As you strive for success in personal aspirations, especially your financial needs and desires, you will need to use whatever helps you reach your goals.
If you are like most people, you will have noticed your success rate has been dismal.
Would you believe me if I told you that you already have the most powerful tool needed to succeed?
Your brain is that powerful tool because here is where visualization happens.
Prime Your Brain and Remove Roadblocks
Visualization is not idle daydreaming or even wishful thinking. Scientists have concluded that visualization helps you to take your deepest aspirations and turn them into reality.
Let’s say you are facing financial problems and are ‘stuck in a rut’ when it comes to increasing your income. Visualization can help you remove the mental roadblocks that are holding you back.
Visualization activates the same neural pathways as if you were physically doing the intended action.
You are, in fact, priming your brain towards success before you manifest it in the real world.
These days, successful people from all walks of life use visualization to help them reach their goals. Athletes, movie stars, fortune 500 CEOs, and others all have one thing in common: they visualize.
With a good dose of emotional and cognitive precision, they each paint vivid mental pictures of their end goal, charting every step along the way.
Are you ready to build a better income source? Looking for a way to get your solo entrepreneurship off the ground? Or are you simply looking for ways to improve yourself?
Visualization done right is a sure way to positive results in each situation.
Bridge to Your Future
This technique is an indispensable skill needed for modern living. Think of it as a bridge that spans time from now to your future.
In the following sections you are going to learn all about visualization.
You will soon learn that this technique can be used anywhere at anytime to help you map out your plans for success.
Open your mind to the secrets of visualization and the power it has to transform your life.
You Control Your Thoughts
Most people don’t understand how the brain deals with visual information. Think about peeling a big, ripe orange. Imagine taking a bite as the sweet juice fills your mouth. It seems so real that your mouth begins to water, doesn’t it?
This is due to the brain effortlessly processing the visual and sensory information you are feeding it. As you visualize the experience of eating an orange, your brains fires up the same way it does when you actually eat the fruit. Here your brain is getting ‘practice’ without physically eating the orange.
Imagine your brain has a spotlight that you can control. You illuminate things you are focusing on and the background is all a blur.
Have you ever started thinking about a particular car you want and suddenly you are seeing the car everywhere?
This spotlight acts like the Reticular Activating System (RAS) helping you respond to the world around you.
The RAS helps you focus on what really matters to you. It helps your brain pay closer attention to the resources and opportunities that your mind is visualizing. Think of it as your mind saying, “This is something important that we should work on.”
Believe What You See
Everyone has heard the common phrase “seeing is believing.” But not everyone has heard that “imagining is believing” also. Thanks to ‘mirror neurons’ within your brain, both phrases are true.
Mirror neurons are brain cells that fire whether you are doing something or simply imagining yourself doing it. This creates a blurry line between reality and imagination.
Once you master visualization, your brain begins to believe you have actually done it. Making connections, running a race, or seeing yourself as a successful entrepreneur are easier to turn into reality if you have visualized yourself reaching these aspirations.
Different Visualization Techniques
There are many visualization techniques you can use. Each is unique and will help you with certain strategies.
1. Mentally Rehearsing
Let’s say you have an important event coming up and you have that queasy feeling in your stomach. It doesn’t matter what the event is: a first date, a major presentation or even your first product launch, each gives you that anxious feeling.
Mentally rehearsing is the first type of visualization. Here you can experience the entire scenario before the actual event. Think of it as a dress rehearsal within your brain.
You simply visualize each step of the process you are embarking on. Practice what you want to say, and how you go about doing so. Pay attention to the expressions of the people you are engaging.
2. Process Visualization
Just by rehearsing the details in your mind, you make yourself comfortable in the situation and you are more prepared to face the reality.
This is your test run, something only you can see. Iron out kinks, build confidence and let loose any fears or doubts you may harbor.
Everyone has goals, but not everyone achieves what they set out to do. Most people find it too overwhelming and have no idea where to start.
Process visualization is how you get started. Instead of focusing on your end goal, take the time to visualize every step needed to reach it.
