Actors do it. Athletes do it. Musicians do it. And, it has nothing to do with sex, drugs and rock n’ roll!
It’s visualization — an extremely powerful technique that can bring success into your life. Whether you’re in search of a new job, have to make a speech in front of 500 people or are running a marathon, visualization gives you the dress rehearsal for success.
While it might sound a little ‘touchy feely’ to some people, it really works. You don’t even have to chant OM.
5 Ways To Visualize Success
- Imagine the successful process and outcome in your mind. If you’re nervous about giving a speech, close your eyes and see yourself walking on stage, all eyes upon you, the audience engaged and loudly clapping at the end. Keep your eyes closed throughout your visualization.
- Do the Story Exercise. Instead of just visualizing your success in your mind, write a story about it. Make it as long as you like. Be specific about what’s going on and how you feel about it. Be descriptive — what do people in the audience look like, how does it feel to be on stage. Putting it on paper taps into your creativity.
- Tell someone about it. Talk to a trusted friend or colleague and tell them about your success visualization. Record your conversation, so that you can go back to it. Putting a voice to it makes the success feel real.
- Always use active ‘voice.‘ Whether you are thinking, writing or speaking your visualization having it happen right now, rather than in the past or future, cements it into your reality.
- Repeat. Imagine again, re-read your story or listen to your recording. Repeating helps imprint the success on your brain.
Most runners I know will visualize coming through the finish line again and again throughout their training. During a run, I’ll visualize the finish and it helps me get through the tough spots.
Why do actors, athletes and musicians do it? It works!
Photo by: GavanMitchell
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Visualization is a great exercise and your reference to running made me realize you don’t have to always visualize something tangible. When racing or even training, I typically visualize how I will “feel” afterwards and that’s what motivates me through it. Thanks for this topic–I never thought about visualizing a “feeling” until today.