How Visualization Will Help You Attain Your Goals
We’ve all sent or received a destination postcard. Vivid pictures of the Grand Canyon, a beach in North Carolina, the Rocky Mountains, or the Chicago skyline. Just enough room on the back for a sentence or two – ‘Wish you were here’ being the #1 sentiment.
Visualization works pretty much the same way with one important difference. It doesn’t show a picture of where you are. It creates a vivid mental picture of where you’re going. It simple, powerful and it works. Let’s give it a try.
Just close your eyes and imagine you have achieved your goals. Create a picture in your mind of exactly what that looks like. Add the where, when and all of the colorful details of your goal. Fill in as much as possible. Pretend you are already there. Don’t just imagine it. Sense it; feel it.
When it comes to achieving our goals, visualization is perhaps one of the greatest tools we have on the road to success. Visualization doesn’t mean you’re playing pretend, it means you are picturing yourself already reaching an objective.
Harnessing the power of visualization and using this image to guide your day-to-day routine can have a significant impact on your life. It guides our actions. Here’s how.
With every decision you make each day, you can ask simple questions with your goal-vision as a guide. Simple decision-moment questions like, “Which path will lead me towards my intended destination?” Here are a few examples:
• As you order lunch from the menu, you can ask, “Which selection brings me closer to my goal of health and fitness?”
• As you prepare for a meeting, you can ask, “What should I do right now to bring value to everyone present and as a result informally recruit others to support me in my career goals?”
• As you walk in the door at home after a long day of work, you can ask “How should I greet my spouse, partner or children right now? What should I say or do to advance towards my vision of a great relationship and happy family live?”
When we make plans for our personal lives or our business, it’s important to do more than simply set goals. We have to believe these goals are attainable. Visualizing your goal gives you a preview of what your accomplishment will feel like. It strengthens your ability to believe in yourself. By imagining what it will look and feel like to reach a goal, we constantly remind ourselves that we have the potential to reach success.
Once you have your specific goal in mind, take the next step of creating a clear vision. Use your mind to build a vivid picture of what your success looks like, feels like and even what it sounds or smells like. Spare no detail in how you imagine your achievement. When you have a clear picture of your goal, store that visualization in your mind. As you take small, daily steps toward your objective, remember how each task fits into your path to success.
John J. Hall, CPA
John J. Hall, CPA, is an author, speaker and results expert who presents around the world at conventions, corporate meetings and association events. Throughout his 35-year career as a business consultant, corporate executive and professional speaker, John has helped organizations and individuals achieve measurable results. He inspires audience members in corporations, not-for-profit organizations and professional associations to step up, take action and “do what you can.”