Achieving Your Dreams Through Positive Visualization

{Originally published in Romantically Speaking (Rhode Island Romance Writers), May, 2008. Written by yours truly. 😉 }

The power of visualization is not a new concept; it has been successfully implemented for more years than we can know. But how can we use it most effectively? How can we move beyond simple daydreaming, into the realm of making our dreams come true through the power of our thoughts?

Before you dismiss me as crazy, recall a few famous examples of successful people who have used positive visualization to accomplish their goals. Every time Tiger Woods gets ready to hit the ball, he pictures the ball going into the hole. Simple, right? He allows no other picture to enter his mind—only success.

Dr. John Gray advanced his career by visualizing himself speaking in front of a crowd of thousands, even if there were fifty people in his workshop. Now he’s an internationally known author and speaker.

Perhaps the most famous example is Jim Carrey’s story. While struggling to make an acting career for himself, and long before he was ever paid the big bucks, Jim Carrey wrote a check to himself for ten million dollars. He told himself the check was payment for acting services, and postdated the check for Thanksgiving, 1995, many years after writing the check. Imagine his surprise when just before Thanksgiving, 1995, he signed a contract for—you guessed it—ten million dollars. It all began with him doing work for free and visualizing success.

If this still sounds whacked out to you, please imagine that your mind is a computer. It “listens” to information that is programmed into it. So if you think negatively, or doubt your impending success, then negativity is what comes out, just as if a programmer had messed up his code.

Based on research and intuition, my belief is that you need to not only imagine success, but feel it, believe it, and get excited about it. I think of this in the same way as the old writing adage “show, don’t tell.” Writing yourself a check isn’t going to make you achieve—It is simply a tool used to help focus your mind in order to create a reality.

Let’s take it a step further. For the first few times of practicing the “showing” aspect, I recommend finding a comfortable, solitary area, where you can relax. Close your eyes and imagine that you are a character in your own book (after all, we are the authors of our own lives!) Imagine yourself in the situation which you’d like to be a reality. Let’s use publication as an example. You really, really want it, right? So close your eyes and see yourself writing your book. Feel the keyboard under your fingers (or pen in hand), hear the tapping of each keystroke, see the words filling the page. Now see yourself mailing the completed manuscript off to an agent or editor. Taste the envelope as you lick it to seal, feel the cold metal of the mailbox as you open it, hear the sound of the envelope dropping. See the agent clearly in your mind, holding your manuscript, reading it with deep interest. Imagine her smile as she realizes that she has found a gem, the perfect manuscript at the perfect time. Now see yourself reading the acceptance letter. Feel your heart racing, the adrenaline pumping through your body as your dreams are coming true.

Now delve even deeper and feel the excitement as you open the package that holds your author copies. See your name on the cover. Open the book to see your dedication, your words in print. Smell the new book, feel the paper in your hands. See yourself surrounded by your friends and family, all of them congratulating you for achieving your dreams. See yourself at a book signing, hear the compliments your fans are giving you. You can take the visualization as far as you’d like. Imagine yourself speaking in front of hundreds at a conference, see your name on the bestseller list, feel the joy of cashing that six digit advance check, hear your agent’s voice telling you that your manuscript is up for bid at auction. The more you believe these things, the more excited you will feel as you visualize, and the more you will act to achieve your goal.

(Edited to add: Not a writer? That’s fine! You can use this technique to help you achieve absolutely anything! Want to buy a house? Change careers? Become healthier? Visualize it and then take steps toward that goal!)

You’ll need to picture your personal scenario frequently, and if any doubt pops into your head, you’ll need to kick it out immediately. Remember, you become what you think about. Make your success the first thought you have when you get up, imagine it while you eat, before you write, while you’re driving, and before you sleep at night.

If you still have doubts, realize that visualization works for many things. Trying to eat healthier? When a craving for something naughty hits, imagine a yummy salad. Taste the tangy dressing, feel the crispiness of the lettuce and cucumbers, the juicy tomatoes. Your mouth will water, and you will want that rather than the cookie you may have had. Women’s magazines always tell you that if you want to have a more active intimate life with your significant other, simply take some time to imagine the sensations, the comfort, the excitement, and your body will prepare you to act on it.

Achieving your dreams is never an easy process, but visualizing it regularly and intensively will help you bring it to reality. I’ve included some quotes below, and I recommend writing them down and hanging them prominently around your home, office, or in your car. The more you believe in yourself and your dreams, the closer you will be to seeing them play out before your eyes.

Quotes to live by:

“Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.” Doug Larson

“Our limitations and success will be based most often on our own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon.” Denis Waitley

“To visualize is to see what is not there, what is not real—a dream. To visualize is, in fact, to make visual lies. Visual lies, however, have a way of coming true.” Peter McWilliams

“Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture… Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.” Norman Vincent Peale

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.” Buddha

“Daydreams are the first stage, but daydreams alone are not sufficient. Do not make the mistake of mixing up creative visualization and daydreaming. They are two different things. The former may give some pleasure, but employing the latter correctly is utilizing a real power.” Remez Sasson

“Reality is the mirror of your thoughts. Choose well what you put in front of the mirror.” Remez Sasson