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Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I have a dream’ speech over 50 years ago is an inspiration to many of us even today! We all have dreams and goals we want to pursue to find our purpose in life. To pursue our dreams successfully, we must first visualize what we want to achieve. Imagination is a powerful catalyst that helps define goals, set targets and monitor our progress.
Read on to understand why visualization is crucial to achieving our goals and how we can use this technique for personal and professional development.
What Is Visualization?
At its simplest, visualization is a form of mental rehearsal where we create mental images or maps to achieve objectives or goals. For example, people often ask children what they want to become when they grow up. When they say doctor, singer or scientist, they’re actually visualizing their long-term goals.
Visualization is more common than we realize. We often imagine how we’d like to spend our day, the week or even the rest of our lives. We like to visualize certain things repeatedly because it reminds us of the goals we want to achieve. It builds confidence and motivates us to actively pursue our objectives.
Knowing how to visualize is a valuable skill. Here are the benefits of visualization:
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It teaches you how to recognize resources that’ll be instrumental in pursuing your goals
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It encourages and motivates you to pursue your dreams and objectives
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It promotes positive thinking that helps you stay focused for a long time
How To Visualize Effectively
Roselyn Smith, a licensed psychologist and management consultant, says that “visualization is effective in boosting performance because it activates the same region in the brain that is activated when performing a task”. In other words, visualization helps you focus on your desired outcome and work towards it. Here are some ways that’ll teach you how to visualize your goals efficiently:
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Be Realistic And Reasonable
Avoid having an all-or-nothing mentality when setting goals. Instead of focusing on doing everything perfectly, focus on how you’re going to bounce back if things go haywire. Set realistic goals and reasonable timelines to achieve them. If you have long-term goals, break them down into smaller goals for greater efficiency.
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Practice Positive Thinking
Sentences like ‘I can’t’, ‘I will fail at this’ or ‘I can never…’ prevent you from visualizing effectively. When you practice positive thinking, your perspective changes. Shift your focus from ‘not being someone’ or ‘not having something’ to what you want to do or what you already have. For example, ‘I will try’ is better than saying ‘I can’t’.
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Limit Distractions
To learn how to visualize clearly, you need to limit the distractions around you. You can’t think clearly if you’re continuously distracted by text messages, social media notifications or emails. You can effectively manage your time when you prioritize and concentrate on the tasks at hand.
How To Visualize At Work
Organizations always work towards a particular mission. They create a vision that’s meaningful and action-oriented and will help pursue this mission. Knowing how to visualize effectively will teach you how to create accountability in the workplace.
If you’re a manager or a leader, here are a few effective visualization tips you can use to motivate your team.
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Use Imagery
Use imagery to help employees visualize the outcomes of their work or the goals they want to achieve. For example, tell your employees how working on a particular project will help them advance their knowledge and experience in that field.
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Get Everyone Excited
Motivation is an effective tool that can get employees excited about their goals. When people find meaning in what they do, they feel driven. For example, you can explain the organization’s vision and mission by connecting them to the team members’ personal goals.
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Create Vision Boards
Encourage your team to create vision boards that’ll teach them how to visualize successfully. Have them include pictures or quotes that inspire them. It will be a constructive reminder for self-improvement.
Learning how to visualize helps you define your goals and achieve success on your own terms. Harappa Education’s Unleashing Creativity course will help you think outside the box. The convergent and divergent methods of thinking in the course will help you generate multiple ideas and select the best possible option. Overcome barriers and solve problems creatively with Harappa’s courses today!
Explore topics & skills such as Design Thinking, the Design Thinking Process, Examples of Design Thinking & What is Visualization on the Harappa blog and learn to think out-of-the-box.
