Visualization

The best way to work towards your goals

Key Insights

  • Use visualization to guide you toward your goals subconsciously
  • It’s quick and easy to do in as little as 5 to 15 minutes
  • Knowing how to make life go your way will most likely make you feel happier
  • Your life is what it’s like because at some level, you have always believed this is how your life would be like
  • Visualization will help you form new beliefs about your life
  • If you don’t consciously choose where to go, your subconscious mind controls your path
  • Willpower alone is not enough to override your subconscious mind

Are You Frustrated About Your Life?

Do you feel like you are stuck? Not getting what you want in life? Are you stressed and anxious about the future?

That is most likely due to the fact that the future seems uncertain to you. Not knowing if things will work out is most definitely going to cause you stress.

That’s where visualization comes in.

Visualizing your goal is extremely helpful for getting what you want. It is a quick and easy method that you can do to guide yourself towards your goals.

As we examine on the page ‘goals’ , when things in life are going the way you want them to go, you are most likely happy. Therefore it might be extremely beneficial for your happiness that you visualize your desired goals on a regular basis. 

Visualization is a powerful tool for manifestation and there are different methods for practicing it, like visualization board and visualization meditation and we’ll explore the latter on this page. 

A quick note before moving on:

For the purposes of what we are trying to achieve, the term subconscious mind is used in a simplified context. There are more levels to the mind than conscious and subconscious, like for example the superconscious and what is sometimes called the supra-conscious (in spiritual practices). But for our purposes and to avoid confusion, think about your mind as divided in two. The conscious mind is everything you are aware of – yourself and your surroundings. Your subconscious mind is everything else.

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions." - Albert Einstein

Do You Know What You Want In Life?

Now I don’t want to be the kind of blogger who offers witty quotes with some nice pictures but no actual substance. Still, I’m going to quote Albert Einstein here in the very beginning of this page, because that particular quote just nails the subject of this page.

All jokes aside, I really don’t have anything against visually appealing quote filled blogs or websites or books or instagram accounts. They can be excellent for that quick boost of motivation or inspiration.

But moving on to the subject, I want you to think about your life for a moment. Think a few years back. Back then, did you imagine this is how your life would be? The first answer will probably be “no, this is NOT the way I imagined my life to be”. But think back further still. Is it really not?

Think back to your childhood. What did your parents, or the people you grew up with, tell you about life? How did it look like everyday life was handled in your home? This is where you picked up your beliefs about life. Maybe you did not consciously think this is how your life would turn out, but you subconsciously guided yourself to where you are now.

It is usually through the power of hindsight that we are able to view our past decisions in a more revealing light. For example I never imagined I would work in a bank. Even less so as a salesman. But looking back now to the years prior to my career in banking, I imagined myself as a suit and tie type of successful person. Going to events no “common” people were invited. Enjoying the abundant lifestyle with lots of friends and parties.

So even though I did not imagine the exact details, my life turned out pretty much as I had visualized it would. My subconscious mind new exactly what was needed to fulfil my dream and guided me to my destination.

Now think again back to your life. I’m sure you can identify some beliefs or thoughts you have had that lead you to where you are now. Think on the broader scheme of things. Have you always thought that life is hard and a struggle to survive? Have you though life is easy? That you can be successful? That you can or can’t find love? That whenever you seem to have made it life hits you with a curve-ball?

Later today and tomorrow and this week, keep thinking about your life. You might be surprised by the obvious (and not so obvious) connections between your thoughts about life and your life as it is. Do you see the connection? 

Now You Can Have The Outcome You Want

This is how life works. Your thoughts about your life (words and actions too) and your beliefs have guided you to where you are now, whether you were trying to get there consciously or subconsciously.

Chances are that up to this point, you have not been consciously choosing what your life will be like. Or you have tried, but the outcome has not been what you wanted. If your life is going exactly the way you want, you probably are reading this by chance or intrigue. In any case, keep reading. There are some good tips here, I promise.

