Weekly Happiness Note November 28, 2024
The Power of Visualization and Why it May Be Easier than You Think
“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius
Have you ever considered using visualization to help shape the tone of your thoughts, and support you in leading a happy life? Using visualization techniques, meditation, or guided imagery may seem “out there” or reserved for people considered spiritual. But that judgment is a misconception that is far from the truth. If you are new to visualization or out of practice, check out this week’s happiness note, “The Power of Visualization and Why it May Be Easier than You Think”.
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This Week’s Featured Topic:
The Power of Visualization and Why it May Be Easier than You Think
When you wake up, what is the first thing you do?
As you drift off to sleep at night, what kind of thoughts pass through your mind?
The reason I ask is that our rituals around our sleep-wake cycle give us daily opportunities to visualize ourselves experiencing more of what we “do” want in our lives.
Using visualization techniques, meditation, or guided imagery may seem “out there” or reserved for people who are considered spiritual. But that judgment is a misconception that is far from the truth.
As human beings, we form our values and beliefs not only from our experiences but also from the thoughts and stories we tell ourselves about our experiences. We all use our minds on a moment-to-moment basis to inform our experience of life.
Visualization can be a tool for creating an experience that helps us live our best lives. It’s about getting into the habit of shaping our thoughts in a positive direction—on purpose.
Using visualization to imagine positive outcomes in your life isn’t a new practice. Visualization is a type of guided imagery and a form of meditation. Meditation has been around for thousands of years, with origins in India and possibly dating as far back as ancient Greece and Rome.
Using visualization and mindfulness practices is becoming more popular with athletes and the education system. Goldie Hawn’s MindUp program, founded in 2003, fosters children’s well-being through educational programs based on neuroscience and mindful practice. As quoted by Hawn, “I had a call to action to create a program that would help kids learn how to self-regulate their emotions, become more resilient, and learn about how their brain works to give them a road map out of despair and into a more positive mindset.” More than 6 million children have been taught MindUp in schools worldwide to date.
19-year-old Canadian tennis sensation Bianca Andreescu, astonished the sports world when she won the U.S. Open, defeating tennis legend Serena Williams. She attributes her success, which made her the first Canadian in history to win a Grand Slam singles title, to the power of her visualizations. Throughout the U.S. Open, she spoke about the meditation practice that her mom introduced her to during her adolescence. In her post-match press conference, she shared how she visualized certain points of the game unfolding before the match began. She also talked about how she had visualized winning in this exact scenario against Serena Williams for years.
Using visualization techniques to imagine yourself achieving a certain outcome isn’t something you have to do in a dark room with your eyes closed.
In 2003, I found myself newly divorced and embarking on a different path than I had planned. Despite being in a new healthy relationship, a new job I loved, and embracing my decision to complete the rest of my university degree online, I felt afraid. What if the new relationship didn’t work? What if I didn’t stay motivated to finish the online courses like I did on campus? What if I couldn’t manage the moving pieces of a successful life? I can remember the pit in my stomach that would twist and turn at the thought of my pending failure and ultimate doom. While it all seems silly now, at the time, my fear of failure felt larger than life. Thankfully, my determination to not give up was louder than my fear.
Without realizing it, I embarked on a daily visualization practice that set me up for success. Every day before work, I laced up my shoes and headed out into the dark, rainy morning to clear my mind and rid myself of the lingering fear that clung to me. While running, I visualized myself at my graduation ceremony, receiving my degree. I imagined my guy there cheering me on. I imagined what I was wearing and how I would smile proudly as I walked across the stage.
On my route, I ran through a particular neighborhood I loved. I imagined we would one day live there and have a family, and how amazing that would feel. Despite having a debilitating fear of public speaking, for some reason, I would also visualize myself giving the valedictorian speech at our graduation ceremony. During those early morning runs, I had memorized an entire speech congratulating the class of 600 graduates. I stood before the large crowd with confidence as I inspired them to believe in their dreams and potential for the next stage of their journey. The entire process felt so real.
I was able to conjure up all those real-feeling details with my eyes open and my body navigating the wet sidewalks with ease. In fact, I remember feeling exhilarated as I visualized this enormous win and the life of my dreams unfolding on my runs. I would finish my run feeling alive and motivated to keep studying and showing up in my life one step and day at a time.
After a year of this ritual, I was relieved and excited to finish my degree successfully. But I wasn’t prepared for what would come next. My school counselor called me up a few months out from graduation and said, “Emily I don’t know what it is about you, but I think you’d be the perfect valedictorian for this year’s graduating class, would you be willing to take this on?” My jaw dropped, and my heart skipped more than a beat. How in the world did she know?
At the time, my fear got the best of me. I politely declined, despite my deep desire to have the confidence to succeed in this arena. I later joined Toastmasters to extinguish that fear that was holding me back.
That phone call validated my belief in the power of using my mind to focus on what I want to create in my life. It still serves as a reminder of what happens when we feed our desires more than our fears. We can use our mind to create more detail about why life is hard, why we are afraid or why things don’t work out for us. Or we can use our mind to create more detail about what we want, why we want it and how it will feel, taste and look to bring our dream to life.
