Why You Should Master the Art of Visualization
It’s easy to spend a lot of time visualizing what you don’t want to happen. Elite athletes know to never visualize their mistakes; they’re trained to imagine what they want to happen.
Why should YOU master the art of visualization? Because when you visualize what you want to happen, you increase your chances for success. It might sound like a spiritual sham, but some of the world's most successful leaders use visualization techniques to achieve their goals.
What is Visualization?
Visualization is a method used to create a vivid mental picture of a future event. With effective visualization, you can rehearse for the event and get ready for what’s coming. More importantly, by successfully picturing your achievement, you will build the self-confidence you need to prosper.
For example, imagine you are entering an online competition with thousands of other participants. You’re probably already nervous, and you may fear that you’ll do poorly and lose. Instead of cultivating negative thoughts, you might utilize visualization to pretend that the competition goes well. You may envision yourself effortlessly advancing through the rounds with overwhelming support from your friends and family, and ultimately taking the number one spot.
Similar to meditation, visualization works best when it’s done often. This is because, with enough repetition, the mind is unable to distinguish between what is real and what is not. In essence, you may deceive the brain into believing that you already have what you want!
Some of the benefits of visualization include:
Increased positive thinking
Decreased stress and anxiety
Optimized performance
Elevated confidence and motivation
How to Use Visualization to Achieve Success
What do you want to succeed in? Pick a goal to visualize, and be clear. For example, visualize the success of winning an online competition.
Picture it
Start by picturing the exact moment when you win. Be as specific as possible—the more details, the better the visualization will work. Where are you? Who are you with? You can bring your vision to life by including your five senses, like what you can hear or feel.
In this example, imagine yourself sitting at your desk with your computer. You hear the sound of the fan whirring above you, the smell of the newly lit pine tree-scented candle, and the sight of the sun setting through your nearby window. It’s imperative that you also imagine what you’re feeling. You’re excited and confident about finding out about the final results of the competition, and you know your friends and your family will be thrilled for you.
Imagine the steps you will take to reach your goals
What will you need to do to make sure you win the online competition? It’s important to identify the actions that you must take to achieve your goal. Start visualizing each stage of the process.
For example, the competition will start with perfecting your online profile. Visualize yourself coming up with the perfect one-liners, typing up your information, and uploading your finest photos. Visualize how you will promote your profile and get your friends, family, and fans to vote for you. Picture the texts and social posts that you’ll write, and imagine your supporters responding with pleasure and excitement to place their votes for you.
Go through the entire competition in your mind, focusing on how you feel in each step. Don’t forget, it’s crucial to imagine what you want, not what you don’t want. Stay positive!
Visualize frequently
If the final round of the competition is a few weeks away, try to set aside time for visualization every day until then. As stated before, with enough repetition, the mind is unable to distinguish between reality versus imagination. Daily visualization is like training for a marathon. The more practice you get, the more familiar your brain will become with those thoughts. It’s like training your brain for the Monaco Grand Prix–without the cool cars.
Like meditation, you can practice visualization anywhere…and it’s free! You might practice visualization while you’re in line at the grocery store, or while you’re getting ready for your day. The possibilities are endless.
Bonus tip: Create a vision board
A vision board is a powerful tool that allows you to clearly see where you wish to succeed in your life. It is an effective visual reminder that can help you direct your thoughts and actions to reach your goals. Vision boards can be physical poster boards with images tacked on, or you can make them digitally.
For instance, if the competition prize is a trip to Greece, you can make a vision board with photos of where you would like to spend your time there. If the competition prize is $10,000, you can add photos to your vision board of what you would buy with the prize money.
Put your vision board in a prominent location, like beside your bathroom mirror, or on your desk at work. You could even create a cool desktop background with your vision board images. Physical or digital, a vision board will remind you of your goals frequently, which will encourage you to practice visualization more often.
