Guys, I Think We All Need To Try A Little “Aura Farming”

The first time I saw the phrase “aura farming,” I was scrolling Instagram late at night and some woman had made a short reel of herself doing things like baking bread, watering plants, stacking books on a bookshelf — you know, cozy things. Like she was creating this little space for herself to fulfill her #cottagecore dreams. Digging deeper into the term “aura farming,” I found a viral “boat dance” inspired by an 11-year-old Indonesian boy who became internet famous for his incredibly cool dance moves he performed on a racing boat during a traditional Indonesian festival.

And then I was stumped.

Unsure of how one related to the other, I continued to swirl into the hashtagged eye of the storm until I found an explanation. Everyone knows your “aura” is like the overall vibe and energy you bring as a person, and “farming” is a video game term that relates to collecting points and leveling up. So, combined, “aura farming” is basically a term that describes creating a cool presence or doing something purely to represent the vibe or aura you want to give off.

It sounds silly. But honestly, I think all of us should be “aura farming” right about now.

While the trend seems to be steeped in vanity (many Reddit threads explain that “aura farming” is often something characters in video games and movies do by creating some kind of presence that doesn’t actually push any storylines along — like a villain that just shows up and waves their cape wildly), I think “aura farming” sounds a lot like manifesting. There’s a reason the phrase “fake it ‘til you make it” is around, and when so many of us are looking for ways to improve our lives or to feel better each day, it seems like taking up “aura farming” could be the way to make that happen.

Want to be that person who gets up before your kids? Start pretending like you are, and then boom — suddenly you’re there.

Want to live a softer, slower life? Light candles and play the soundtrack from The Holiday like you already do, and wow, look at all that aura you just farmed.

Want to be seen as the cool, chic, fashionable icon in your friend group? My friend, all you have to do is wear the clothes and pretend like you are, and wham bam, look who’s effortlessly cool now.

If aura farming is all about presenting the vibe you want to have, then isn’t it just manifestation? In a world where we are constantly being told how to improve ourselves and what we should do to hit goals A, B, and C in our brains, doesn’t it make sense to just act like the vibe you want to present, and it will become your actual personality?

It’s like that silly little quote that goes around wellness pages and communities — you don’t have to be “that girl” because you are “that girl.”

Everyone around us is faking it ‘til they make it. Not everybody who wakes up at 5 a.m. is a natural morning person, and not everybody who picks up a hobby is good at it from the very start. Not all parents find it enriching to play Barbies with their kid on the floor, and not everybody loves making small talk in the grocery store line with a lonely grandmother.

But they do these things. They wake up every day and try to be a better person, a kinder person, a more patient person, a nicer person. They try to make those around them have a better day than they would have otherwise, and they want the world to see them as a good, successful, smart person.

They’re “aura farming.” And maybe we could all expend a little more of our energy into being the kind of people we want to be by simply pretending we already are.