I’ve been happily married to my guy for almost 14 years. We live in that neighborhood I ran through in a dream house we built together, with our now-family of 4. I still practice visualization mixed with gratitude for living a life I love. I also still enjoy my morning runs and have a whole new set of exciting dreams that are in process. I’ve learned that the process is always the best part.
There isn’t a right or wrong way to visualize or meditate. The idea is to make it work for you and set you on the path toward making steps and choices in the direction you want.
If you are new to visualization or out of practice, here are some helpful tips to get you started. You may be surprised at how easy and fun this daily practice will become.
1. Create a Regular Ritual
Pick a time of day to visualize your dreams coming to life. When you first wake up in the morning, or as you drift off to sleep at night are perfect opportunities to inject your psyche with a positive story about your life. Choose a time that’s easy for you to stick to. The idea is to practice regular visualization, even for just 5 minutes a day. With practice, it becomes easier to believe the story that has the exciting outcome. Practice also helps you feel more motivated to take daily steps toward reaching your dream.
2. Focus on How You Want to Feel
As you visualize, see how it feels to make the story as vivid as possible. What do your dreams entail? Why is this particular dream so important to you? How will reaching it change your life? How do you feel as you’ve reached your goal? What are you wearing? What kinds of noises are around you? Are there any smells or tastes you can associate with this end picture? What emotion do you feel? Where do you feel it in your body?
3. Don’t Get Bogged Down in Details
Visualization is an art, but it’s best not to worry if you are doing it right or wrong. Training your mind to focus on the positive aspects of your present and future life will create momentum in a new direction. The alternative is to stay on autopilot and give your energy to feed your worries and fears.
Let this be a fun practice, one where you can be childlike. Don’t worry about the details of “how” you will get from here to there. Focus on the “there” for the purpose of the visualization exercise. Worry and doubt have no place in this powerful exercise. If worries creep up in your mind during your practice, just let the worry know you are busy at the moment and to return later if absolutely necessary. This trick is to avoid feeding the greedy worry that will hijack your visualization practice. You can take 5 minutes out to dream. It will likely become the best 5 minutes of your day.
4. Allow Your Good Feelings to Infiltrate Your Daily Steps
As you wrap up your visualization, set the intention to allow your good feelings to spill over into your day. The more we focus on what we want and what is good in our lives, the easier it is to be open to new opportunities that align with our dreams.
People who believe in the beauty of their dreams radiate a kind of energy that says, "Pick me, or I’m ready." These people are the ones who others might think are lucky or that opportunities just fall at their feet. But what the dreamers have mastered that the pessimistic worry warts haven’t yet is believing their dream is possible and using that belief to keep taking consistent steps towards their goal. They use their visualizations as motivation to keep going.
What about you? What do you want to create in your life? What will your visualizations entail?
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Planning for Next Week📝:
Use the framework below to plan your upcoming week: December 2nd- December 8th. Some people like to map out their forthcoming week on Friday to ease into the weekend, knowing they are ready to hit the road running on Monday. Others (like myself) have a Sunday planning ritual. Do what works best for you. Over the years, in supporting many people in their planning and goal-setting, it seems to work best to pick a day of the week that’s easy to stick to so that your weekly planning becomes a habit and ritual.
What are your wins? Before you organize the upcoming week, ‘December 2nd- December 8th’, reflect on the week you are wrapping up. What are your wins (big or small)? What is something you are grateful for? What have you learned about yourself this week? Record your reflections in your journal or the Notes section of the Planner Printout. Feel free to comment below (others in this community will also be able to see your comment) or hit reply to this note and share directly with me.
Planner PDF printout: This printout is from the ‘Fall in Love with Your Life, Seasonal Planner’ and will give you the framework and planning system to help you organize your upcoming week: December 2nd- December 8th. Click here to access. You will need to enter a password to open the PDF. It’s in all caps: FILWYL
Accountability: If you’d like an accountability check-in to support you in making the weekly planning ritual a regular habit, just hit reply to this email after you’ve organized your week and let me know you’re organized and complete. Feel free to share your weekly intention/power word. I’m always happy to be the check-in support and would love to celebrate your wins.
Instructional Video: Get free access to this mini 20-minute video course. It will show you how to efficiently use the ‘Fall in Love With Your Life, Seasonal Planner’ method of organizing your week. Go here to access the free video course.
Priorities: What are your top three priorities for the upcoming week? What are some of the daily ways you will prioritize yourself? Remember to balance your energy output with energy input. Think: What has been energizing me lately? What has been draining my energy?
Connect with Nature: Bundle up and get outside for some fresh air. If you feel called, take a picture and share your nature inspiration here in the group.
Journal reflection point prompted by nature: If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, signs of winter are starting to pop up. Have you noticed that it is quieter when you are outdoors in the winter? Take note next time you are outside and record your reflections on what you noticed and how it made you feel.
Share your intention for the week of December 2nd- December 8th. What are you calling in? What is your power word/phrase?
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Disclaimer: This newsletter's advice and strategies are for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional advice. While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information, we cannot guarantee outcomes or be held liable for any consequences of using or misusing the information provided. We encourage you to seek professional advice or consult with qualified experts for guidance related to your particular needs.