How to Visualize

Visualization is a motivational method to help you achieve your personal goals in life. If you want something to happen, you have to force your imagination to work. Visualize the results in front of you, play the upcoming game in your head, or picture yourself receiving your college diploma. Nothing can limit you but your imagination. Visualization is a useful skill of the mind; it can help you draw an image or a scene that is not really happening in front of your eyes.

Table of Contents

Visualize goals

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Visualize the activity, event, or outcome you desire. Close your eyes and draw a goal that you are thinking about. ^{[1] X Source of Research} Suppose you want to picture yourself getting a promotion at work. Imagine the scene of a brand new office, on the door there is a sign with your name in gilded letters. Picture a black swivel chair behind a grand sepia desk. Imagine a copy of the artist Renoir hanging on the wall next to your degrees.

Once you have the big picture in mind, go into the smaller details. Visualize the dust in the corners of the room and the coffee scum in the cups, the light seeping through the gaps in the window shades and onto the carpet.
Try to think of the reasons behind your goals, they will help you stay motivated. For example, if your goal is “I want to lose 5 kg”, your reason could be “I want to get stronger”, or “I want to live a healthier life”.

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Visualize with optimism and positive thinking . You won’t improve if you stay pessimistic about yourself and your opportunities in life. So instead of thinking “I’m bad at basketball; I’ll probably never get better,” think, “I’m not that good right now, but in six months I’ll be better.” Then imagine yourself succeeding with a 3-pointer or winning the ball and scoring. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Visualization is like a form of hypnosis: If you don’t believe in success, it won’t come. Positive thinking is the first step to making sure this method really works. It is the first step to turning dreams into reality.
Remember that life is not only a journey towards goals, it is also a destination in your mind. Visualization can make the process of reaching your goals more enjoyable, as it helps you stay motivated and focused, and adds an element of positivity to your life.
It’s not uncommon for you to have feelings of self-doubt, so don’t beat yourself up about it. However, you need to recognize these doubts as they arise, then shape them into something positive. In this regard you need to practice, so be patient with yourself.

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Turn fantasy into reality. After spending a while or a few days visualizing your goal, make some changes in your life to get closer to it. Just before starting an activity, task or event to achieve a goal or achieve some result to reach the goal, focus on the action scene you are about to perform. Whether it’s a vague goal like “earn more money” or something you can use in your daily life, you can use it before you go to work or before every career opportunity. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

For example, if you are trying to hit a baseball, visualize clearly, step by step, at the right pitch and speed. Watch the ball hit the bat, fly through the air and land on target. Visualize that scene with all your senses: hear the incoming ball, feel its impact and smell the grass on the field.

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Think of a sequence of events that will be required to achieve your goal. Big life changes require a lot of time and focus and involve many small steps. If you are visualizing yourself accomplishing a specific goal or destination, imagine how you would get there. ^{[4] X Research Source} So, if you want to be president, imagine your political activities: campaigning, fundraising, meeting important politicians, and giving Give your first speech.

How does your personality manifest in the situations you imagine?

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Visualize the personal qualities needed to get you there. The dream of becoming the vice president of the company will not be enough. You need to reflect on the qualities that can help you achieve that goal. ^{[5] X Research Resources} Not only imagine being a vice president, you also have to imagine the skills of open communication, assertiveness, sharing, listening, discussion, handling criticism tactfully and respectfully, etc.

Imagine yourself acting the way you are envisioning. So, if you find that a vice president needs to be confident at work, imagine yourself working with confidence in the office.

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Use affirmations to motivate yourself. Visuals work wonderfully, but words are equally beneficial. If you picture yourself in good shape and fit, pacing around in the branch manager’s office, say to yourself: “I have the body I’ve always dreamed of. I’m healthy and I feel great.” If you want to get better at baseball, say something like, “I see the ball. I have a great shot.”

You can repeat the sentence as many times as needed. As long as you believe in it!

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Visualize moments of calm, focus, and comfort. The visualization method only works when you are calm, relaxed, and ready to give yourself time to calm down and not get caught up in the immediate worries. Visualization is a technique very close to meditation, only it is more active and alive. During visualization, you are encouraged to think positively about the possibilities. Meditation, on the other hand, requires you to focus entirely on your dreams and goals and to let go of the extraneous elements.

If possible, make yourself comfortable while visualizing. The visualization process will be much easier if you have less distractions. You can also think more freely in a quiet environment.

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Imagine you are overcoming an obstacle. Obstacles are a natural part of life, and no one in this world achieves success without facing failure. Understand that you will make mistakes, but don’t forget that you can get through. How you get up after falling is more important than how you made a mistake.