How, then, do you guide yourself to where you want to go? Well first of all, it would be good if you knew where you were going. You should deeply think about different areas of your life and your life in general and determine what you want your life to look like. Setting goals is discussed in more detail here.

After you know where you want to go, you need to get moving. Pretty simple right? Then it is only a matter of finding a way to get to your destination. So getting what you want could be narrowed down to three simple steps:

  1. Decide what you want
  2. Make a plan how to get it
  3. Get moving and follow the plan

Let’s take a look at a really simple example to make a point. Suppose you want to go out and buy some chocolate. Let’s apply the same formula.

  1. Decide that you want chocolate.
  2. Your plan is to buy it from the grocery store
  3. Put on your shoes and start walking towards the store

Now as you start walking you start to think about something that bothers you. There was also something you were supposed to do, but you do not quite remember what it was. You keep walking but do not realize you are lost in your thoughts.

Suddenly, you find yourself at the grocery store. You have arrived at your destination without so much as thinking about it. Well, thinking about it consciously anyway. Subconsciously you knew the way.

You see the metaphor here? This is how it is with all of your life. You decide, either consciously or subconsciously where you want to go. Then you get moving. In fact, it is impossible not to move. Everything is in constant motion and the “moving” in this case is energy in motion. Even if you are not physically moving, the world around you is moving and new opportunities arise every moment for you to go where you want to be.

"You do not have to know the way, your subconscious mind does."

What Everybody Ought To Know About Visualization and Manifestation

So far, this should be pretty standard stuff if you’ve read any “self-help” books or similar material before. But hang on, we’re about to get to the interesting part.

As in the previous metaphor about getting chocolate, you are constantly moving yourself towards your destination and probably doing so while lost in your thoughts. The plan to get where you are going is formed by your subconscious mind on the fly. You do not have to know the way, your subconscious mind does.

Now don’t worry, that’s how things are for most of us. Our conscious mind, ego, loves distractions and getting lost in the never ending flow of thoughts. We do not need to, nor can we, be aware of our thoughts all the time (although knowing what you are thinking is beneficial for weeding out the negative thoughts). We do not even have to pay attention to getting to our goal.

But we need to make sure our subconscious knows where we want to go.

As it happens, we have stumbled upon the decades old formula of getting what you want in life.

So what is this classic formula? As discussed elsewhere on this blog, happiness, for most of us, is a state of being we think we can achieve when we get something we think has been missing in our life.

That’s why over the years there have been so many books and courses and seminars about how to get what you want in life. That in itself is not a problem. You want more money in your life? Great! Go ahead and pursue that goal (will it make you happy is a different story altogether).

In these courses, books and seminars you will often find a description of a formula for getting what you want. Unfortunately, the formula has it’s shortcomings. Otherwise the same method would not be taught over and over again using different words. Indeed, as you are about to learn, the classic formula has a fatal flaw.

The Classic 3 Step Formula For Manifestation

One of my favorite authors is Dr. Alex Loyd who wrote The Healing Codes – one of the most life-changing books I have ever read. Alex writes a blog on his website and in his blog he describes the the classic three-step formula as such (you may notice some similarities to our getting chocolate from the store metaphor):

  1. Set a goal. Decide what you want, typically something in your life about the future
  2. Develop a plan to get what you want
  3. Put the plan into action with your willpower and don’t give up until you get what you want

This is the classic formula for getting what you want. You may have crossed paths with a similar formula before, since this is what over 95 % of the self-help industry has taught over the last decades.

Now this is the interesting part I mentioned earlier:

Unfortunately the classic formula has one flaw, which causes it to fail most of the time.

What is this flaw?

Willpower.

The formula requires you to use your willpower to get to your goal and willpower is something you control consciously. But as we have discovered so far, we make most of our decisions subconsciously each day.

You probably see the contradiction.

Trying to fight your subconscious mind with your willpower is like trying to fight a tiger with a toothpick. Using willpower alone to overwrite your subconscious habits will probably not work. You may have some success and you may reach some smaller goals, but sooner or later you will usually find yourself slipping back into your old habits.

