The Power of Visualization

By Walt F.J. Goodridge

Special to the Saipan Tribune
Originally published: Wednesday, August 4, 2010


The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest—in other words, your passion!

 

 In last week’s column [“The Power of Clarity; Saipan Tribune, July 29, 2010”], we spoke about the need to have clear and specific images and descriptions of your goals and outcomes as the first step in bringing them into reality. The treasure mapping and treasure-writing exercises were suggested to help with that clarity. Did you do them?

Once you know what you want, the next step in the creative process is to visualize those desires on a regular basis. The term “visualization” is actually not quite accurate, because you’re not going to use only your visual sense. A more accurate term—to coin one—would be “sensorization:” using all of your senses in the act of imagining a desired outcome.

Here are some tips on how to involve all of your senses in goal-achieving and reality-creation regardless of your goal or desired reality.

 

Visual

       Close your eyes and imagine a scene in which you are being, doing or having the thing or experience you wish to have. Imagine yourself running the business, traveling the world, raising the family, living in the dream home, enjoying the fantasy relationship you wish to create. Use your treasure map, and treasure story to help. Everyone has the ability to visualize.

 

 

Auditory

       Are there certain sounds that are a part of your goal or ideal life? What sounds would you be hearing right now if you were actually living your dream? Is there music? Crashing waves? The sound of machinery or cars? Another language? Maybe your dream is to live and teach English in China. Why not download some audio clips of people speaking Mandarin and listen to them on your mp3 player on a regular basis?

 

Tactile

       One of the most powerful ways to bring a dream into reality is to create a physical model or representation of the thing desired that you can actually touch. It takes the visualization exercise to a whole new level. Developers create scale models of communities. Auto designers create prototypes of cars. Authors create mock-ups of their future books. That’s what no-longer-aspiring-but-now-actualized, and soon-to-be-famous children’s book author, Riza Ramos, here on Saipan did! She wrote to me about it after last week’s article:

“Hi, Walt. I think I did the mapping thing when I wrapped a book I owned with my own cover design that showed me as the author. I stared at it everyday imagining that it's in the bookshelves of bookstores and wanting it more than anything else!”—Riza@rizaramosbooks.com

 

Olfactory

       Want to own a restaurant? A flower shop? Live near the ocean? What would it smell like? Is there a way you can capture that smell (candles, flower scents, incense, etc ) and incorporate it into your daily life?

 

 

Gustatory

       Yep, I had to look that one up, too. It’s the official name for your sense of taste. Perhaps your ideal scene involves enjoying certain types of food and drink. What would be some of the tastes you would enjoy if your dream came true? Want to be a wine-taster in your dream life? Great! Just be careful not to go overboard with the sensorization on this one!

 

 

Emotional

Many people fail to include their emotions, intuition and lesser-discussed faculties when they talk about their standard (five) senses. However, there are many more ways to perceive reality, and emotions might be, perhaps, the most critical part of the whole sensorization process. Emotions are most often the activators of everything we do and desire. In fact, 99% of all our goals are set by us so that we can feel a certain way. Think about it. We set financial goals to feel secure. We set relationship goals to feel loved. We set career goals to feel fulfillment. Those feelings, therefore, are a critical component of this process.

 

Spiritual author, Neville, says that in order to achieve your goals, you must  “live from the feeling of the wish fulfilled.” In other words, generate the emotion in response to the following question: How would I FEEL once I achieve my goal?

The amazing thing about being human is that you have the power to choose how you feel at any moment regardless of present reality. If you can first generate the feeling of security, love, satisfaction, accomplishment, happiness, joy or fulfillment that you believe your goal will allow you, you can actually choose to live in that feeling all through the day, every day, and every night until it attracts the equivalent reality to itself.

 

 

Assignment:

Let’s imagine that the thing you desire is now real. Imagine how you’d walk, and walk that way now. Imagine how you’d talk, and talk that way now. Imagine how your entire being would respond if you were actually living in the reality of your desired outcome, and choose to respond that way beginning now—even before the outcome has manifested!

 

The more of your senses you can involve in visualizing, I mean sensorizing your goal, the more quickly you can bring it into reality. If you can’t find or replicate the actual images, sounds, objects, smells and tastes of your desire reality, don’t worry. That’s what your imagination is there for. The human mind has the ability to imagine absolutely anything it desires!

 

Next time: Step 3 in the Creative Process

 

Inspired by Paul Scheele

 

 

Note: Fans and followers of the book, Jamaican on Saipan, may order a copy on jamaicanonsaipan.com.

 

Note: Ever wanted to direct your friends and family to a set of websites that revealed the best things about Saipan? Do what I do: send them to www.bestofsaipan.com!

 

Until next week, remember, success is a journey, not a destination!--Walt

Send article suggestions, entrepreneur nominations and feedback about this article to walt@passionprofit.com