This is a great article about visualization. Goes right in line with some of my current thoughts. (Not so sekret tip to a blogreader - try regarding your current deadline. I dare you to see yourself talking, writing, interviewing and getting it done just under the wire - as perfectly as it can be.) For everyone else (and my own blog history) here's some good reminders:
Imagine success. Enjoy the sensation. Fill in details, either in your mind or in writing.
Work backwards from that image to where you are now: create a roadmap. Identify the goals required at each stage and write them down.
Anticipated problems are opportunities in disguise: they are alerting you to a need for information, skills, or resources. Identify what you need and incorporate obtaining it into your roadmap.
Do not be derailed by negativity. Everyone has moments where they feel they cannot possibly succeed. Bruce Lee liked to imagine writing down negative thoughts on a piece of paper, crumpling it up, and throwing it away.
Manage stress. Allowing stress to get out of hand limits creativity, imagination, persistence, and energy. It doesn’t matter whether you meditate, exercise, listen to music, cook, or engage in some other relaxing activity: give yourself a break and a chance to think about something other than the problem at hand.
Get enough sleep. This may seem obvious, but I have found that the biggest “duhs” come from the people struggling to stay awake. Lack of sleep will very quickly interfere with creativity, judgment, and motivation.
Celebrate successes. Periodically review your progress and see how far you’ve come. We are motivated more by seeing how much we’ve accomplished than by how much we haven’t. Seeing progress increases optimism and motivation. Dwelling only on how far we’ve fallen short does just the opposite.
The Success Mind is not the province of a few top people. It can be developed by anyone who puts in the time and effort. To someone who has truly developed a Success Mind, even major failure is merely a temporary setback.
- Source
the tibetans have really mastered this. maybe you already knew that. the special feature of tibetan style buddhism (and to a lessor degree shingon in japan) is that one visualizes oneself AS a buddha, and contemplate what that would be like. I think that is the ultimate form of imagining success.
this is what the dalai lama does every morning for four hours, he holds different visualizations of himself focusing on different positive qualities of a buddha and rests in the sensations of what it would be like to be a self-less person, a completely open and compassionate person, an energized to help the world kind of person, etc. it's no wonder he's so charming!
Posted by: davee | August 07, 2008 at 07:36 AM