Visualizing Success
What is Visualization?
Visualization is a technique which you can employ to improve your attitude and thus attain success. This is an activity that many successful businessmen, athletes, celebrities, and musicians employ as a means of increasing their success – even though a lot of them might not realize that what they are doing is actually visualization.
The idea of visualization is explored in fascinating detail in the book Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. This book is essential to all those who are interested in attitude development.
For our purposes, we will take a look at visualization in a nutshell, with an eye towards using it in our day to day lives for the purpose of attitude development. If you want to be successful in your career, then you have to practice going through your day to day motions in your mind before. Visualize yourself in a position of prominence and power – a position that you would like to one day attain. How you “see” and “hear” yourself in your mind is how you will actually begin to act in your day to day life.
In addition to hearing and seeing yourself in your visualization, it is vital that you bring all of your senses in to your vision. The more real your visualizations become, the more effective they will be in the real world.
How often should I practice Visualization?
If you want to get positive results, then you have to practice visualization a lot. It is like anything else in life – in order to get good at something, you have to practice. You do not just arrive there over night. Olympic athletes spend years preparing for their moment of glory. It is like this in every profession, actually.
Set aside a time in your schedule each day when you know you will not be interrupted. You should make sure you are in a place where you feel completely relaxed and are all alone. The next step is to make sure you are in a comfy position. It is best to employ one of three traditional meditative positions. One of them is simply lying down on a bed or in a comfortable position on the floor with your legs uncrossed and your arms lying on your side.
Another is to sit Indian style on the floor with your back straight up; your palms should be resting on your knees, and your first finger and palm should be touching. Or you can sit in a chair upright, making sure your posture is straight and your palms are facing upwards resting on your knee; again, your thumb and first finger should be touching. Whatever position you decide to use, just make sure that your legs and your arms are not crossed.
How will Visualization work for me?
The answer to this question depends on who you are and where you see yourself going in life. The key to visualization lies in remembering the simple fact that thoughts are objects. However you are currently performing in your day to day life corresponds to how you see yourself performing – cause conditions effect, in other words. This is why it is vital to spend a lot of time in your own mind visualizing yourself at the height of success in your profession. It is even more important than your actual job performance, since your job performance will only increase via visualization.
Once you have defined what your career goals are and are actually able to “see” them in your mind as though they were right in front of you or currently happening to you with as many senses as possible, only then will you physically arrive at that point – and it will happen with lightning fast precision!
How long will it take Visualization to work?
In order for visualization to really work, your mind has to be fine tuned to know how to use it. This is why you should never lose track of time – in fact, your ability to always “be in the present” is going to be a major factor in determining your attitude and your subsequent success.
Visualization is a process – it is not merely a means to an end. This is why it is always good to start slow. In the beginning, use visualization as a tool for achieving small things. Then, over time, as your visualization skills improve and you are able to “experience” things fully with all five senses, the content of your visualization – and your goals – will grow on its own.
Whatever problems you may have in your professional life, try to “visualize” it as otherwise – without those problems. Only then will you be able to find ways to overcome the obstacles holding you back.
