Goal Visualization – Part 2 – Add Visualization to Your Routine
To achieve the best results, you should make visualization a part of your daily or weekly routine. Choose a specific time and place to practice visualizing. Use written reminders on your calendar to keep the schedule ‘in your face.’
As you implement visualization practices in your daily (weekly) life, you will notice it becomes easier and easier to stick with it.
The biggest part of visualization is your emotional investment in the process.
Think of it like watching a movie without the sound. You need emotion to grasp the visuals you see.
You might grasp the meaning of the movie without sounds, but you are missing the full spectrum and depth of the movie.
Emotions are what brings those mental images to life, allowing your brain to read the visualization as real.
During visualization, your should always strive to add emotions into your mental imagery. Feel the pride, joy and relief that comes when you achieve your goal. This emotional involvement will elevate your visions from a simple daydream to a very impactful visualization rehearsal.
Be very specific with your visualization. The brain thrives on details to make a complete picture.
If your thought process lacks depth then your mental images will probably not make a long lasting impact.
If you simple think “I want to be successful” without putting more thought into what you really want, then the brain cannot create the images you want to see.
Be precise. If you want to visualize yourself being successful you will need to specify what success looks like to you.
Is success a completed project? Or is success having good sales and gaining reputation? Be specific, and be precise.
Be Positive and Clear
The clearer you can make your images, the more they will resonate in your subconscious.
It is only natural to think about all the things that could go wrong, but excessively focusing on the negative is counterproductive to visualization practices.
If you keep visualizing failure, your brain will give you those results. You need to shift focus and not let the negative in. Spend more time concentrating on the positive outcomes you really want.
Effective visualization depends on the correct input. Your brain will provide images that correlate with your thoughts: think positive, get positive images, think of what you fear and you will see those results.
Each one of these mistakes may undermine your mental rehearsals, turning a very powerful tool for success into something that can only hurt your visualization routines.
Avoid these pitfalls and work hard to steer clear from that which causes harm. This is the only way to enhance your visualization sessions. Remember these pitfalls when you close your eyes and you’ll find visualization to be easy sailing.
Time to Level Up
Starting the visualization process puts you on the first step to success. Eventually, you will be ready to climb the ladder using this new strategy. Have you ever made a dish that required you to layer the right ingredients to produce the ultimate dish? The right combination produced this extraordinary meal.
This layering principle applies to visualization as well. One technique might be effective, but think of the possibilities when you combine a few of these methods. You could end up with a more dynamic and refined mental rehearsal.
You could choose to use affirmative visualization and process visualization at the same time. This would let you see the steps you have to take, while affirming you have the ability to complete the process.
Start your mental rehearsal for one specific event, then bring forth process visualization to envision the steps that will lead you towards this event. Throw in some affirmative visualization for a quick boost to your self-confidence
Using a multi-layer approach will give you a deeper, more meaningful visualization session that covers many areas within your goal.
Online Tools and Aids
It’s nice that we live in the digital age, you can find many tools and aids that will help you elevate your mental practices. You can go beyond your own mind.
There are apps designed to guide you through the visualization sessions. Vision boards are one way to achieve this as they offer you a tangible description of your goals. These visualization practice apps can even track your daily progress. Vision boards are great tools to keep your goals front and center and clearly visible.
Virtual reality is another tool you can use. Immerse yourself in a simulation that is so lifelike that you actually feel as if you are living the visualized outcome. Be sure you are investing in visualization tools that you clearly want to work with.
Make use of the visualization apps that offer you guided sessions and have the metrics to gauge your daily progress. Using virtual reality equipment is a great way to enhance the realism during visualization exercises.
Visualization is not just a solitary endeavor; group sessions have a collective energy that enhances your individual experience. Joining with others is a great way to get validation and receive emotional support.
Think of this as a group of business people visualizing a successful launch of a project. Or a sports team collectively envisioning a win. The energy of the group often generates an emotional charge that can amplify the success of the practice session.
You might want to organize or join group sessions that relate to your goals. This shared energy and group focus often adds layers of intensity to your visualization sessions, making then more dynamic and, hopefully, more effective.
Raising your visualization practices up each level is not about doing more, it’s about doing it better each time you practice. Your mental rehearsals are enriched each time you up the game. Each addition makes for a more immersive, intricate session, leading you to your ultimate goal.
Add Visualization Sessions To All Areas of Your Life
Remember those dedicated practice sessions you learned about earlier? You don’t need to wait until these designated times to have a mental rehearsal. Try practicing quick, focused rehearsals. These can be very effective, especially if you are in a time crunch.
