Visualization How To - 30 Days To Clarity On Your Goals
In an earlier article, I wrote about the importance of dreaming and planning to the success of your personal goals.
Being a dreamer is about getting in touch with your values.
Dreaming is a process that allows your values guide you.
Pursuing goals without knowing that they are connecting you to your fundamental self is likely to put you on a treadmill of searching.
Even in the busiest analytical mind, there is a kernel waiting to be tapped, which will give insight into your goals.
This is the work of the dreamer: to understand the self so that you can pursue goals that nourish you, and those around you.
Some tools of the dreamer are visualization, hypnosis, values survey tools, life mapping and journaling, among others.
Here are guidelines for taking yourself through a visualization exercise.
The more often you do this exercise, the more clarity you will get about the type of work and life situation that is truly right for you.
You may choose to daydream, sit with your coffee and imagine going through your ideal day, ideal week, etc.
Or you may want to write it out in a diary type of format, or even write it out as a piece of fiction.
Whatever works for you is fine.
Or try mixing it up, do some writing, do some daydreaming.
Some people think better with a pen in their hands and find that it helps get their thoughts out of their heads.
Some people find pictures that represent what their dreams are and post them all over a "vision board.
" The basic exercise is to walk through a day, or a week, or even just moments of time in your ideal job.
Don't worry about all the details, they will come as you repeat this exercise.
Try to do this as often as possible over the next month--daily is preferable.
It doesn't need to take more than 5-10 minutes a day, but the more frequently you do it, the more details your mind will add in and the more clarity you will have at the end of the month.
Try not to do it while driving, though; you may miss your exit due to the hypnotic state you will be in.
Walk yourself through whatever chunk of time suits your fancy at the moment and think it through in as much detail as you can.
For example, say you are visualizing your perfect career.
Where are you driving to in the morning?At what time?What are you wearing?What type of office environment do you have? A cube? An office? The great outdoors? What is the first thing you do when you get to your workplace?Whom do you see on the way in?What meetings or activities are on your calendar?What issues are you tackling?How are you acknowledged by your coworkers?What are your work interactions like?What do you do for lunch?What time do you leave to go home and how do you feel when you leave the office for the day--anxious about the next day? Excited about what you've accomplished?Why? Etc.
, etc.
Try to work through this in as much detail as you would experience in real life.
This will get easier if you do it a little bit every day, and let your subconscious drive this process as much as possible.
Leave your critical mind out of it as much as possible.
If you find that for some reason your dream has you wearing a suit, and that is out of the norm for you, let that happen--don't question or reject any of your dreams, just let them come out.
Like a brainstorming activity, there should be no judgment while people are getting their ideas out.
Just see where the visualization leads you and what that means.
Pay attention to as much little detail as you can, and try to get more and more detail day by day.
If you do this every day over a month, you will get more clarity on your goals and that will help you know what direction to pursue in order to fulfill them.
Being a dreamer is about getting in touch with your values.
Dreaming is a process that allows your values guide you.
Pursuing goals without knowing that they are connecting you to your fundamental self is likely to put you on a treadmill of searching.
Even in the busiest analytical mind, there is a kernel waiting to be tapped, which will give insight into your goals.
This is the work of the dreamer: to understand the self so that you can pursue goals that nourish you, and those around you.
Some tools of the dreamer are visualization, hypnosis, values survey tools, life mapping and journaling, among others.
Here are guidelines for taking yourself through a visualization exercise.
The more often you do this exercise, the more clarity you will get about the type of work and life situation that is truly right for you.
You may choose to daydream, sit with your coffee and imagine going through your ideal day, ideal week, etc.
Or you may want to write it out in a diary type of format, or even write it out as a piece of fiction.
Whatever works for you is fine.
Or try mixing it up, do some writing, do some daydreaming.
Some people think better with a pen in their hands and find that it helps get their thoughts out of their heads.
Some people find pictures that represent what their dreams are and post them all over a "vision board.
" The basic exercise is to walk through a day, or a week, or even just moments of time in your ideal job.
Don't worry about all the details, they will come as you repeat this exercise.
Try to do this as often as possible over the next month--daily is preferable.
It doesn't need to take more than 5-10 minutes a day, but the more frequently you do it, the more details your mind will add in and the more clarity you will have at the end of the month.
Try not to do it while driving, though; you may miss your exit due to the hypnotic state you will be in.
Walk yourself through whatever chunk of time suits your fancy at the moment and think it through in as much detail as you can.
For example, say you are visualizing your perfect career.
Where are you driving to in the morning?At what time?What are you wearing?What type of office environment do you have? A cube? An office? The great outdoors? What is the first thing you do when you get to your workplace?Whom do you see on the way in?What meetings or activities are on your calendar?What issues are you tackling?How are you acknowledged by your coworkers?What are your work interactions like?What do you do for lunch?What time do you leave to go home and how do you feel when you leave the office for the day--anxious about the next day? Excited about what you've accomplished?Why? Etc.
, etc.
Try to work through this in as much detail as you would experience in real life.
This will get easier if you do it a little bit every day, and let your subconscious drive this process as much as possible.
Leave your critical mind out of it as much as possible.
If you find that for some reason your dream has you wearing a suit, and that is out of the norm for you, let that happen--don't question or reject any of your dreams, just let them come out.
Like a brainstorming activity, there should be no judgment while people are getting their ideas out.
Just see where the visualization leads you and what that means.
Pay attention to as much little detail as you can, and try to get more and more detail day by day.
If you do this every day over a month, you will get more clarity on your goals and that will help you know what direction to pursue in order to fulfill them.
