Visualize Your Way to Success

Visualization, also called imaging, is a simple process that involves conjuring a mental image of something that conveys happiness, warmth, or peaceful feelings for you. For example, you might remember a meadow or farm from your childhood, a waterfall, a picnic site, a scene from a movie, a favorite cousin, or a lover. By focusing on the image for even a minute, you can lower your pulse, heart rate, and blood pressure. If you only have a few minutes alone, visualization could be your cup of tea.

You are Already a Master

You already engage in visualization all the time. A primary benefit of visualization is the minimal time investment required for a good return. Visualizing aspects of your life helps better your disposition and increases your probability of successfully solving problems.

Some people suggest closing your eyes and placing your hand on your chest, cheek, or forehead while visualizing a pleasant scene in order to connect your body with the image that you have conjured. Regardless, visualization works well because your brain can recall anything that it has ever experienced.

The examples and suggestions below are designed steer your focus on positive, pleasant, stress reducing scenes:

Visualizing a Desired Outcome – Visualization can help you sail more easily through things that have not yet happened. For example, basketball players attempting to improve their free throw percentage find that by visualizing themselves stepping up to the line and draining the shot, over and over, their actual foul shot percentage can increase in game situations.

Visualize as a Substitute for Practice – Many Olympic performers visualize themselves going through their routines, be it speed skating, gymnastics, or throwing the javelin, and actually improve their performance once they step into the competitive arena.

Visualize Success at Something You Dread – If you fear making presentations or confronting your boss, visualizing yourself successfully handling the situation increases your probability of success. You can even write a short statement about your visualization, or a whole article about what you did and how it worked. In this respect, you “live into your visualization.”

A Tool For Everyone

The very good news about visualization is that it’s a tool that everyone can put to use, with not much effort, for a pretty decent return. Such a deal!

About the Author

Jeff Davidson, the world’s only holder of the title “The Work-Life Balance Expert®” as awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is the premier thought leader on work-life balance issues. Jeff speaks to organizations that seek to enhance their overall productivity by improving the work-life balance of their people. He wrote Breathing Space, Simpler Living, and Dial it Down, Live it Up. Visit www.BreathingSpace.com.

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