Right before you have a big meeting, or have to make a presentation, stop and visualize a successful outcome. There are many times throughout the day when you might need a quick clarity or confidence boost.
Use these brief snippets of time to visualize a script for your immediate goals. Once you have existing routines with practicing these quick sessions, the easier each one gets.
Most people have morning rituals. Whether you just sit with a cup of coffee, or you journal or meditate, taking five minutes for a visualization session about the upcoming day not only makes you feel better about yourself, but also puts you on a path towards a better day.
Daily Routines
Go beyond morning routines and look for those times of day when you routinely do tasks. A five minute brain burst of visions during these times can quickly become part of your routine. This reduces the stress of having to adopt a new habit.
Short practices into your daily routines can be very effective. However, having a dedicated time and place for visualization exercises leads you to deeper and more targeted sessions. Setting aside this specific time each day or week will deepen the impact of everything you envision.
These dedicated sessions will give you the time and focus you need to delve deeper into your long-term goals. Look at your current schedule and find one or more times during the day or week where you can fit in a session.
An hour long session is not needed; 15 to 20 minutes is often the perfect amount of time to have an effective visualization session. Let those around you know that you do not want to be disturbed during these times. Think of this time as an investment in your future.
Visualization is not just for sports teams or business people. It is so versatile that you can apply it to all aspects of your life.
Enhance your emotional well-being, your personal relationships, your passions and your hobbies with brief visualization sessions.
When you add these brief, targeted visualization sessions into your existing routines, while creating your dedicated schedule, you are creating a more multi-faceted approach to your sessions.
Each type of session, whether long or short, has a purpose. These become habit forming and transform changes that harness the full power of your visions, ultimately leading to a more successful life.
Make Use of the Various Visualization Techniques
Your end goals will determine which visualization technique you should use. Going to an interview? Launching a new product? These are short-term goals that benefit from process visualization or mental rehearsals. Always choose the right technique for maximum effectiveness.
Long-term goals are best served using outcome visualization, which will help you see the bigger picture. Each technique lets you envision the actual events or steps needed to get there. thus reducing your anxiety while improving overall performance.
Take the Time to Review Your Goals
Look at your goals and decide if they should be in the long-term or short-term category. This will help you figure out which visualization technique to use.
For short-term goals you should use visualization techniques that will give you step-by-step visualization and more detailed mental rehearsals.
For those long-term goals you should be using affirmative or outcome visualization techniques that lets you keep your eye on the end goal for more extended periods.
Personality can also influence how certain visualization techniques might work for you. Process visualization is perfect for people who thrive on creating detailed and diligent plans. If you are one who likes to see the whole picture, outcome visualization would be the perfect choice for you.
Externally motivated people often find guided visualization sessions work the best for them, while introverts will always choose the solitary techniques. For these reasons, it is imperative that you know your own preferences and personality traits.
Are you a big picture thinker, or do you thrive more on details? Do you enjoy working with a group, or do you prefer your own solitude? Matching personality type with the right visualization techniques makes your practice more effective and most of all, fun.
Avoid These Common Mistakes
You have learned many tips and tricks to get the most out of your visualization sessions. Now it’s time to learn what you should avoid doing so you don’t destroy the process.
Think of your visualization sessions as a garden you must tend to. Like a garden needs water to grow, you need to be consistent with your practices in order to see them thrive. Practicing every once in a while will not give you the desired results. When you practice on a regular schedule you create neural pathways that helps you transition from a mental rehearsal into actual success.
Techniques and Methods for Effective Visualization
You’ve learned about the standard techniques and methods used in visualization. You’ve learned how customization of mixing the different visualization techniques work to help you along.
You are now ready to develop your own sequence of techniques. These might include a combination of positive affirmations, mental rehearsals and process visualization. Always start with the standard techniques and add on, paying special attention to how you react to each new technique.
Are there techniques that you are drawn to? Do you always choose a specific visualization technique? Analyze your own feedback to create a visualization routine that is right for you and your current needs.
Once you understand the best techniques for your goals, needs and personality you will will see how they transform your visualizations from the ho-hum to a personalized, effective tool you can use.
It’s not about choosing a technique from the list but about matching each technique with who you are and what you want to accomplish. With a personalized approach, you go beyond visualizing success – you set the stage for that success to happen.
If you missed the beginning of this article, you can read it HERE.