You want to launch a profitable business? Visualize researching similar markets, creating your business plan, getting funding, and any other paths you must take. Think of this visualization technique as your internal GPS. This gives you a roadmap that steers you towards reaching the most loftiest of goals, and helps you see you can attain them.
3. Outcome Visualization
In process visualization is it all about the process of going from point A to point Z. Outcome visualization is not about the journey itself, but about the final destination. This is your opportunity to picture yourself successful and experience what success looks, feels and smells like.
Now is not the time to think about the ‘how’, but rather to concentrate on the ‘what.’ If your goal is to be a successful online seller, then visualize your future self surrounded by materials, receipts and cash.
When you focus on the end results, you are creating an emotional connection that works as a motivational booster that pulls you up when things start to slow down.
4. Affirmative Visualization
Words are powerful. Pair them with vivid mental imagery and you create a strong mix. This is the core of affirmative visualization. This technique allows you to use positive affirmations and pair them with your own mental images.
If you want a promotion, visualize yourself in the position you want and repeat affirmations (either silently or out loud) such as “I deserve this promotion, and I am competent enough to handle it all.”
Using this dual approach enhances your self-belief while supercharging your visualization practices, giving you twice the brain power needed to succeed.
5. Guided Visualization
So far you have learned about visualization techniques that are solo practices. With guided visualization you can use external resources to gain better depth and focus. You can use videos, audio recordings or hire a coach; each will lead you through the visualization experience.
These can be very useful if you have a hard time concentrating or are new to visualization. Making use of external guides will help you see nuances and layers you may have missed, or not even thought of. This will give you a richer experience and can prove more effective in the long run.
There you have it: five different visualization techniques you can mix and match to suit any situation. It’s simple, get started and learn and grow as you refine your visualization practices.
Implementing Visualization
It’s one thing to know and understand the concept of visualization and how it can help you reach success. Applying it to your life is another story, especially because it can feel so confusing when you are ready to start. However, it really is as simple as creating a routine to practice visualizing your way to success.
Effective visualization requires you to find a quiet, calm place where you will not be disturbed. This can be any place where you can be alone to think.
Find a safe, comfortable place with minimal outside distraction. This will become your sanctuary for your mental practices. Just as you would not want physical training to be interrupted, you want the same for mental training.
Have a Clear Goal to Address
Before you start to visualize, it is important that you have a clear intent ready to address. Think about what you want to accomplish or achieve. Is it new relationships, running a marathon, or becoming successful online?
You should be literal and brief when setting your intentions. Think of it as setting a goal. This becomes your blueprint that will help guide your visualization while keeping your mind focused on what really matters.
The most effective visualization practices are not only visual, but engage all of your senses. As you start your visualization practices, use as many sensory stimulants as you can.
If you are visualizing a first date, don’t just picture yourself arriving to pick up your date – feel her warm skin under your hand as you escort her to the car, hear the sound of the door opening and closing, and smell the sweet scent of her favorite perfume. Make it a mindful experience before it happens.
Vivid Experiences
Enjoy vivid sensory experiences. This makes visualization more realistic and impactful. Now that you are engaging all your senses, it is time to immerse your visualizations with positive emotions.
Emotions enhance your mental images. If you see yourself with a successful online business, let yourself feel the pride and joy in achieving this dream. This emotional connections helps your brain see the visualization as the real deal, intensifying and solidifying your dedication to reach your goal.
Visualizing once can be impactful, but in order to create change, repetition is a crucial component to succeed. Visualization should become a part of your daily or weekly routine. The more you practice the more solid your mental pathways will be; this will only bolster you on your journey to reach your goals.
Practicing Visualization
As with most activities, the more you practice, the better you get. Once you start practicing you will need to stop and assess the impact of doing so. How do you feel emotionally and mentally since beginning the practice of visualization?
Are you more confident in your daily life? Is it easier to make decisions that align with your long term goals? Simply look at tangible metrics like improved times as an athlete or increased sales if you own a business.
Tracking metrics lets you see how effective your visualization practices are, and what areas you might need to improve. Every step has a specific purpose, making your mental rehearsals more effective and helps to ensure that you are not daydreaming at all, but consciously steering your life to your end goals.
