The Power of Visualization - John Kehoe
“There is no thought in my mind but it quickly tends to convert itself into a power and organizes a huge instrumentality of means.”- Emerson
What is it that makes a person a winner? What distinguishes those who succeed from those who fail?
“It is all in the mind” says Arnold Schwarzenegger. A multimillionaire, successful real estate tycoon, movie star, body-builder, five-time winner of Mr. Universe, Arnold has it made. But it wasn’t always so. Arnold can remember back when he had nothing except a belief that his mind was the key to getting where he wanted to go.
“When I was very young, I visualized myself of being and having what it was I wanted. Mentally, I never had doubts about it. The mind is really so incredible. Before I won my first Mr. Universe, I walked around the tournament like I owned it. The title was already mine. I had won it so many times in my mind that there was no doubt I would win it. Then, when I moved on to the movies, the same thing I visualized myself being a successful actor and earning big money. I could feel and taste success. I just knew it would happen.” Says Arnold Schwarzenegger
Chris Poellein was a member of the world-renowned West German freestyle ski team which won the European Cup six times between 1976 and 1982. “Part of our training program involved working with a psychologist to increase the power of our minds. After training on the slopes we were placed in the state of meditation and encouraged totally to repeat the slope runs in our minds, visualizing each bump and movement of the routine. We worked as hard training mentally as we did physically. Excellence in athletics or indeed any endeavor depends primarily on having a clear mental picture of that activity.” Chris reiterated.
Chris you should know has not only her six medals, but she now has her own successful consulting firm teaching business and sports groups how they, too can benefit from the same technique.
Bryan Edwards, one of Australia’s top life insurance salesmen, a man of infectious good humor and spirits, spend 10 minutes every evening before he goes to bed running over in his mind his next day’s calls. He pictures himself making his presentation to each client. He sees them being receptive and gladly taking out a policy with him. He imagines a very productive day with lots of sales. He does this 10 minutes before he goes to bed and 10 minutes upon rising in the morning; a total of 20 minutes each day. Bryan Edwards sells more insurance in one week than most people do in six months.
Three totally different people with totally different goals and objectives in life, yet all are using the same technique to create and influence their reality; the technique of visualization.
Visualization is using your imagination to see yourself in a situation that hasn’t yet happened, picturing yourself having or doing the thing you wanted and successfully achieving the results you desire. For example, let us say you want to be more confident. Using visualization, you picture yourself as confident. You see yourself doing things, talking to people, all with confidence. You picture yourself in situations that normally give you difficulty and you see yourself in these situations at ease, confident, and performing well. You might picture your friends and associates complimenting you, congratulating you on your new –found confidence. You feel the pride and satisfaction of both being a confident person and of enjoying the things that happen to you as a result of your confidence. You visualize everything that would or could happen to you and live as if it really is happening to you.
Here’s how to go about successful visualization:
First, decide what you want to do; may be pass an examination, get a promotion, meet someone new, make a lot of money, be more confident, win the squash game…
Second, relax; spend several minutes unwinding so that you are comfortable in body and mind.
Third, spend 5-10 minutes visualizing the reality you want.
Linger on thoughts of doing and having the right thing you want now, not as some future reality that might happen or could happen. Live in your mind as if it’s really happening to you. Create little inner film clips or videos. See yourself doing the thing you want. On one level, you know it’s not yet happening to you; it’s not yet real. It’s still just visualization, a mental picture. But the mental picture we indulge in, the one we regularly think about becomes a blueprint for our goals, a mould into which we pour our energy.
Build whatever characteristics are necessary in your visualization. If talent, courage, determination, or persistence is vital parts of the picture, include them. Sometimes you will see clear, sharp images as if you are watching yourself featured in a movie, accomplishing your goal. Other times, you just sort of ‘think about’ your goals in a general way; this is all fine. You can alternate between precise and free-flowing visualization, doing a few minutes of each, or concentrate on whatever technique you feel most comfortable.
PRECISE VISUALIZATION
Put the exact pictures and scenes you want in your mind. Follow the pre-set script you have created and run it through your mind a number of times.
FREE-FLOW VISUALIZATION
Allow images and thoughts to come and go without choosing them directly, as long as they show positive outcome of your goal.
I should mention at this point that visualizing something once or twice is of little effect. Results come when the image is imprinted again and again and again for a period of weeks or months until your goal has been achieved. Don’t try to measure success after only one or two attempts. If doubts or contradictory thoughts arise, and occasionally they will, just ignore them. Don’t try resisting them or fighting them, simply letting those thoughts come and go in your consciousness without much notice. Just keep repeating your visualization and everything will quite naturally look after itself.
To learn more about other strategies for purposeful living, join our free online webinar
No comments:
Post a Comment