Visualization is Like Daydreaming on Purpose

Everyone has the capacity to daydream. But here's the catch - it’s random by its very nature. It happens
unexpectedly, and there's usually no specific purpose behind it. Images come and go as they please, often
without any logical connection.
Visualization, however, is not random. It's not unexpected. It’s usually undertaken with a definite purpose or
goal in mind before you begin. Images will still come and go, but now you're focusing on those images, on their
relationship to each other, and on their significance to your underlying goal or purpose.
Whether you think about doing something, or you actually do it, the same neural pathways are activated,
triggering changes in brain state and learning.

Daydream Like a Pro

The Power of Creative Visualization
Through the ages of self-expression and experiment, history has taught us that when individuals contemplate
an idea with enough depth, they can create ways to actualize it.

Creative visualization is based on the concept of imagining something different — something that you want or
desire. When used correctly, it can change your ingrained habits, leading you to greater happiness,
contentment, and fulfillment. You can minimize and eliminate troublesome behaviors and develop and
maximize positive ones. All of this ultimately leads to more productive and prosperous goal achievement.

Creative Visualization Defined

For ages, humans have existed in a hostile world. One of our ancestors’ goals was certainly to survive long
enough to reproduce and create their legacy in the next generation. To do so, they had to be skilled in how to
handle the environmental challenges and dangers of their lives effectively.

One of the ways they accomplished this was by reflecting on past experiences and applying memories to
imagined future encounters. This ability to simulate possible circumstances in their mind’s eye was the basis of
the human act of daydreaming — a way to test options of complex situations without personal risk. The lessons
of these mental dry runs could then be utilized when the challenging situation did, in fact, arise in reality.

Unfortunately, the process of daydreaming has become much more formless than it was for our ancestors. We
imagine the outcomes we’d like to see, but not the situations and actions that lead to those positive results.

For example, have you ever daydreamed about being wealthy, famous, or fit? You probably focused your
imagination on the end result, didn’t you? We all dream up these perfect scenarios without imagining the steps
we would’ve taken to achieve that goal. For our ancestors, the equivalent would’ve been imagining themselves
safe, sheltered, and fed without working through how to accomplish those things. If they had fantasized in such
a manner, few of us would likely be here today.

In truth, our softer and more modern world has allowed us to forget how to use our imagination as an essential
mental process. We’ve forgotten how to daydream effectively and productively.

Creative visualization is like putting the missing pieces of effective daydreaming back into place. When these
pieces are made part of this ancient process, we can visualize the future as our ancestors did. We can imagine
positive outcomes and the ways to make those outcomes reality. This changes the way we approach our goals.

Despite our modern misuse of it, creative visualization is part of our genetic makeup. It comes as naturally to us
as reflexive motion.

Using Creative Visualization

Now that you understand the basis of creative visualization, it’s time to look at the process itself.

**Be Aware of What You Desire. All journeys (even aspirational ones) require a predetermined path that leads
to the goal. You must be clearly aware of what it is that you desire to achieve or you will never discover the
right path.

**Have a clearly defined finish line. Don’t just identify the win. Identify what the environment around you
needs to look like in that moment of success. When you’re standing at the finish line, holding your gold medal,
what will your related circumstance need to be at that moment?

**Focus Like a Laser. Visualization is most effective when one, and only one, desire is the focus of the process.
You certainly can, and will, have more than one objective that you want to achieve through visualization. Just
remember that each separate aim is an entirely different visualization process. No multi-tasking!

**Prepare Your Path. To maximize your creative visualization results, you must try to live your life in a manner
that is consistent with your objective, whatever that may be. Take a close look at your lifestyle, your actions,
and the way you obtain your accomplishments. You cannot sit on the sidelines and wait.

The Process of Creative Visualization

It’s time to turn your attention to the process itself. As you go through these steps, it is essential to remember
that creative visualization is not a formula or a ritual. It is a highly personalized method. The process can and
should be suited to your own preference and style, which you’ll develop over time.

