Are You Creating Obstacles Instead of Goals? How to Use Visualization to Achieve Success

At this point in the collective evolution, visualization is pretty widely accepted as a powerful tool to help you reach your goals. It was brought further into mainstream acceptance by top level athletes who were vocal about using it to enhance their game and reach the top levels of success in their sport.

There was a pretty cool study done

They took basketball players and split them into three groups. All three groups shot free throws and the results were recorded. Then, Group 1 practiced free throws for a specified period of time, Group 2 visualized making free throws for a specified period of time, and Group 3 did nothing, and then shot and recorded results again.

No notable change for Group 3 – no surprise, as they were the “do nothing” group. The interesting part, though, is that Groups 1 and 2 both improved by about the same amount! Physically shooting the free throws and shooting them just in their minds (via visualization) produced the same level of improvement.

I dunno about you, but I’m a big YES to any way I can leverage the same tactics and techniques that pro athletes and Olympians – people with access to the best of the best info and research – use to reach their goals to help me reach mine. The problem for me was, I kept (unintentionally) using it to reach new problems, instead of my goals.

Here’s how it would go…

• I’d start to visualize reaching my big goals. I’d visualize how life would look, and the big wins I’d have. But then…
• My brain (ego) would start balking. It would start saying, but wait a minute, HOW?! How are you going to do that? How are you going to make that payment? How is that going to become available? How are you going to earn that? How, how, how…TELL ME HOW!
• My brain wanted to close the HOW loop, so now I take a pause from visualizing my goals as already realized and start trying to piece together how, specifically, I’ll achieve each part.
• Now problems abound! “I don’t want that kind of a payment! There are no houses for sale in that neighborhood! I don’t even know how to do that! I don’t have the time for that!” On and on it went, problem after problem.
• I’d officially transitioned from visualizing my goals as realized to solving problems…THAT DON’T EVEN EXIST in the moment. Energy tanked. Mood soured. Frustrated.

Do you relate?

When you try to visualize yourself into your dream reality, do you start solving problems that don't even exist, so aren't even solvable? Does your brain (and ego) take the mic and start demanding you answer the question: HOW?! Does it demand to have all the details that outline specifically how you’ll get from where you sit today to where you are in that visualization?

Here’s what to do about it:

When you carve out time to visualize, give yourself full permission to enjoy your goal as realized without answering the question of HOW you’ll get there. Remind yourself that the HOW isn’t a part of this exercise. The HOW can and will be handled, another day, another way, but it’s not part your visualization process.

If giving yourself permission to take the HOW out of the process still isn’t allowing you to visualize your goals and dreams as realized, moving you into a high vibe state, feeling the feelings you’ll feel when you reach those goals, try scaling back.

The goal of visualization is to make the unfamiliar familiar, which settles your fear responses to all that comes up in real life, as you take the actions you'll need to take to make your goal your reality. Your brain doesn't know the different between real vs. imagined events, which is why it sometimes rebels really hard when you're simply trying to imagine your dream as realized. 

If your brain (and ego) keep balking, it’s because they aren’t bought into the dream. They don’t believe you can reach it. They demand an explanation, damnit! Instead of trying to explain and provide the HOW that's being demanded, try simply scaling back the big vision to bring them on board.

Examples:

• If you’re trying to visualize the multi-million-dollar home you’ll own, how about starting with visualizing the home you live in how with some wonderful upgrades that you'd genuinely enjoy. The furniture you’ve always wanted or the remodel that you’d love.
• If your ego can’t get on board with your dream car, how about just a slightly upgraded version of what you’ve got now?
• If your ego won’t buy into the multi-week Mediterranean vacation, how about just a long weekend in your favorite regional city?

As long as whatever your visualizing brings about positive feelings and emotions, and leaves you in a high vibe state, you're on the right track. It doesn't matter if it's the Mitterrandian or just across town, all that matters is how it leaves you feeling. 

Visualization is a tool, but it’s also a skill, and skills require practice.

If you’re struggling with visualization, don’t make the mistake of tossing it out as a tool that "doesn't work for me." Start small and scale up. Flex the muscle over and over again, and it will get stronger. Practice visualization. Give yourself the opportunity to get better. Let yourself reap the benefits of a totally free tool that even the pros use to reach their goals.