The reel culture has brought out many trends. One of the recent ones is the embodiment of the manifestation trend- The Lucky Girl Syndrome. The hashtag leads us to various reels that claim that this kind of positive thinking can help people achieve their goals.
Young women in these videos are declaring themselves to be ‘lucky’ using affirmations such as “I am so lucky, everything my heart desires will come to me.” This trend might have started with good intentions, but it can do more harm than good.
What Is Lucky Girl Syndrome?
Lucky Girl Syndrome is similar to numerous phenomenons of manifestation, positive thinking, mind over matter, the law of assumption, and the law of attraction. This belief system has its roots in the idea that thoughts are omnipotent, and they have the power to shape destinies.
What one believes becomes their reality. This ideology is convincing to many as it reminds people of the ancient wisdom and the philosophy of religious preachers. These reels suggest that whatever you put out to the universe in the form of your thoughts is what you will get in return.
Precisely, it means that those who are unsuccessful are so because they did not have the will to succeed.
Is This Optimism Really Lucky?
Toxic optimism means living in the illusion of happiness despite feeling the opposite. According to the Psychology Group, Fort Lauderdale, “toxic positivity results in the denial, minimization, and invalidation of the authentic human emotional experience.”
Based on similar lines, the trend does not take into account socio-economic privileges and equates it with being lucky.
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For example, last year, when Alia Bhatt married Ranbir Kapoor, the internet went gaga on her manifestation power. She became the leading lady in Bollywood, along with getting married to her age-old crush. Alia Bhatt became the lucky girl, but this did not take into account her privilege of being one of the Bollywood insiders.
Most of these videos talk just of manifesting through visualization and imagination. There’s no emphasis on action. This lucky girl syndrome also undermines the hard work and sacrifices one makes to succeed.
A study of successful women leaders found that they work very hard and sacrifice their pleasures to achieve their goals. They prioritize education and learning. It is not just luck that drives their career.
What Do Experts Say?
A leadership coach, Angelica Malin, while talking to The Fortune, explains that since women are more likely to fall prey to doubting themselves due to the constant belittling demeanour towards them, manifestation trends target women more.
It often pits them against other women, too. “[We] internalize our failings as our wrongdoing and something that we could change if it was just our thinking was better.”
A professor of psychology at New York University, Gabriele Oettingen, says that positive thinking might lead to complacency, which is the biggest hindrance to success. “What we find is the more positively people daydream and fantasize about their future desires and wishes coming true, the less they’ll actually put in the effort.”
Whitney Goodman, a Miami-based psychotherapist, posits that manifestation “puts all the responsibility on you. If I was living in poverty, or a natural disaster came and took my house down, it’s sort of like, ‘Did I cause that? Was it my thoughts that led this to happen?’ And, of course, the world is so immensely random that that’s just not possible.”
This blame game comes dangerously close to gaslighting.
Manifestation can be a proponent of positivity, but it might lead to a toxic cycle of inaction. Also, the trend does not recognize hard work and privileges, which is a huge setback. The constant judging of people who are not as successful and blaming their manifestation skills is uncalled for.
The people should know now that luck does not matter.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Swaddle, The Conversation, Live Science
Find the blogger: Katyayani Joshi
This post is tagged under: lucky, girl, manifestation, inaction, toxic, optimism, positivity, syndrome, thoughts, ideas, skills, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, trend, TikTok, reels, social media, gaslighting, judging, success, successful, unsuccessful, hard work, privileges, experts, efforts, hindrance, complacency
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, or copyright, over any of the images used. These have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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