When talking about visualization it's about imagining something where you create a picture of it. Something that you can translate your thoughts, feelings, and words into something that is tangible where you can see it, feel it, and sense it. That it starts to become a bit concrete and much more within your sites to grasp. Kind of like a drawing or blueprint in your mind.
You probably can recall a time where something's really caught your eye and you may not notice it, but your eyes become wider as it really piques your interest and just grabs your attention, and you'll gravitate towards it. It might leave you enamored with where it has this long-lasting feeling of wow that exists or that's possible and you might say, I want that. When this happens in the physical world where you can actually see it such as a car, a house or a pet, you better comprehend it and develop an emotional connection to it.
Like those physical things that we can see, we can create something similar in our minds. We all have hopes, dreams, and aspirations of what we want to accomplish where we think of them, and this could be daydreaming or fantasizing. In this physical world that we live in that's kind of something that's not readily accepted because it becomes about results now. Think about it when we're in school our minds are somewhere else such as sitting on the beach or hanging out with friends.
The common thing is teachers needing to grab your attention right here right now. This starts to clip our imagination, that power of visualization is stifled and this discourages us from being able to really just let our thoughts develop properly. The result of this is the lack of ingenuity to see beyond what's right in front of her eyes. So when we hear that term think realistically, its about go with something that's easy, that can be done relatively quickly, something that has already been done. It’s about taking shortcuts to where we're going. But the more shortcuts that are taken the more you short yourself from what is possible.
Benefits of visualization
What visualization does is it develops your imagination. To let you know that your thoughts and ideas can be made a reality. Knowing this you have to be very careful in what you visualize because you could be setting yourself up for self-sabotage. There are those times where you might be thinking of a certain situation that could play out disastrous, almost as if you're looking for an excuse for why things are not going to turn out well.
That's where having that self-awareness to know when you’re self-doubting yourself, when you're beating yourself up unnecessarily is going to be very pivotal to prevent it from gaining momentum. The more time you spend visualizing a certain outcome or situation, the more energy you’ll spend that's going to get you closer to what you envision. So be aware and intentional of what it is specifically that you're going to visualize. Know that this is a process that can be long at times so if you're looking for a quick fix or get rich quick scheme then this isn't the way to go.
Another great thing about visualization is that it calms you down. So if you have big goals or things that might feel daunting, actually visualizing how you are going to get him done or how things are going to play out with details involved really helps you to work out those nerves. This creates the scenario where you do a dry run, and as you’re working your way through this you might be experiencing some of those nerves associated when you actually do it.
So if you're about to give a public presentation it can feel a bit nerve wracking to go through it but when you visualize yourself actually doing it you're invoking certain emotions associated with it. Some of those emotions might be fear, anxiety, or jitteriness. You're giving yourself the time and space to iron things out and you gain more repetition through it. This is your safe place to face self-doubt and find out that it’s not that big a deal. Just like practicing for anything, the more repetition that you get the better chance you have at improving in it. So ultimately what you get out of this is a higher level of composure. It relaxes your mind and increases your confidence when you actually take action.
Overall, what is improved is your motor control, attention, perception, planning and memory. This enhances your motivation, gets you primed to perform at a high level and increases the state of flow where things are happening with great fluidity. It gets your mind better acclimated and out in front of things where you have better anticipation that keeps you steps ahead when you physically do it, it feels like you already did which you have. Brain studies revealed that thoughts produce the same mental instructions as actions. It’s getting you trained for actual performance simply by working through the steps along the way.
Getting started visualizing
One of the first things to do when you're going to start incorporating visualization into your daily routine is to make it a priority. Say out loud or write out the specific time that you're going to do this because it serves as a bigger reminder. Be aware that you're going to have a few minutes where you just visualize what it is that you want.
It can be in the morning, afternoon, or just before you go to sleep and what’s going to be helpful to make it a habit is to do it at the same time of the day consistently because eventually you won’t even need to remind yourself to do it. If you look at many of the habits you have you might not even be aware that you do them because they just become so ingrained into you. So making visualization a priority, especially in the beginning will help make it stick.
As you’re visualizing things, make sure to be clear about what you want. There should be very little in between where things are vague. It should be clear cut because when it is you can start to hone in better that makes it a lot more comprehendible. Think about it like a high pixelated camera, where the more details involved the more the picture grabs your attention.
If its sports related and what you want to happen is to perform at an extremely high level, be very specific about what that entails. Imagine all the specifics involved in getting to that high level from how you practice daily where you're giving it your all and your exhausted after each training session. Where you see yourself getting ready for the game that includes your routine of listening to music, warming up, stretching, putting on your gear, talking to your coaches and your teammates lining up for each play and actually seeing yourself going through the motions of the game playing out.
This gives you that mental edge that you already played out the game in your head and when you physically do it, it becomes a little slower and your body just flows naturally to what you programmed your mind for. One of the things that's really great about visualization is that you become more accustomed to how things are playing out that you might do it several 100 times as opposed to when you do it physically it's typically only once, where you get one shot to perform. And if visualization is not done then you only get one shot to do it mentally as well which is going to make you not as prepared, and it could seem like things are going so fast.
