The Practical Girlie’s Guide To Being More Delulu In 2024

Here’s a 2024 resolution you can get behind: rebranding delusional thinking, or “delulu thoughts,” as the ultimate hack for attracting the life of your dreams. TikTok’s “Empress of Delululand,” Isabel Timerman, has gained a following for posting viral relationship memes on @isabelunhinged, poking fun at her unrealistic thoughts and expectations about crushes and situationships turning into something more. Being delusional typically has a negative connotation, but the 26-year-old writer and model — who started going viral after posting TikToks about behaviors that her ex had labeled “emotional” or “hysterical” — says she had a mindset switch when she realized she wasn’t alone.

“It actually turned out that so many other people in my comments were doing those exact same things,” she shares. Timerman’s delulu content tends to have a comical angle, like searching for Valentine’s Day Airbnbs to make plans after having one successful first date or stalking a three-day situationship’s Spotify for songs that might be inspired by her.

But all jokes aside, she argues that this mindset is an effective manifestation technique in which you’re taking everything as a sign from the universe and amplifying your self-confidence along the way. Basically, instead of attracting your goals, you’re living like you already have them.

For example, living like a rich celebrity with a quiet luxury lifestyle is great when you’re manifesting more money. Timerman says she plans her ’fit as if the paparazzi are waiting outside, explaining, “I always make sure to dress how I would want to be perceived by someone I knew or as if there are cameras on me all the time.”

As the word started spreading around TikTok and people entered their delulu eras, Timerman believes the term is no longer synonymous with being unrealistic. Rather, it’s self-aware. “We kind of regained that power back of being called delusional and embraced it,” she says.

Even if you’re practical, you might have your own share of delusional thoughts. However, your version of delulu may be a negative one, in which you might be taking everything as a sign that your relationship *won’t* work out or that your boss is mad at you. Having that mindset may be a way to protect yourself from disappointment, but it’s still just as delusional — so why not try focusing on the positive instead?

Below, Timerman shares practical ways to be more delusional as a way to manifest your relationship, exercise, career, and friendship goals in the new year.

Be Bold To Manifest A New Relationship

Timerman says the law of attraction is the key for getting into a relationship in 2024. By definition, the law of attraction is the idea that when you think positively about a situation, you’ll end up with the results you want — aka positive thoughts bring positive results. When using this theory to find a relationship, it means if you believe you’ll meet that special someone, you will.

Timerman suggests taking the manifestation one step further by “envision[ing] who you want to date, what they look like, what they smell like.” You can also be delulu by dressing the part of someone who is confidently in a relationship. “Be the best version of yourself, whether that’s getting a new lipstick that you really like or painting your nails,” she says.

When you already have a crush in mind, the content creator’s advice is to be “be bold with your flirtation” and use the delulu self-confidence to pursue the relationship without worrying about rejection. “If something doesn’t work out for you, there’s a million excuses as to why,” she says, adding “none of them have to do with you.” Just know in delululand, you’re never the problem.

Finally, look to the universe for clues and take everything as a sign that your relationship is progressing how you want it to. Go to IG and look at your crush’s posts, or listen to their most recently liked songs on Spotify to get an idea of how they’re feeling and if they may be thinking about you.

If you can find anything that could possibly relate back to you, take that as a sign that things are going well. Even if it technically isn’t about you, Timerman says these delulu thoughts can boost your self-confidence. At the end of the day, confidence is an attractive trait that makes you more of a catch.

Act Like A CEO If You’re Hoping For A Job Promotion

If you didn’t get that job or promotion you really deserved this year, being delulu can make it happen in 2024. After all, impostor syndrome can really impact how you approach a new job or the one you have. When you’re feeling like you don’t deserve that step up in your career, it can negatively impact you attracting that new promotion. Once again, it’s all about the law of attraction, so you want to change your mindset to think positively.

“It’s important to really walk into your workplace super confident that you know what you’re doing, and even adopt the mindset of someone who might be a lot higher up than you,” she says. Acting like a CEO may make people see you differently and take you more seriously.

Some ways you can do this include revamping your wardrobe, if that means feeling more like a director than a coordinator. You could also spice up your resume and talk up your accomplishments with your newfound self-confidence, or respond to emails like you’re the HBIC. When you demand more respect with your presence, you may find you start to receive it as well.

Put Yourself Out There If You’re Hoping To Make New Friends

Whether you’re starting a new school or moving to a different city, making new friends may be your goal for the year. It’s hard meeting new people, especially if you’d rather just sit at home with Netflix and DoorDash than try to socialize with strangers. In order to put yourself out there, assume people want to be friends with you.

“Friendships are kind of dating in a weird way,” Timerman says, which is why she advises getting on apps like Bumble BFF and trying to meet people through work. You can also be bold by messaging someone you think is cool and just asking them to hang. If they say no, embrace the delulu idea that it has everything to do with them and nothing to do with you to keep shame or low confidence from slowing your momentum.

Have A Main-Character Moment To Stick With Your New Year’s Exercise Routine

A lot of people make health-related New Year’s resolutions, like wanting to exercise more. For anyone who is hoping to make healthier choices in 2024, Timerman says to find a form of exercise that makes you feel like a main character. Timerman’s go-to delulu activity is to go for a walk in the neighborhood while listening to mood music. She prefers to put on sad songs, like Elliott Smith, and uses the time to visualize what she wants and her goals while she’s in that mindset.

If you’re not in a melancholy mood, put on a hype playlist and pretend you’re the protagonist in a feel-good film or even a Dua Lipa music video. As long as you’re feeling great and excited about what you’re doing, you’ll be more inclined to keep it going.

Start Acting Rich If You’re Hoping To Make More Money

Making more money is probably something everyone would like to manifest for themselves in the new year. Who wouldn’t want more cash to spend on things that you can justify with girl math? Timerman says a first step is deciding on an exact number you’d like to make in the new year, being as specific as possible. Once you know how much you want to make, Timerman advises “put[ting] yourself in the body of someone who’s rich.”

Just like with your job, you can dress the part of a rich person by adding some quiet luxury pieces to your wardrobe and think “what would Sofia Richie wear” when going through your closet. Embrace the delulu lifestyle you want to live by splurging every once in a while. Go to that celeb-loved hipster coffee spot instead of your usual bodega on the corner and hit up some of Taylor Swift’s go-to spots in NYC. If it’s good enough for your fave new billionaire, it’s where you, a future money maker, should be, too.

Even if you don’t have the money to splurge, Timerman says you can also be “rich in life.” That means being appreciative of all the love, friendships, and experiences you have and practicing gratitude, which is one of the best manifestation techniques. The confidence you get from everything you have can be channeled into manifesting even more abundance and riches to come.

Being Delulu Isn’t As Out There As It Sounds

At its heart, the essence of being delulu is really all about being optimistic. It may be taking it to some more “absurd” levels, as Timerman says, by pretending you’re a rich CEO and imagining every post your crush shares has something to do with you, but it’s all in good fun. Ultimately, entering your delulu era is just embracing your dream life in fantastical ways. Instead of journaling and saying positive affirmations in the mirror each morning, dressing like a celeb escaping the paparazzi or going for a walk around a neighborhood that makes you feel like Emma Stone in a romantic comedy takes the manifesting one step further.

Being delulu means knowing that 2024 is already going to be the best year ever and all your manifestations will come true. Timerman says, “I wish you the best of luck on your journey into deluluhood.”