When I was in grade 12 I used to look up at the sky, watch for airplanes, see myself getting on and off planes as I run after planes in different airports (at the time running to catch a plane seemed so uber cool).
I had no clue what I was doing but I so badly wanted to travel, go to exotic places, dance in the Caribbean and meet amazing people that I started pretending that was my life.
I kept imagining how awesome life in varsity would be, chilling with artists, reciting poetry in semi lit bars, smoking weed and connecting with diverse friends from all walks of life.
Imagine my shock when I got to varsity and all the things I'd imagined started to come to pass!
And then I started traveling and found myself running after planes in different airports except that wasn’t as much fun as I'd imagined because I’ve missed my fair share of flights in foreign countries.
It wasn’t until I was in business school (8 years later) and struggling financially that I discovered “The Secret” and learned that all my imaginings were visualization.
To this day when I feel stuck on the “how” of things I just imagine the outcome and focus on that until a bright idea comes to mind.
What is visualization?
Visualization is simply imagining something you want to happen and focusing on that vision.
The most important thing is to believe this vision has already happened, to feel all the excitement and positive emotions you’ll feel when that vision comes to pass and to feel it as though it’s happening now.
Your emotions during visualization are important because they make the vision feel real for your subconscious mind.
Negative emotions such as fear and despair introduce resistance to the visualization process and delay the outcome in the material plane because the subconscious mind gets conflicting messages.
When we feel fear during visualization, our subconscious registers the vision as dangerous and chooses to continue protecting us by blocking its manifestation.
When we feel gratitude, the subconscious registers the vision as joyous and the mind becomes open to ways to make the vision real.
During the visualization process it's important to feel like the vision has happened and to feel absolute gratitude for your life in that moment.
Gratitude is the most powerful emotion you can feel when you want to manifest something.
Why Visualization Doesn’t Always Work
1. Not taking action
If you keep visualizing something but never take action to make the vision a reality, it'll take forever to materialize.
At the end of the day, action is necessary because we haven’t yet reached the stage of evolution where we can just make things happen through thought alone.
2. Not getting emotional during visualization process
Visualization works best when you do it with positive feelings, if you feel fear or guilt as you visualize an outcome, you send mixed messages to the subconscious mind, which can make it difficult to take action because the mind feels that the outcome isn’t safe.
The more grateful you feel about the outcome, the faster it’s likely to happen.
3. Belief in the vision
When you’re trying to make the impossible possible, everything hangs on a single variable: faith.
You have to believe that what you’re visualizing has already happened.
I sometimes find this difficult but I always tell myself how awesome the experience was so I make myself believe it’s already happened, which in a way makes taking action much easier.
You have to imagine everything as though it's happening in the present moment and make your mind believe the vision has come to pass so the vision is embedded in your mind as a memory that feels possible.
How has visualization changed your life?
What tips can you share with us?
Let me know in the comments section below.