Getting your mind cleared
Visualization requires a little bit of getting your mind cleared so cutting out the distractions or potential ones is going to help ensure that you can focus a lot more of your energy on what it is that you want. And yes, this does require energy because it's directing your attention to things unfolding in a certain way. Go to a quiet place or a dark place where there's very little to distract you. Or just close your eyes and put on noise-canceling headphones. You just need to get to a place mentally where things are not bombarding your focus from one thing to another.
It's being able to follow the sequence of events of things playing out. You could even do this while you're meditating where maybe the first 30 seconds it's just about getting that the junk out of your mind and then the next minute or two you're completely immersed into the visualization component. The less distractions involved the better chance you have of building up the stamina to getting there quicker. As you begin to do this your thoughts will wander where you might be thinking of what are you going to eat right after this but with enough time given to this you'll be able to get back to where you need to be. Where your mental energy will be 100% dedicated to visualization as opposed to only 60%.
If you're having a difficult time being focused on the process and the details involved with it, then close your eyes and speak out loud what it is you want as this is going to help you think and hear it. Sometimes in that quietness our thoughts will wander into so many different things especially with the thinking style you have there might be a tendency for your imagination to run wild so there could be the potential to go over a nightmare scenario.
Fear could run the show and it’s not going to help you. If that's the case hearing yourself speak out what it is you want is going to help you focus your attention back to what you're saying. Say things out loud with all those specific details that you want to happen. Try even recording yourself saying what you want to happen and then listening to what was said, evaluating if you're being clear enough. If you're not used to hearing yourself recorded it might seem a bit awkward but stick with listening and focusing on the content and not so much how you sound.
They're still going to be the natural tendency for their survival piece to come in and we might be thinking about worst case scenarios or all the potential bad things that could happen. It's OK to give it some thought but take it a step further and come up with potential scenarios for how you're going to handle them if it does come about that way.
If you happen to go in all in with your business where you quit your job to focus entirely on it there's going to come those times where self-doubt might be saying, did I make the right choice. Use those moments to actually visualize what you would do to keep the business afloat so you can dedicate all of your time and energy to it. This could be moving back in with your parents or someone else that can save you money. Maybe it’s applying for certain grants that your business qualifies for to help reduce the amount of debt you owe.
Delay gratification
What can get in the way of developing our imagination so we can visualize things a lot better is being too focused on what we physically see. This can condition one to be consumed with results right now instead of exercising enough patience to let things develop properly. The things that we see on an everyday basis seduce us to be in survival mode. Food, water, shelter, and having a consistent paycheck coming in keeps us on that hamster wheel that keeps us in place. These things are actually needed to keep us going but the goal should not be to merely survive but to thrive and sometimes for us to thrive that requires taking those short-term losses to make way for those bigger things that are possible.
The things that we see right here right now make us enamored to get results immediately. We want an instant gratification that slowly makes us more and more dependent on it and when enough time passes it becomes so hard to break free from it when we know we want something better. It leads us to make one compromise after another until one day it’s many decisions that were mostly compromises. The want for better experiences is sacrificed for settling for what is safe and limits you from the greatness within. Look beyond what is physically seen because it can be blinding to what is possible if you only rely on your eyes.
If you're not used to imagining what could be it's going to feel odd and funny to incorporate these types of behaviors. Thinking that it's just a bunch of wish upon a star type of nonsense. But we got to remember that we create our own realities based on what we choose to focus on. What you focus on is what you'll eventually get so if you have big aspirations and you're consistently focused on it, yet are not coming together, eventually you're going to find it because you're going to always be searching for what it is that you want. It just takes time.
For those who say well my reality is that I'm not going to get there, well that's because limitations have been put on what can be done based on a time period. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that it's impossible. This is just a lazy way to say that I've run out of patience and I'm giving up. If you focus on why things will not work out, then you will find that. Many times, it takes figuring out and trying things. Roadblocks will be present along the way, and you can choose to retreat when you come across them or you can find another route.
Final thoughts
Incorporating all these different things in visualizing what you want for yourself is intentionally layering so much information into your subconsciousness that it makes it difficult for self-doubt to take over. You just further empower yourself the more you can continuously layer what you envision. Your focus becomes so much more aligned with what you want that it becomes harder and harder to be distracted by much else. Each day that you can practice visualizing yourself in a certain situation or things playing out in whatever way you want it becomes a lot clearer that makes you more connected to it.
This is a great exercise to really decompress so you can relax your mind and focus on the things within your control. Without it, fear is naturally going to grab much of your attention for why things will not work out. What's great about consistently imagining yourself of all the great things that are possible in your future is that it requires very little energy to do so. It's just a few minutes of being able to clear out some of the distractions and focus on the things that you want. Remember that this just takes time, consistently following through getting your mind centered. Each day you practice it, the closer you get to making it happen. Let go of focusing on how much longer before you get what you want and instead immerse yourself in your vision.
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