“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” -Albert Einstein
The term, Visualization, has gotten a lot of publicity in self-improvement circles. And with good reason. Being able to get a clear mental image of what you want, of your goal achieved, is integral to actually making it happen. The debate recently has centered on what actually happens, in and around us, when we visualize.
Some say that getting a clear picture of our goal in our mind causes our thoughts to vibrate at a certain frequency. That frequency then resonates with our goal, at a the same frequency, which causes it to be attracted to us. I’m not one of the cynics that screams, “shenanigans,” when someone expresses such a theory. However, I believe that teaching someone to use visualization in such a way is doing them a great disservice.
I also believe that it takes away a portion of someones personal power by giving your goals over to frequencies. My take is slightly less exciting, but I’ve found that it is much more useful in accomplishing anything you might want to do. When you visualize your end result with as much detail as possible, I believe that your mind begins looking for ways to make that picture a reality.
Because it is now tuned-in to making that happen, things are let through your mind’s filter to the level of your attention. Things that you may not have noticed in the past. As those things are called to your attention, a connection is made in your brain between what you have visualized and an opportunity to realize what you have thought.
A simple example is my former colleague, Billy. He had shared with me his frustration around relationships. He never could find the right person and he was convinced that maybe there wasn’t someone for him. I began asking him describe the girls that hadn’t worked out. After a few descriptions, I asked him what the perfect girl would look like.
- What would they do together?
- What kind of hobbies did she have?
- Did they share the same taste in music?
- Did she come from a big family?
- Stuff like that…
After several questions, he had described a girl that you would think he had known his entire life. He nailed down her favorite color and flower by the time we called it a night. Needless to say, he was very clear. Two weeks later, he called me from his office in upstate New York. During lunch at the local deli he had frequented for six years, he noticed the woman behind the counter because of her bright purple shirt. She was beautiful and he decided to strike up a conversation.
Turns out…she had owned the deli for seven years and had likely served Billy hundreds of lunches. He wanted to let me know that they had gone out on two dates and she was almost the exact girl he had described during our night out. It wasn’t totally perfect though…he envisioned a girl who loved irises and she was most fond of sunflowers. Billy was thrilled, I was a little freaked out, but these things happen all of the time.
The only reason we don’t notice the connections is because we aren’t consciously creating our visions. Once Billy had gone through the process of intentionally describing what he wanted, he became more conscious of the things around him that aligned with that vision. The same can happen for you. Last I knew, Billy was celebrating his third wedding anniversary. And I’m sure it was just as he had pictured.
Be your best,
PJ
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