Tips for Mastering Visualization Techniques
Visualization is creating a mental
picture of something. Visualization is important because it makes the future
become more clear. Seeing yourself already achieving your goal makes your brain
believe that attaining that goal is possible. Focusing consistently on any given
goal will enable you to manifest it far sooner than if you didn’t focus on it at
all. Focus brings the goal closer to you.
Have you attempted visualizing, but
find it difficult or impossible? Try this. Pick up a photo and study it closely;
then close your eyes and tell me what you see. If you see anything resembling
the picture, you are visualizing. It’s that simple. If this doesn’t work, or if
you want to improve your visualization skills, take the same picture and while
looking at it, close your eyes and open your eyes and close your eyes again. Do
this as many times as possible for a few minutes. Soon you’ll be seeing the
picture, but you won’t know if your eyes are open or closed — and you will be
visualizing better than before. Practice this technique often. You can focus on
anything: people’s faces, pictures, buttons. Get creative and have fun with it.
Additional
Visualization Tips
§ When visualizing, it’s important to view the
action from the first person — that is, see yourself achieving your goal through
your own eyes, rather than watching yourself from the outside. This method is
very powerful because this is the way you already see and experience everything.
§ Less powerful is viewing your goal from the
third-person perspective, seeing yourself achieving the goal as if you were
watching a movie. It still works, but it’s not as effective as viewing from the
first-person perspective.
§ Make visualization fun — the more real your image
is, the better this works. Make the image not just a still picture, but a
full-length movie staring you.
Replay it over and over, seeing yourself as the hero, achieving your goal.
Create background music, pump it up, make it feel real, and have fun with it.
This is how you want to see your goal — in vibrant Technicolor on an IMAX screen
— not in dim, dreary, out-of-focus scenes shown on a shoebox-size theatre in the
multiplex.
§ Your goal is a picture located somewhere in your
mental image frame. When you close your eyes and see the image of your goal,
determine where your mind is locating the picture: top, bottom, right, upper
left, etc. Now, recall an important goal you have already accomplished, and find
out where that goal is located in your mental image frame.
So now you have two goals in mind: one you’ve already achieved and one you want to achieve. Note every little detail about
these goals: Where are they located? What are the colors of the images? Are they
big, bright, and clear — or are they small, blurry, and distant?
How do these images feel to you? Does one make
you feel happy, excited, and thrilled? Does the other make you feel depressed,
wistful, etc.?
Once you’ve
noted every detail about the two images, take the goal you have not yet achieved
and give it the same qualities as the goal you have achieved. Make it bigger and
brighter; move it to the same location as the image of the already-achieved
goal; make it feel the same by inserting every detail. Adjusting your mental
image of the current goal to mirror one you’ve already achieved makes your new
goal seem easier and gives you the feeling that you have already achieved it.
Physically
act out your goal in action moves. For example, with your eyes closed, envision
yourself buying a new home, walking through every detail. First, you get on the
phone and talk to your realtor; later you shake his or her hand (yes, pick up an
actual phone and really shake a hand). Greet the realtor and explain, in detail,
what you want your house to look like. Take them to the house you want to buy
(yes, really walk in place and explain the details out loud, using lots of
gestures). I know this seems silly, and you may feel like a kid playacting, but
this is a great visualization technique, not to mention a great stress
reliever. Go through all the motions and experiences, as if they were really
happening. Notice your emotions, and have fun with this!
Allow yourself 10 to 30 minutes every day or every
other day for visualizing your goal. Set aside time to rest and remove yourself
from everything else going on. Find a quiet, uninterrupted area to perform these
techniques. Remember, the more you focus on your goals, the sooner you will
achieve them.
Scott White is a certified professional trainer and nutritionist,
located in Scottsdale.
To contact him, visit him on the Web site www.personalpowertraining.net;
phone him at 480.628.1607; or e-mail him at swhite@personalpowertraining.net.
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