Science has shown how visualization really can help you to manifest your desires, so read on to find out how you can create the life of your dreams with simple exercises.
It’s hard to believe that visualization exercises really have the power to change our lives. But in fact, visualization can transform our brains and make us more likely to achieve our goals. Science has proved it!
The science behind visualization
Many scientists and psychologists have recently become interested in the field of visualization and it has been tested in sports psychology for many years. Here are some of the things that science has found out about visualization.
Australian Psychologist Alan Richardson divided a group of basketball players, divided into 3 groups and tested each player’s ability to make free throws.
Each group was told to prepare in a different way.
Group 1 practised 20 minutes every day, while Group 2 did not practice but was instead told to visualize themselves making free throws. Group 3 did neither practice or visualization.
Unsurprisingly, the group that practised did improve, however, astonishingly, the group that only visualized making the free throws without ever touching a ball nearly matched the first group in their improvement. Unsurprisingly, the 3rd group experienced no change in their ability.
In another study, Guang Yue, an exercise psychologist from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, compared people who went regularly to the gym with people who carried out virtual workouts in their heads.
While the group who went to the gym increased their muscle by 30% the visualization only group achieved a 13.5 % increase. This is a truly incredible result considering this group did not additional exercise at all.
How can we use visualization exercises?
These remarkable results show that visualization is nearly as good as practice and as we can visualize much more easily than practising in many areas of our lives this is great news for helping us achieve our goals.
Visualization exercises are not just helpful in achieving exercise goals, though. They can work in any area of our lives. We can use visualization to help us be healthier, more confident, more successful and even less shy.
You don’t have to believe in any spiritual ideas for visualization to work. It is a simple neurological process that anyone can do.
How do they work?
When we visualize a future process or goal, the brain instructs our neurons to “perform” the action. This lays down a new neural pathway — clusters of neurons that create memories and learned behaviours — and that prepares our body to act consistently with what we imagined.
In essence, our brain doesn’t actually know the difference between actually performing a task or mentally performing it – it behaves the same either way. This is how we can improve our performance without even leaving our armchair.
Try the following simple visualization exercises to start creating the life of your dreams.
1. Basic visualization technique
Pick a goal that you would like to achieve. This may be a successful interview or date, to get fit, to improve a relationship or any other goal you wish to achieve.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself enjoying the outcome of the goal. Imagine yourself feeling great after a successful date or interview, or chatting with colleagues at a party, or hearing the applause after your presentation. Try to use all of your senses in this visualization. Picture the scene, hear the sounds, even feel the sensations.
It doesn’t matter if you can’t imagine it in much detail. The most important thing is to feel the emotions and experiences as if they were already true.
When you have pictured your goal as clearly as you can, turn it over to your higher self or subconscious and let go of your need and desire.
Now get on with your life as normal, but be open to whatever opportunities arise. This will help you change, grow and move toward your goals.
2. Multi-perspective visualization
In this visualization, you do the same as in the above exercise, however, you then move on to picture the scene from multiple viewpoints.
You can imagine you are in the audience watching your presentation and clapping in appreciation. Or you can imagine you are the colleague smiling because you are having such a fascinating conversation. You could even imagine yourself being interviewed or TV or reading about your success in a newspaper.
3. Act as if
In your everyday life, begin to act as if you are the person you dream of becoming. If you want to be an entrepreneur, start dressing like one and doing the kinds of things entrepreneurs do. If you want to be healthier, start wearing running shoes.
Begin to live as if you have actually succeeded in your goal.
4. Create a dream collage
Buy yourself a corkboard or create a computer file or Pinterest Board. Begin to collate images of your ideal life. Stick in any pictures that show possessions, goals and experiences you want to achieve. You can also pin words that describe how you want to feel.
Take time every day to look at your board and absorb all the images and feelings.
5. Ideal Scene
Writing out your “ideal scene” is another popular visualization exercise that can be very effective.
Pick a goal or a life situation you would like to improve. Now sit down with a piece of paper and pen or a new computer document and write out how that situation would look if everything was happening exactly as you want it to. Describe your scene in the present tense, as if it already exists, in as much detail as you wish.
Now sit quietly and visualize your ideal scene. Read through and meditate on your ideal scene every day until you have achieved your desires.
Closing thoughts
After your visualization, it is worth repeating the following affirmation.
“This or something better is now manifesting for me for the highest good of all concerned.”
Repeat these visualization exercises as often as you can to keep the goal fresh in your mind.
However, try to think about them without emotions such as neediness and desperation. Stay open to all the possibilities that the world has to offer and know that you will soon manifest the right ones for you.
Thought provoking