12th April 2024
You must first clearly see a thing in your mind before you can do it. ~Alex Morrison
In a television interview, singer Celine Dion was asked if she ever dreamed at the start of her career that someday she’d sell millions of records and be on tour, singing in front of tens of thousands of people each week.
The singer replied that none of this surprised her, as she had pictured the whole thing since she was five years old!
World-class athletes also incorporate the power of imagery to reinforce in their mind exactly how they want to perform.
Whether it’s a figure skater completing a difficult jump, a tennis pro acing his opponent with a perfect serve, or a golfer driving the ball long and straight down the fairway, many top competitors mentally envision a successful outcome before actually achieving it in the “real” world.
Muhammad Ali’s famous quote “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it” already shows that he truly believed in the power of visualization.
But he’s not the only one who used visualization in his successful sports career. Arnold Schwarzenegger was also a big believer in visualizing how he wanted to look like and kept on imagining it. Later on, he used the same technique in politics and acting.
Jim Carrey apparently wrote a check of over $ 10 million to himself every night during the time when he wasn’t famous yet. It so happened that three years later, he received exactly this amount for starring in ‘Dumb and Dumber.’
Visualization, however, is not something reserved solely for singers, athletes or movie stars. In fact, it’s something we’ve used since childhood to create the circumstances of our own life.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, visualization is “the act of visualizing something or someone” or “forming a picture of it in your mind”. It’s almost like looking through a particular lens, your unconsciousness, your imagination, your deepest desires, and seeing your life unfold within your inner eye.
We all store pictures in our minds about the type of relationships we deserve, the degree of success we’ll attain at work, the extent of our leadership ability, the amount of money we’ll earn and accumulate, and so on.
But, we don’t need to limit ourselves to our earlier images but can create new images for ourselves.
We can create new mental movies whenever we choose to do so. And when we develop and concentrate on new images that evoke powerful feelings and sensations, we’ll act in ways that support those new pictures!
So, the first step is to create an image of your desired outcome.
As you know, most people are terrified about public speaking. In survey after survey, it is listed as the #1 fear that people have — ranked ahead of the fear of death!
So, when most people are asked to even consider making a speech, what kinds of pictures do they run through their minds?
They see themselves standing nervously in front of the audience.
Perhaps they’re having trouble remembering what they want to say. Run these images over and over on your mental screen and you can be sure that you won’t have much success as a speaker!
Instead, form a picture in your mind in which you’re confidently giving your presentation. The audience members are listening to your every word. You look sharp. Your delivery is smooth. You tell a funny story and the audience is laughing. At the end, you get a warm round of applause. People come up afterward to congratulate you. Do you see how these kinds of mental images can help you to become a better speaker?
Recognize, however, that the pictures in your mind are not fulfilled overnight, but, by being patient and by persistently focusing on these mental images, by regular practise, you’ll automatically start acting in ways that support your vision.
Start today, Visualize the goal you want to achieve, the destination you want to reach and the Universe will conspire to help you reach there.
I use the ‘Vision Board’ to try and visualize the future I want to behold (more about this on another day)
Picture your way to success, Visualize, focus and execute and stay blessed forever.