I used to scoff at visualization as being nothing more than New Age crap! I was wrong.
Now, it’s true that there’s an endless supply of authors and motivational speakers that say all you have to do is put up a vision board or visualize whatever you desire, and presto, magically, it will appear. Well, I don’t know about that, but visualization is a powerful tool that can work FOR us or AGAINST us, and if you doubt this, you can observe the evidence through the power of self-observation.
I say through “self-observation” because we practice visualization all the time, only we don’t realize it … and the fact is that on a subconscious level, we frequently visualize many experiences before they actually occur.
And here’s the thing: science has proven that the human nervous system is incapable of distinguishing between an actual experience and the same experience that’s vividly imagined.
In other words, through our imagination and through visualization, we create virtual experiences all the time.
If you doubt this, consider the effect of worrying.
Worrying perfectly illustrates how we create a “synthetic” experience by imagining and visualizing an UNDESIRABLE outcome.
When we worry about an imagined future event, for example, what are we actually doing?
Well, we’re projecting ourselves mentally, emotionally, and even physically into a negative situation that hasn’t even occurred.
If you think visualization doesn’t work, or if it’s just an overhyped self-help gimmick, consider how we often worry so intensely that we actually make ourselves physically sick.
The fact is, if we worry intensely enough about failure, for example, we will experience the same physical, mental and emotional reactions that accompany the real-life experience of failure.
As far as our minds and bodies are concerned, we failed. And if we worry about a particular problem long enough, if we concentrate and visualize failure intensely enough, we will fail! Guaranteed!
If you think about it, worry is nothing more than the negative use of our creative imagination. It’s nothing but a vividly imagined, negative outcome …. it’s a synthetic experience; in fact, it can’t be anything other than a synthetic experience because it hasn’t actually happened!
The person who worries about failure is unwittingly defeating himself in advance. He’s literally “creating” his own future by feasting on a banquet of negative data.
Whether we realize it or not, we regularly practice visualization and self-actualization all the time.
Think about that. Don’t take my word for it, but hasn’t that been your observation?
Show me a worrywart who doesn’t reflect the results of negativity. Or, on the other hand, show me a highly motivated, positive, enthusiastic person who doesn’t tend to enjoy positive outcomes.
Each of us is ultimately the product of our thoughts, and by CONSCIOUSLY choosing to visualize our desired outcomes, we can control our experiences and our environment to an astonishing degree.
Whether we choose to consciously chart our course through life or leave it to chance and circumstance, the choice is entirely up to us.