Recently I have started incorporating a visualization technique into my life. It is by no means a new technique, in fact it’s ancient, but until the past few years I can’t say it has been a regular part of my life. How often do you take a moment to visualize your goals?
I think most of us would probably agree that it usually takes a lot more than just visualization to make your dreams come true, but have you considered how truly powerful it can be? Practicing meditating or visualizing a goal in your mind’s eye can be very powerful!
This technique has taken on a whole new meaning for me, and it wasn’t something I planned. Remember those bootcamp classes I’ve been talking your ear off about? Well I started to use visualization during my class. Have you ever been working out or doing a tenuous task and tried counting specks on the ground, seconds that go by, or cracks in the ceiling? Whatever you can to try and focus on anything but how much you mentally hated or were struggling with what you were doing. I have many times!
Often counting, and doing other desperate attempts to get my mind off of things like how much I hated running just made it mentally worse for me. I was trying SO hard not to think about it that ALL I could do was think about it, making me more and more miserable in the process, and wearing me down mentally.
One day while at bootcamp we were doing a plank pose, basically like doing a push up at the point your arms are straight and holding it there in that position. This particular time we were increasing our hold from the 1 minute we had previously done to 2 minutes. Despite the fact that I had wished that our instructor did not give us that piece of information until after we performed it. I think just knowing ahead of time made me more mentally tired going in!
Anyway, as you would probably guess half way through it was an extreme struggle to maintain holding the plank position. I was trying to do all sorts of things to distract my mind from how freaking hard it was, and was failing at it miserably because that is ALL I was thinking about. Then as if magic I switched gears and in my mind visualized how strong I wanted my body to be. That simple technique saved me and gave me exactly the strength I needed to plow through the rest of time remaining in the pose.
It worked so well I decided to start doing it with every exercise I found difficult and struggled with. The power of visualizing for me has been HUGE. I no longer focus on something difficult in an extremely negative light, which was only brining me down and working against me. I now visualize my goal. Visualizing makes the hard work towards achieving your goal more manageable, rewarding, and uplifting.
This can carry over across the board to many aspects of your life. Focusing on and visualizing your goal in a positive light, instead of concentrating on what is so hard or unlikable about it, makes getting to your goal a much more pleasant journey and helps give you the endurance for the long haul!
Next time you need a pick-me-up, like I needed so badly in that plank pose, visualize the goal, the positive part about why you are working so hard. I think you’ll find visualizing the goal makes the journey more achievable, and more beautiful in the process. Don’t let your mind work against you and stop you from achieving what you want, focus on and visualize the positive through the toughest spots, and you’ll be happier in the process because your journey is NOW!
What helps you get through tough moments?
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