I am the kind of person who keeps flowers out of reach of her cats.
Husband told me about a podcast he’d listened to about visualization. I’m a sucker for new ideas about how to change myself and the way I relate to the world. You’d think I believed in perfectibility or something.
Visualization is what it sounds like it is: Imagine yourself as the kind of person you want to be. Don’t worry about those 21 days to solidify a habit. Don’t look at change as an insurmountable task. Don’t try to talk yourself into (or out of) change. It’s the self-help version of “just do it.”
Just be it.
It’s an interesting yet daunting concept. I have so many questions.
What about spending hours bemoaning one’s shortcomings first?
What about the idea that what I want is probably unachievable anyway?
What about making short-term goals so I don’t have to eat the elephant all in one bite?
What about not being enough?
What about being satisfied with myself as I am?
The first five questions indicate to me that I’m prone to self-doubt. Self-doubt is a natural thing. A little can be motivating, but too much can be debilitating. I like to imagine that I’m a very optimistic person, but I suspect the opposite is often true. Self-doubt and fear unite inside me, telling me that change is too hard. Letting go of fear and self-doubt feels akin to letting go of the side of the pool before I’m confident about my swimming stroke.
Visualizing myself as already embodying the change seems awfully risky. But then again, it’s probably worth a shot.
The question of simply being satisfied with myself as I am seems to directly contradict the notion of taking on a new attitude or new direction. But maybe it really is okay to be dissatisfied with some way we are at any given time.
This is a notion worth exploring. It certainly raises the possibility of change without all the angst.
There are lots of visualization exercises online. The always inspirational Mindbodygreen is a good place to start. Or visit Operationmeditation or 4 Simple Visualization Techniques to Accomplish Anything.
If there’s something you want to change, you might take a look.
Happy Reading!
Today I’m going to be the kind of person who goes to bed before 1:00 a.m. What about you? Any changes on your mind?
My big change is getting serous about my writing. It has become a 2018 goal of mine to finish my first draft by 3/31/18. I was an athlete in my younger years, so I know the power of visualization, but I’ve failed to use it successfully outside of sports. My failures include falling asleep, arousing the dog’s concern (“The human female unit is too quiet and must be deathly ill. I should go prod and sniff her and maybe slobber a little, too.”), being interrupted by the phone/husband/kid/doorbell, and laughing (“Haha, this is SO not you, Priscilla. Get off the floor before you fall asleep again!”).
However, the treasure map technique at Operation Meditation sounds like something I could do. I think that with the vision board I’m going to try making (for the very first time in my life) may be effective.
How thrilling, Priscilla! I strongly encourage you to work toward your deadline. Was it Dorothy Parker that said a deadline beautifully sharpens the mind? And what you’re calling “failures?” I think that’s called life! xx
Reading this interesting blog, I am ambivalent, Laura. First of all, I need to check your links ( multi-tasking as I work, always), but I used to practice this without giving it a term, and it DID work for me ( Kind of neat and scary), but on the other hand, reading your comments, I am amazed how similar we are, too. My close friend, Good Reads’ author named MaryAnn Diorio, a former Catholic, now Evangelical, wrote a devotional book based on Scripture entitled Day Star and dedicated it to me. * Check it out on Good Reads…she believes in this and uses Scriptural verses as inspiration. I will also forward a visualization article about this and publishing a best seller novel.
I will read your links, now. Good luck, Priscilla. I need to do the same.
Thank you for sharing this, Skye. Sorry to be slow to respond. I think it’s a very exciting proposition, and I’m glad to hear it worked well for you. I appreciate the link–what a remarkable story. 💜
Thank you, Skyecaitlin!
You’re killing me! You don’t ask for much!!!!!!! Okay, it does make a great deal of sense. I tend to overthink things. This past year has been one of the most difficult ones I’ve been through in my 150 years of living. I’m counting on the coming year to be one of change, health and mind set. Thank you for these foods for thought. xoxo
That’s a lot of difficulty, Julia. I hope this coming year will be full of self-care and inspiration!