The Positive Power of Imagination
I think one of the nicest things that you can do for someone is to spark their imagination. That moment when you’ve lit a fire for them is so lovely. You literally see their eyes light up and they shoot off all energised and motivated.
Imagination is the ability to form mental images or concepts of things that are not actually there or that you haven’t had experience of yet. It can also be an ability to use creative thinking to solve problems or deal with particular situations. Everyone has some degree of imagination. It’s a skill that can help you to experience a different reality in your mind to what’s actually going on.
Having a good imagination really helps when making life changes. If you can visualise what you are trying to achieve, it prepares your mind and body for what you want to happen, and it can help you be more focussed on achieving your goals.
There are lots of different visualisation techniques you can research and try which can help you use your imagination. The basic idea is to write down or think about what you want in detail using all five of your senses; sight; hearing; touch; sound and smell. Including different senses can make your visualisations seem more realistic and have more of an effect. You need to imagine the emotion attached to the outcome. Really think what it would feel like to achieve your goal. Then make time to think about it. First thing in the morning and last thing at night I find are quite useful times to check in, it doesn’t take long, 5 or 10 minutes is all you need.
If you prefer, you could also use tools such as vision boards — this is a collection of images and words that inspire you and your goals; you could listen to a guided visualisation meditation; or you can use index cards with your goals written on them to prompt you to visualise yourself completing them successfully.
You might also find the “mental rehearsal” technique useful. Taken from performance psychology for athletes, you imagine yourself successfully performing a task or reaching your goal. You need to make the imagery as vivid and as detailed as you can, engaging all your senses.
The School of Natural Health Sciences say that the way visualisation works is based on all our senses, not just our sight. We combine the powers of all five of them to consider a situation and then picture the positive outcome that is desired.
When we sit quietly, relax our bodies, close our eyes and picture the outcome of any given scenario we open neuromuscular pathways. When we visualise, we can use these pathways to allow our mind to begin an understanding of the feeling of that outcome we are picturing.
Visualising an object or a situation, and focussing on this over time, often attracts the object or outcome into our lives. This isn’t really a new concept; this is the basis of the Law of Attraction and the idea of manifesting good things to happen in your life.
Jack Canfield says “If you’re new to the practice, the Law of Attraction sounds a bit “woo” but when applied effectively, it really works! It requires you to cultivate a more positive mindset and the confidence you need to attract the people, the resources, and opportunities you need to achieve your goals and make your dreams come true.”
The Law of Attraction is a universal law based on the belief that you can attract or manifest anything into your life by changing your thoughts, words, feelings and beliefs. The term was first used in 1855, so it’s been around a while. It’s been publicised through books like Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret in 2006 (2016) and more recently re-packaged for Tik-Tok audiences as the Lucky Girl Syndrome. This puts more of an emphasis on luck and consistently reminding yourself that the universe is conspiring to make good things happen for you because you are a lucky person.
You’ve always got to be careful what you are seeing on social media and there’s not a great deal of scientific evidence to support the concept of manifestation. Some advocates say it stems from quantum physics, but it has never been conclusively linked to the manifestation of personal desires or thoughts. It seems to me to be to be a shame that it’s now more often tied into the want for material things rather than linked to positive thinking.
Rather than the emphasis being on material possessions or projecting an “amazing life” on social media, perhaps it’s better to just take what you want from the ideas of manifestation; hope; empowerment; taking control over your life or escapism.
You will always face some setbacks, that’s just life, it’s always up and down. But visualising allows you to prepare for those setbacks and to work through them. I have a technique I use a lot to help me with anxiety about upcoming situations or events. If I’m worried about something, I visualise the worst thing that could happen and then I reverse engineer the problem. I work out what I would do if the absolute worst thing I could imagine happened.
This might sound a bit counter-intuitive and potentially at odds with the manifestation of positive outcomes. But what this does for me, is it makes me realise that even if the worst thing I could imagine was to happen in real life, it would just be a set-back as I already have a plan in place. This reduces the worry; it makes me feel more in control and alleviates my anxiety.
If you use the positive power of your imagination as a tool for visualising about the goals you have set for yourself, thinking them through step by step, and you do this consistently, you will inevitably make progress over time.
“In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between them are doors” — William Blake
I’m on my 365 day journey, #365small changes, what difference are you going to make in your life?
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