Your brain has the ability to see what is imagined as real. This happens in people diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For people with PTSD, the same stress response that occurred during the traumatic event shows up when the brain detects danger, even if it’s imagined danger. Triggers often show up for people with PTSD and these triggers signal that there is danger even when they are safe. This shows that the brain is able to produce similar responses in real and imagined situations.
Using this concept, there have been studies where some participants engage in a real situation and others visualize that they are engaging in that same situation. For example, in one study researchers had some participants learn how to play notes on a piano and practice for five days in row whereas other participants were asked to imagine playing these notes. Over the course of study, brain scans were taken and at the end of the five days, results showed similar brain activity between those who actually played the piano and those who imagined themselves playing. For those who imagined, their brains equated this to something that actually happened.
Visualization is a powerful tool and can help with self-improvement, defeating negative thoughts, and boosting confidence. When you imagine something happening before it happens, the real situation can feel more familiar and doable. You will have already walked through the situation in your head which can make the actual situation less daunting. Walking through the situation in your head also allows you to defeat any negative thoughts because you get to chose how things turn out. When you visualize things turning out successfully, this allows you to feel more confidence and that confidence can drown out self-defeating thoughts.
Visualization takes practice and should be done intentionally. This means finding or freeing up some time where you can sit with yourself without distractions. Start small and begin with five minutes sessions. Some easy times to do this are right before bed and first thing in the morning. Whenever you decide to practice this, make sure that you are fully relaxed. Deep breaths in and out can be a quick way to relax your mind and body before beginning. During the time when you are getting relaxed, try to get connected with what you are feeling. Your emotions are an important part of the visualization process because the emotions we experience during visualization are likely to be the ones that we experience in real life. Along with emotions, try to get in touch with your senses. Visualization is more than using mental energy as using your senses can provide a more vivid experience.
To begin, close your eyes and do not put a lot of effort into visualizing anything. Let images, situations, and emotions come to you rather than trying to force things to come up. This allows you to get into the practice of remaining relaxed and avoiding overthinking. If you find yourself overthinking or getting distracted, remind yourself that this is normal and guide your attention back to the visualization exercise. Pay attention to any emotions that come up without judgement and sit with them. After getting the hang of the practice of visualization, you can have sessions that focus on specific things. For example, before you get out of bed in the morning you can visualize your day or you can visualize that goals that you would like to accomplish for the next day before going to bed. When you are visualizing specific things, make sure to focus on what you do want versus what you do not want. This allows you to more easily visualize the actions that will allow you to manifest what you do want. For example, if your goal is to save more money, visualizations should focus around wanting financial security vs not wanting to be broke. A focus on financial security will allow you to create visualizations that center around you engaging in acts that will lead you there. Visualization is not about imagining things and receiving them. It’s about making situations feel more accessible and within your reach which leads to greater confidence in your abilities to reach your goals and desires.
Once you get the hang of things you will be able to use visualization at anytime. Consistent visualization can help you remain motivated in pursing the life that you desire and gives you constant affirmation that what you desire is possible.