The Power Of Visualization
By Daryl Daughtry, Publisher
The power of visualization is one of the worst kept secrets in the world. It proposes that the mind is powerful and what you feed it can affect you in a powerful way. Countless numbers of books have been written about how your state of mind affects your life. Visualization is one of the most effective tools with your mind. It is powerfully capable of setting you up for the future you desire.
One of the best ways to learn about visualization is to first identify what it’s not, and we will start with this approach. Just like most popular concepts, there are many descriptions and beliefs about visualization that are either blown out of proportion or are totally false.
In order to ensure that you haven’t been a victim of some of the common misconceptions and conjectures surrounding the power of visualization, let’s have a look at some of them.
Myth #1: Wishing and Hoping Something Happens
It’s true that visualization involves creating a mental image of a target you intend to achieve. However, it’s misleading to assume that visualization is all about wishing and hoping that something happens. This ridiculously simplified view is the reason many people never achieve anything tangible. They assume that they are practicing and utilizing visualization, but that’s not the case.
Rather, visualization involves using your thoughts to engineer a certain result and what you will need to do to achieve it. In other words, visualization doesn’t end with thinking about what you want to achieve. Instead, it also involves imagination regarding the steps you’ll need to take to accomplish the target. If all you do is imagining yourself achieving a target without thinking about how you will achieve it, you are believing in a fantasy.
Myth #2: Visualization Isn’t Scientific
In the bid to discredit visualization, some people would say that it isn’t scientific. However, this claim is far from the truth. Scientists have proven that visualization affects our brains in certain ways that promote the achievement of our goals. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to verify any assertion before you believe it.
Myth #3: Visualization Is For Lazy Dreamers
This comes from the assumption that visualization is all about sitting on a couch dreaming and everything just falls into your lap. This is far from the truth. World-beaters such as Jeff Bezos and Oprah Winfrey have openly discussed how they were able to achieve their dreams by leveraging visualization. Visualization is for people who are deliberate about what they want and will go all out to accomplish it.
Myth #4: Visualization Is Only For Long-Term Targets
What you intend to accomplish doesn’t have to be in fifteen or twenty years before you can use visualization. As long as the target you intend to achieve is ahead of you, you can leverage this practice. Therefore, even if your target is something that can be achieved within a week or a month, visualization remains relevant.
The Science Behind Visualization
In simple terms, visualization is using your mind to stimulate you to achieve your targets. The more you set your gaze on something, the higher your chances of achieving it will be. In other words, if you’re not expecting much from life, it is not likely that you will ever receive much from life. A recurrent theme in the stories of successful people is how they envisioned a better future for themselves and worked hard towards making it a reality.
Does science offer an explanation? Yes! The science behind visualization revolves around the activities of neurochemicals in your brain.
Your thoughts create neural pathways in your brain and the motor cortex connects visualization and eventual actions. This is the same process that happens when you think about doing something, such as raising your arm or taking a few steps forward. So, visualization helps you remember and rehearse your goals. The neural pattern your brain creates makes those events feel real to you.
Basketball players use a practice technique that many people find unusual. They train to improve their accuracy without actually shooting an actual ball. They train their brain to see themselves succeeding in shooting. Then, they end up being able to replicate their imaginations in competition. Most professional golfers mentally see the intended flight of their golf ball before ever swinging their club.
So, you can increase the odds of achieving your future aspirations with the help of your thoughts. Your nervous system will respond by linking your thoughts to your eventual actions. You can absolutely get closer to your dreams by leveraging the power of visualization techniques.
See it, plan it, work it, and achieve it.