So what can you do?

The Secret Of Creating The Life You Want

Now that we’ve established that your thoughts and beliefs about your life have subconsciously lead you to where you are now, it’s time to start choosing your next steps consciously. This is where imagination comes in.

You will want to let go of using your willpower to drive you towards your goals.

What you want to do instead, is to re-program your subconscious mind to guide you towards your goals.

One of the most efficient ways to do this is visualization meditation. Your subconscious mind does not distinguish between what you actually see in front of you and what you “see” in your imagination. The things you imagine are as real to your subconscious mind, and your body as well, as are the things you encounter physically every day.

Dreams are a good example of this. You are not consciously aware that you are dreaming, yet your mind and body may have very strong reactions to your dreams. Think about a time when you woke up from a nightmare sweating and heart racing, your mind confused and anxious about what has happened. The images in your dreams were not something that was actually happening, but your mind and body reacted in a way as if they were.

The most important principle is, that you should start by having your desired end result in mind.

Do not think about the details or state that you want to get somewhere.

When you are doing the meditation described below, use all your senses to imagine yourself in the desired situation as vividly as possible. What do you see? What do you hear? What does it smell like? Touch something around you. How does it feel? Even taste something if possible. For example imagine drinking a cup of coffee in that new house you are dreaming of.

This applies to everything outside of meditation as well. If you want your subconscious mind to guide you where you want to go, think, speak and do things as if you already have what you are after.

That is the best way to give instructions to your subconscious mind. By starting with the end result.

If you visualize yourself on a journey to happiness, your subconscious mind will provide you with plenty of opportunities to experience the journey – but the happiness will always remain at the end of the journey, just out of your reach.

On the other hand, if you visualize yourself being happy already, your mind will guide you to situations where you can experience the happiness.

Visualization meditation

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    About The Meditation

    I know there are plenty of experts out there, who teach visualizing a very specific outcome. For example if your goal is to get more money, they would teach you to come up with an exact amount and keep it fixed until you have that amount in real life. The analogy often is that it’s like placing an order at a restaurant. If you keep changing your mind about your order every ten seconds, you will never have anything. There’s nothing wrong with this, in fact, you may want to try this method as well.

    But what I’ve found out, is that insisting on an exact outcome shuts out all the other opportunities that might be available for you. If we stick to the restaurant analogy, it’s like deciding on what you are going to eat before you even take a look at the menu, or even look around and see what restaurants are nearby. There might be something even better available than what you might have thought of before.

    So keeping the goal general will open new possibilities for you. The best way to be general about your goal is to focus on the outcome and specifically the feeling you would feel if you had the thing that you wanted. How would you feel if instead of getting that raise you’ve been after at work, you got a whole new job with a bigger salary? Or instead of insisting on winning the lottery, which may or may not happen, you came up with a brilliant idea that allows you to make passive income? These might be equally, or perhaps even more, satisfying outcomes, which you would be ruling out if you insisted on a specific goal.

    Picture the outcome, but don’t insist on it. Always leave room for something even better.

    Preparation

    1. Make sure you know where you want to go. What is your goal? Take a look at this page about goal setting here.
    2. During meditation, focus on the end result. See yourself and your surroundings as if what you want has already happened. Use all of your senses to picture yourself in the situation. Don’t worry about how you will get there.
    3. Release your expectations about the outcome. Don’t insist that this is exactly what must happen.

    Then let’s move on to the meditation exercise itself. Please remember that the exercise here is not intended to be taken as something set in stone. It is supposed to be more of a guideline, meant to be experimented on and applied as best suits your current understanding of the universe. Try things out and see what works for you, as is the case with every exercise and teaching on this website.

    If you haven’t tried this type of meditation before, some of the aspects may seem a bit weird, but just roll with it. The point of this exercise is to instruct your subconscious mind through the power of your imagination, so you will indeed have to stretch your imagination a bit.

