stronger.
What The Gen Z Can Take From It
We don’t need to copy their style, but we can copy their strength.
Our parents manifested without mood boards.
Without influencers.
Without algorithms.
Yet somehow, they manifested us, the future they prayed for.
Maybe what we call “manifesting” today is really just our generation adding aesthetics to an old wisdom.
Maybe the real difference is that:
They manifested with their lives. We manifest with our lips.
And maybe the question to ask is this:
Are you building the future, or are you just talking about it?