Visualization – Believe It, Manifest It

By Janet Terban Morris - Esteemed Woman

From the Biblical Book of Proverbs: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Have you ever imagined a situation over and over in your mind? Pictured it continually so it became almost real? You have the power to visualize yourself in positive confident ways. You have the power to see yourself as a success in your mind’s eye and to make it real. Your mind can’t differentiate between reality and virtual reality. Over time, what you imagine can become so engrained that you can actually manifest it and incorporate it into your life.

"I desperately wanted to overcome my panic feelings and my fear of public speaking. I would try to imagine getting up and speaking before an audience. I would panic at just the thought. Little by little, I started to visualize getting up there. After a while it got easier. Then I started to imagine myself on television, on the Today Show, talking about over-coming the fear of public speaking. The more I visualized a success, the less I panicked at the thought. I began to relax and imagine the lights, the cameras, the questions. I pictured in my mind how I looked and felt all in positive terms. The first time I actually went on television I was very comfortable. It was almost like déjà vu. I had been there before so many times in my mind. It had to go well, because I had rehearsed this over and over again. I had to feel calm and comfortable because I had practiced being calm and comfortable in this situation. It wasn’t the Today Show, but I was in front of the cameras for a half hour talking about public speaking. And I didn’t panic."

J.T.M.

EXERCISE: PRACTICING VISUALIZATION

  1. Get comfortable. Relax. Breathe.
  2. Choose a goal for yourself. Start with small steps and simple goals that will be easy to achieve. As you become comfortable with the practice, you can set more challenging goals for yourself. You may start out wanting to feel good about yourself, to be able to voice your opinion, or to challenge a particular fear you have.
  3. Take one step at a time – in small manageable steps.
  4. Create a picture in your mind of being there – in your goal situation. Picture feeling like a success. Imagine how you feel. See yourself there as if it is happening now, not in the future.
  5. Give yourself positive messages and feedback in the form of affirmations, or positive statements in the present tense. Statements that say "I am successful", "I am comfortable with who I am" or "I am a strong, confident person who has important things to say" will enhance the visualization process.
  6. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE.

With constant practice and reinforcement, your virtual reality becomes reality. By strengthening your core beliefs you will be empowered to succeed at anything you "set your mind to."