Relaxation
Tension is the number one enemy of your imagination. When we are tense, anxious, or worried, our brains
interpret this stress as danger and our breathing becomes shallow and rapid. This serves to reinforce our
physical tension, which, in turn, prevents us from relaxing even further. The only way to break the cycle is by
becoming consciously aware of your respiration, its rate, and its volume.

Before you start a creative visualization session, place yourself in a comfortable position in a quiet location.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath, hold it for a second, and then release it slowly. This is called a
cleansing breath, and it interrupts the stress response and initiates relaxation. Take a few more cleansing
breaths until you start to feel a positive shift in your state of tension.

At this point, you should focus on your body. Which parts of you are still tensed and uncomfortable? Build
upon the physical shift in your tension level by curling your fingers and toes in tight. Hold this tension for a few
moments, then release and relax your hands and feet thoroughly. Wiggle them around a bit. Now move your
attention up your arms and legs, tensing and relaxing different parts of you, one at a time.

Now you are ready to productively visualize.

The Visualization
Picture your desire clearly in your mind. See it in as great of detail as possible. Whatever it is — object, place, or
situation — look at it from as many angles as possible.

Concentrate on the smallest characteristics. It can help to make what you want real in your mind by activating
your senses. What would your target feel like, sound like, or smell like? If your thoughts begin to wander,
gently shift them back to the image of your objective.

While you are visualizing, make sure to note any physical sensations that you experience. Do you feel excited or
fearful? Are you apathetic or distracted? These emotions are clues to how you really think about what you are
trying to achieve. Negative emotions mean that you need to do more work on the preliminary steps. You need
to ask yourself if this is really the right goal for you.

After about 15 minutes of visualizing your objective, it is time to make the conscious decision to stop. Empty
your mind of all thoughts. Disengage from the goal. But not before you tell your unconscious mind to keep
working on what you’ve visualized.

Take a final, cleansing breath, and resume your normal activities. Start with a single, daily session and build up
from there. The frequency, time of day, and location for your practice are up to you.
 Visualization techniques
In creative visualization, you direct your brain to focus on what matters the most to you. And to engage in a
process called selective attention.

Have you ever bought a car and then noticed that everyone else seems to be driving that same car? We see the
things that we choose to focus on. Test Your Awareness: Do the Test.

What you focus on and take deliberate steps toward are more likely to become a reality.

That’s true in both the positive and the negative.

How to visualize what you want

1 First, you have to do the pre-work. An excellent place to start is the Balance Wheel exercise.
Is your life wheel balanced, or does an area need attention?
2 Next, become clear of the values that act as your North Star. How do those values impact the decisions
you make?
3 Finally, take some time to do some positive thinking. Use your imagination through reflective writing
prompts in the Best Possible Self exercise.
Also, consider when you were energized and felt most engaged and alive. What was it about that time that
invigorated you? What mattered about that moment? Try to get to that same feeling of excitement and
emotional intensity. Imagine where you are and what you are doing. Who's around you? How do you feel?
What smells are in the air, and what tastes are on your tongue? What are your thoughts at that moment?
With an understanding of what matters to you most, and why, you're ready to begin the practice of
visualization.

How to practice visualization Five steps

Here are five steps to get you started on your visualization practice:

Write what you want in detail, engaging all 5 senses. As you include more sensory images and you
keep adding to the details, it will feel as if you are living the experience.

Imagine the emotion attached to the outcome. The more you can feel what it'll be like to accomplish
the goal, the more likely you'll be to act.

Take action every day toward your desired outcome. Accept that there will be setbacks. Close your
eyes and imagine how you'll deal with the setbacks as they come and continue forward toward your goal.

Expand your knowledge. If more knowledge is required, research, talk to experts. Take a class. Use that
knowledge to design the steps that you have to take to get there.

Make time to consider your visualization. Visualize twice, preferably when you wake and just before
you go to sleep. This will help engage the subconscious in your focused effort toward your desired outcome.
Close your eyes and imagine the desired outcome with all related senses and all emotions.

Write your desired outcome as if it's true in the present day. Create a vision board and have it in your line of
sight. See it as you go to bed.