778-728-7322 [email protected]
Visualizing Your Path to Success

Visualizing Your Path to Success

Setting goals is the first step towards success. They provide us with a purpose and point us in the right direction. Realizing and achieving our goals takes a lot of work and determination. Unfortunately, many of us get stuck at the goal stage, and can’t seem to convert our goals into reality. Why is that?

For many, setting goals stops there. It’s a one-dimensional thought. We write our goals on a piece of paper and hope for the best. However, our good intentions are short-lived; because we can’t visualize what achieving that goal actually looks like, deep down inside, we don’t believe we can achieve it.

Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction is attracting to our life what we give attention, energy, and focus to, whether positive or negative. In its essence, it simply means that we attract to our lives what we look for.

Therefore, if we are continuously worrying about being, or expecting to be, let down, we will be. Similarly, if we carry a positive attitude and visualize a positive outcome, then we begin to ‘see’ the possibility of achieving it. When this happens, our subconscious energy motivates us to do our best, in whatever we are doing, in order to achieve those positive results and reach our goals.

“It is important to understand that visualization is a natural skill of yours.” Innately, our mind naturally thinks in pictures and images. The key to living the law of attraction is visualizing a mental image of future events.

Our thoughts direct our energy where they need to be. When we focus our thoughts on our current situation, we tend to recreate, replay, and relive that current reality. By visualizing a different set of circumstances in our minds from our current reality, we redirect our energy to a different path or course, and consequently, recreate a new reality.

The power of visualization is a philosophy. In fact, many successful people and famous athletes have used the power of visualization to achieve success. An example of a celebrity who is a supporter of positive affirmations and visualization is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah recognized from a very young age that she wanted more for herself. She reminded herself every day that her life would be better. “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” And that is what she has done.

Benefits to Visualization

There are many benefits that come with visualizing the life of your dreams. For one, visualizing helps us overcome limiting beliefs. At some point in our lives, many of us have doubted our skills and ability to succeed – perhaps this meant shying away from opportunities because we worried about things not going well. When we spend time worrying about what we are afraid of, who we shouldn’t trust, and/or what we are insecure about, we are ruminating and reinforcing our worries to our subconscious mind. Undeniably, we are recreating a clear, negative mental image of what we are most afraid of; hence we become frozen in fear. Instead, visualize an ideal outcome to help shape your perception of your current reality. When you exercise positive visualization, you can change your subconscious mind from thinking, ‘I can’t’ to ‘I already am.’

Secondly, when we change our mind’s focus from a negative thought to a positive one, we visualize an encouraging and motivating mindset. Once we know what we want and envision our future, it is easier to find the inspiration and enthusiasm to strive for more. The power of visualization is an extra kick-in-the-butt. It is easier to get up in the morning and truly work hard when we know what we are getting up against and can see the end results or the fruits of our labor. Therefore, visualize to actualize.

Lastly, visualization helps to improve our self-esteem. Similar to overcoming self-limiting beliefs, when we imagine becoming the best version of ourselves and achieving success, we boost our self-esteem in the same fashion – it makes us think about what we are capable of doing, which raises our confidence and self-respect.

So, how do positive thinkers really apply the law of attraction to achieve their success?

Here are two common visualization practices that you can attempt in order to overcome limiting beliefs, change your focus from negative to positive in order to motivate yourself, and increase your self-esteem.

VISION BOARDS

Vision boards are probably the most commonly practiced visualization technique. Vision boards are a way of honing in the mental laws of success and visualization, including the Law of Attraction. By its very nature, vision boards remind us of our hopes, dreams, and desires. This physical and tangible object portrays our wants and needs, which are important to have when we are visualizing our success. It is a constant reminder to focus on our goals and helps us create a clear mental image of the future life of our dreams.

Law of Attraction Vision Boards are easy to make – flip through your favorite magazines and collect images and phrases that speak to you. After you think you have collected a sufficient amount of pictures and words, glue them onto a board and place them where you are likely to see them every day. Don’t fret about gluing every single desire on your board before posting it. Consider it as a work-in-progress, because of course; your desires may change over time. You will, however, over time see which images and phrases stick around, as others change. Vision boards give you something positive to work towards.

AFFIRMATIVE TOKENS

If you are a symbolic person, consider giving yourself affirmative tokens, which remind you of what you are working for. Take Jim Carrey – in 1985, he issued himself a $10 million check for “acting services rendered,” which he post-dated 10 years. He kept this check in his wallet to serve as a reminder for himself for what it is he wanted to achieve.