Every day, tell yourself, “What can I do today to make tomorrow better?”
A great resource that can help you learn how to overcome obstacles is Carp S. Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychpogy of Success .

Perfecting the visualization technique

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Take the time to get used to the visualization and wait for the results. When you first begin to visualize, it can feel quite strange. ^{[6] X Research Sources} This method seems odd and strange. You will have to get rid of that feeling, and then it will pass! It is natural to feel uncomfortable at first when you are immersed in the world of dreams, but it is only a temporary feeling. If you don’t find it a bit weird, you’re probably not doing it right.

You can only get used to it with practice, and that’s all. The biggest trick here is none other than timing. Like everything else, visualization requires practice. It only seems unbelievable when you’re not determined. Relax, and the strange feeling will disappear! The only thing stopping you from envisioning success is yourself.
Over time, visualization can stimulate the brain in the same way that you are actually acting. This even your brain won’t notice the difference! For example, if you are afraid to sing in front of a crowd, you can imagine yourself singing on stage. This visualization will trick your brain into thinking you’ve had the experience, and the next time you get the chance, you’ll find it easier to get up and sing in front of people. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Focus on long-term goals. If you expect quick change, you will be disappointed. Instead, you need to plan to realize your expectations and dreams over the long term. Imagine where you are in 5, 10 or 15 years and the results you want. How will your situation change, and how will you change yourself? Allow yourself to draw that life in your mind. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

For example, it helps to visualize yourself going to bed earlier or going for a night jog, but visualization can also help you achieve bigger goals. You can imagine what kind of parent you want to be, what legacy you will leave your children, and what kind of person they will be when they grow up.
Imagine what you want to achieve in life, what you will leave behind for your friends and community.

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Create a “vision” board to remind yourself of the life you dream of. It will help you regularly visualize goals. You can create a vision board by pasting a set of pictures and words that describe your goals for the future. That way, you can look at it every day to stay motivated as you pursue the life you want. ^{[9] X Research Source}

For example, if your goal is to open a restaurant, you can put together restaurant photos that you will model for your future restaurant and also the dishes that you will serve. You can also paste pictures of people enjoying their meal.

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Think of goals with affirmations. When it comes to visualization, or just positive thinking, you need to be assertive about what you want to achieve. It won’t really help if you just aim for “no poverty”. So, instead of not wanting to be this way, not wanting that to happen, or not wanting something, focus on what you want, who you are, and what you have. For example, consider statements like “I want to be financially stable,” or “I have the courage to travel the country.” ^{[10] X Research Source}

You also need to think positively and focus on the present. If you’re picturing yourself not to smoke anymore, don’t recite the “I’ll try to quit” mantra. Think more practical, such as “Cigarettes are scary. I don’t want to smoke. It doesn’t do me any good.”

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Be realistic about the goals you envision. When you’re setting goals, avoid having the “all-or-nothing” mindset. If you feel the need to do something perfectly, it will become a mindset that gets in your way. Instead, you should focus on doing the best you can, and be aware of what will happen if you make a mistake.

Let’s say you’re a boxer and trying to envision an upcoming match where you’re completely dominant. You won’t get much benefit from imagining yourself as the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. You won’t meet the standards you set yourself in the ring after all; You will be disappointed and exhausted with yourself. ^{[11] X Research Source}
Instead, visualize your crosses as the deadliest moves you’ve ever had. Imagine your opponent is a sandbag in the gym that you still punch every day. Imagine your coach praising you when you have the best performance of your career

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Visualize from your own perspective. This will help the images in your head appear more realistic, clearer and more workable. Don’t paint your goals and future success like a movie – what you envision should be based on your perspective. ^{[12] X Research Source} You are not the audience in the scene you envision. This is your stage, this is your moment to shine.

For example, if you’re envisioning your future career as a doctor, don’t think about it from the perspective of the patient you’re treating or the coworker sitting in the room. Instead, imagine yourself examining a patient: imagine the stethoscope in your hand and the like.
This experience is called full visualization. It’s as real as if it’s happening right in front of your eyes. It is not an out-of-body experience; it is your future.

Advice

Help others visualize. One of the most precious gifts you can give others is hope, and visualization is part of the hope for better things. Teach others to visualize when you are confident and ready to share your hope.
The visualization method requires practice. If you’re a skeptic, you might think this is just a waste of time. Don’t give up, though, because everyone, including skeptics, can benefit from visualization.
When reading a book without pictures, pick out a few words and visualize them. Gradually, you will be able to visualize everything that you are reading.

Steps

Visualize goals

Perfecting the visualization technique

Advice

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