    Also don’t worry about the specifics of the practice, like how big your “mental screen” should be or are you picturing it vividly enough. Your intention to change things is plenty of fuel for your subconscious mind to get things moving, provided there’s even the tiniest amount of belief as a foundation.

    Visualization Meditation

    Sit with your back straight but relaxed

    • Sit where you feel comfortable: a chair, a sofa, on a pillow on the floor, it does not matter as long as you are comfortable
    • You do not need to cross your legs, just sit comfortably - the most important thing is that your back is straight
    • Push your chest out slightly
    • Place your hands on your legs with palms facing up.

    Alternatively you can also lie down

    • Lie down on your back with your feet about shoulder-width apart and arms relaxed on your side with palms facing upward

    Close your eyes

    Breathe deeply in and out three times

    Picture a screen about 6ft in front of you

    On this screen, picture yourself in your current situation

    • Make this picture black & white and make it not fill the whole screen
    • This will quite literally “set the scene”

    Now imagine the brightest white light filling the scene, wiping the current picture off

    Picture your goal: See yourself on the screen in a situation where you already have what you are after

    • Fill the whole screen with this image
    • Use ALL of your senses. What do you hear? what do you see? What can you touch, smell and even taste?

    FEEL the feeling you would have if you had all that you are now imagining

    Stay with the scene and feeling as long as you want

    • There is no minimum or maximum time

    When you are done and start to come out of meditation, slowly count down from ten to one

    • As you count down, shift your feeling to gratitude. Be grateful as if what you just visualized has already happened
    • Think in terms like “thank you for letting me have this object/experience/feeling”
    • Release your expectation about the outcome. State that you prefer this outcome, but allow for something even better to happen.

    Warning: If you don't believe it, you won't see it

    Contrary to what you might believe (no pun intended), “I’ll believe it when I see it” is not how life works. As discussed here and on the page about beliefs, you will start seeing transformation in your life once you believe it is possible. In that sense believing is seeing, not the other way around. Connect with what you believe holds the power to guide you to your goal.

    Your subconscious mind is constantly guiding you to where it thinks you want to go. This happens whether you consciously participate in the process or not. But it will require some amount of belief to override your previous subconscious programming. If you don’t believe at all that this will work, then your subconscious mind will keep working with your old beliefs and thought patterns, producing the same old results.

    Here are some ideas you can work with to help yourself believe in the power of visualization:

    • Do you believe that life is physical and there’s nothing mystical about your body and mind? Think of visualization as a way to re-program your mind to find you a way to your goal.
    • Do you believe that you hold the power within you to change your life? Think of visualization as a way to speak to your inner self.
    • Do you believe that you don’t have the power, but there is an entity like God or maybe an angel that can guide you? Then think of visualization as a way to communicate with that entity
    • Do you believe that you are a part of the universe and the universe can  present you with what you are visualizing? Think of visualization as a way to communicate with the universe.

    It doesn’t matter what you believe. It only matters that at some level you can believe in this process. If you can believe it, it can happen. It doesn’t require you to have an unshakeable belief in yourself or a higher power. All that matters is that you have at least the tiniest amount of belief that things can change for you.

    Conclusion

    Visualization is a powerful tool to guide you towards your goals subconsciously. It’s quick and easy to do in as little as 5 to 15 minutes with no previous experience.

    Being uncertain about the future will likely cause you stress. Knowing how to make life go your way will most likely make you feel happier.

    Your life is what it’s like, because at some level, you have always believed this is how your life would be like. Think about your beliefs about life and recognise the connection between your thoughts and how your life is.

    Visualization will help you form new beliefs about your life and you will subconsciously start to think, say and act according to those beliefs.

    If you don’t consciously choose where to go, your subconscious mind controls your path.

    Willpower alone is not enough to override your subconscious mind. Therefore, use methods like visualization to instruct your subconscious mind directly.

    Learn More

    Learn How to Turn Stress and Anxiety into Happiness

      By downloading the eBook you agree to join Happiness On Demand mailing list.

      We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

      Built with ConvertKit

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