Granted, you don’t have to go as far as writing yourself a 10 million-dollar check. However, affirmative tokens can be anything that is meaningful to you. For instance, if one of your dreams is writing a New York Times Best Seller, it may be a good idea to print out a potential cover for your next, new book and keep that image in your wallet. If your book has not yet been published or printed, or if you have not even started writing it, having a physical token you can keep with you as a reminder for what you truly want to achieve, is a powerful tool.

So, there you have it – two common visualization practices.

Lastly, let’s talk about intention. “Nothing happens on this planet without it,” claims Jim Carrey. “Not one single thing has been accomplished without intention.”

To take positive visualization even further, we have to consider its physical form – our actions. If we live our lives with the intention to succeed and take the necessary actions to reach our goals, we are taking steps closer to achieving them.

Therefore, on a daily basis, look at your vision board. Touch, feel, and absorb your affirmative tokens and envision the feelings you will have once you achieve your dreams. Remember that you create your own path to success. Then, buckle down, work really hard, and make that goal a reality. 

To learn more about emotional intelligence and how it benefits your organization, sign up for our biweekly newsletter here, where you will receive our latest updates, an inventory of resources, and much more!

If you need help paving the path to success for your organization or for yourself, book a call with us here; we’d love to listen and provide support in any way we can.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and Instagram to keep up with our latest blogs!

What is Mindful Leadership?

What is Mindful Leadership?

Nowadays it is so easy to get caught up in the stress, noise, and excitement of the modern world.  We are constantly being bombarded by billboards, commercials, and jingles all vying for our attention. Add to that our reliance on our smartphones and the nonstop status updates and tweets, and it seems we never have a moment to ourselves.  It might feel like you’re thinking about a million things at once.

Day in and day out, it slowly takes its toll, to the point where it can feel almost overwhelming.  And how do we react?  Sometimes we seem distant and preoccupied, sometimes we get high-strung and irritable, and sometimes, in worst case scenarios, it keeps us up all night.

We’ve all heard the saying that ‘a mind is a terrible thing to waste’, and I know what you’re thinking.  “Of course it’s a terrible thing to waste! And I’m definitely NOT wasting mine, just look at how busy I am!”

 

But have you ever thought about how you use it?

What if I told you there was a way to train and develop your mind in order to better overcome stress and live in the moment?

There is a trend in business towards what is called Mindful Leadership, which isn’t about what we necessarily focus our attention on, but how we focus it.  It is about paying active attention to our own thoughts and feelings and being present in the moment.  Practising mindful leadership cannot only reduce stress but increase your creativity and well being, while also optimizing your emotional intelligence.

How?

The key to mindful leadership is meditation.  But that doesn’t mean you have to spark the incense and contort your body into the lotus position, or anything like that. It can be as simple and easy as taking a 5-minute breather in your office. But it does take some practice.

The first step (and often the hardest) is that you have to clear your mind.

On paper, it might sound easy, but it can be surprisingly difficult to keep all those little nagging thoughts from bubbling up.  Closing the eyes helps because it eliminates any visual distractions, and can help you focus better.  You need to relax, preferably in a quiet room, although with practice you may be able to filter noises out through concentration.

The second step is breathing.

It is important to breathe deeply and fully, ideally, each breath in and out should take about 5 seconds each.  Try to breathe through your diaphragm, not the lungs, as we usually do.  You know you’re doing it right when you see your stomach move in and out with each breath, instead of your shoulders rising and falling.

With practice, it will become more natural to you, and you will be able to maintain the meditation for longer and longer periods of time.  And upon your return to the waking world, you will feel much more alert and refreshed.  If you look at your brain like it’s a computer, a quick meditative period can be likened to a quick reset, giving your mind a much-needed break.

The benefits of meditation can be quite amazing.  Along with an improvement in your overall wellbeing, you will develop a greater clarity of mind that will help you deal with stress more effectively.  It will also allow you to be able to focus your attention on the here and now, which will not only increase your self-awareness but strengthen your connection with others as you become a more capable and inspiring leader.

Interested in learning more about mindful leadership and emotional wellbeing? Check out our blog post, Improving Your Wellbeing with Self Management and Emotional Intelligence for tricks on how EQ competencies tie into wellbeing and self care. You can also connect with us and tell us what’s on your mind.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with our blogs!