Photo by Jemma
Visualisation is a powerful tool for achieving our goals. Whether it is something small, like a weight loss goal or something big, like hitting a milestone for your business, visualisation can help you get there. In this week’s article, we will discuss what visualisation is and how you can use it to set and achieve your goals. It’s not just a tool for the woo and magickally minded!
What is visualisation?
It’s a little bit like meditation, and we do have some pointers on how to meditate for anyone who hasn’t tried that before. Visualisation is another way of describing “imagination”. It is an activity done by the brain and the purpose of it is to try to recreate an image, or a scene, in the mind.
This means visualisation is a process of creating a mental image or impression of something using the mind. It involves creating a mental representation or picture of what you want to achieve and visualising yourself achieving it. Although visualisation is probably most associated with vision, and the eyes, it needs to involve as many of your other senses and emotions as possible. For example visualisation is also about using the mind to hear instead of the ears. It’s a good skill to have but it does take practise.
Benefits of visualisation
Visualisation has been used for centuries by humans to help them reach their goals. Think of it as a form of self-motivation that can be used to help you stay on track and reach your goals.
Firstly, it can help you create a clear vision of what you want to achieve. By visualising your desired outcome, you can make it more tangible and real, and this can help you stay focused on the one goal.
Secondly, visualisation can help you strategise. By visualising different scenarios, you can come up with creative solutions to help you reach your goal. You can envision different outcomes and plan for them accordingly. This can help you anticipate obstacles and prepare for them.
Third, visualisation can help you stay motivated. When you visualise success, it can help you stay focused and motivated to keep pursuing your goals. Visualising success can give you a boost of confidence and help you stay positive and optimistic.
Finally, visualisation can help you stay accountable. When you visualise yourself achieving your goals, it can help you stay accountable to yourself. Keeping a mental image of your goal and visualising yourself achieving it can help you stay on track and remind you why you’re working so hard.
Visualisation for acheiving goals at work
Visualisation doesn’t have to be just for magick and spell work (although this is a valid use of this skill!). It can also involve more, let’s say, technical methods such as objective setting and visualisation boards. So for example, if we accept that setting objectives in work, or for a project, is the process of setting specific, measurable and achievable goals and creating an action plan to reach them….then incorporating visualisation into your objective setting is a great way to keep yourself on track and make sure you’re making progress towards your objectives.
Vision boards are a great example of externalising the goals and objectives you want to achieve. They are usually physical boards (but can be digital boards like Trello) and are filled with pictures, quotes and other representations of your goals. Visualisation boards are a great way to keep your goals at the forefront of mind.
How To Use Visualisation To Achieve Goals
Now that you know what visualisation is and the benefits it can bring, let’s discuss how to use it to set and achieve your goals.
You can start by creating a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Maybe write this down as a mission statement before spending some time visualising your goal. This will allow you to create a vivid mental image. Try to focus on the details and imagine yourself achieving it, what does success look like? This will help you stay focused and motivated, which is crucial to the actual achievement of goals!
Another thing you may wish to do is to create a mind map as part of any external visualisation/vision board work. Once you have a clear vision, place this front and centre of your map or vision board. Then break down your goal into smaller, achievable steps and create an action plan for each step. This will help you stay on track and keep you motivated.
Give yourself the runway, space and the time each day visualising or reviewing your vision board. Visualisation is not a ‘one and done’ activity. So devote some energy visualising yourself achieving your goal, feeling the pride and joy of success. Enjoy looking at your vision board. This will help you stay focused and motivated.
Don’t forget to be true to yourself and your goals. Accountability is key to achieving your goals. Through documentation, a diary, a Trello Board, a Book of Mirrors you can create a support system to help you stay true to what it is you are trying to achieve. You could ask colleagues, family and friends to regularly check in with your progress and celebrate it with you. This level of accountability can help you stay on track and motivated. Visualising your goal and sharing it with your support system can help you stay accountable and keep you motivated.
Visualisation Success Stories
Visualisation has been used by many successful people for centuries. From athletes to entrepreneurs, many people have used visualisation to help them reach their goals. Here are two inspiring success stories of people who have used visualisation to reach their goals.
Oprah Winfrey is an inspiring example of how visualisation can help you reach your goals. She has spoken often about visualising success, using vision boards and believing in her dreams. She believes that visualising success has helped her stay focused and motivated and ultimately achieve her goals.
Michael Phelps is a world-renowned swimmer who has broken numerous records. He is very open about using visualisation to help him stay focused and motivated. For example, he talks about visualising himself winning races and even visualising his opponents’ strokes before competing. This helped him stay focused and motivated and achieve his goals.
So we know visualisation and manifesting your dreams is not just for the magickally minded.
Small Steps Towards a Magickal Life
Visualisation is a powerful tool for achieving our work based goals and objectives. By creating a vivid mental image of our goals and visualising success, we can stay focused and motivated and ultimately achieve success.
Visualisation is probably a great way to start building a magickal life for yourself. By taking a vision board and a visualisation practise one stage further, you can add in some words for motivation to help you achieve your goals. A magickal person might call this a ‘spell’ but let’s start small, for now we’ll just label these words ‘mission statement’. So, visualise your success, stay focused and motivated and you will reach your goals. Magick is not just for the magickally minded!