Three easy steps towards accomplishing your goals and understanding how the universe will work in your favor if you stay positive.

Did you know that some of your favorite athletes and celebs (Jim Carrey, Lindsey Vonn, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Will Smith to name a few) attribute their success towards using visualization? Now’s the time to embrace and utilize it to accomplish your goals! But first things first, let’s start by defining it…

What is Visualization?

Merriam Webster’s describes the meaning of visualization in two ways –

1: formation of mental visual images

2: the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visible form

Or in other words, visualization is the process of picturing yourself in future surroundings, goals, destinations, relationships and career paths. Below I’m going to cover 3 simple steps that can help guide you through better ways to take advantage of visualization. I’ll also share some personal stories on how it helped me throughout my life!

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

1. Be Specific

One of the most common mistakes people have when trying to use visualization is that they aren’t specific enough. The American Dream is to have a big house with a white picket fence, but if that’s as specific as you get the universe may not honor your request. Be more specific and place your future self in the house. Picture yourself cooking in your newly furnished kitchen. Even get more in detail, what’s the meal you’re cooking? What’s your neighborhood look like? Imagine what the outside color will be and who else is living in your dream home.

I remember the summer before moving to NYC six years ago. I was living in Ohio a nervous wreck worried I wouldn’t get a job and survive the concrete jungle. More so the anxiety was knowing I was going to be competing with some of the best creatives for full-time employment as a graphic designer. To calm myself down, on my drives to work I’d picture myself doing specific things in the city. Taking runs along the Central Park reservoir. Riding the subway. Eating a slice of New York pizza. There was this band called St. Lucia that I was listening to that summer of 2013. They had this song called ‘Elevate’ where the video showed them playing on a Brooklyn rooftop. It looked so cool to be there! Whenever I heard that song I told myself I’m going to be at one of these classic Brooklyn house parties someday. Thinking of the type of career I wanted I spoke to the universe that it’d be nice to have a job in the fashion industry. I’d picture myself walking to work daily through Times Square. Once I moved there in early August the visualization started to take effect. I moved to Manhattan and one of the first things I did was running a lap around Central Park. In 40 days and over 200 hundred job submissions later I landed a job at a global retail branding company that just so happened to have an office off of 40th Street and 7th Avenue. Every time I walked towards the subway going home I looked up at Times Square with my heart filled with joy and gratitude. I was actually relieved it wasn’t my original specific thought of working in Times Square. Since it would’ve been a nightmare to walk through daily. Then a few months passed and my roommate invited me to a birthday party his friend was having in Williamsburg. Sure enough I was at a rooftop party similar to what I saw in St. Lucia’s video. Minus the live band but the DJ was rocking the crowd the whole night.

Always be more specific and have clear detail with your visualization goals. The universe will identify and grant your request a lot quicker!

Image by DanaTentis from Pixabay

2. Be Realistic

‘I want to be a multi-millionaire!’ Yes don’t we all? But these type of grandiose thoughts will be hard to translate into real visualizations. Remember that when trying to use visualization it’s not the same as a genie bottle with three wishes. The universe will judge your visualization based on your plans and drive to achieve those goals. The more realistic you set them the more likely they’ll happen or you’ll at least get close to what you’ve envisioned in the first place. This goes to say that it’s totally okay to have big dreams you want to visualize. Just make sure to have specific benchmarks you plan to accomplish to make those dreams become a reality.

For example, one of the first goals I visualized was during high school to own a Lincoln LS. That’s when the model first came out and I thought they had such a cool presidential look. So I kept visualizing me driving that particular car. Waxing the black body paint to a shine, smelling the tan leather interior and listening to my favorite mix cd. Now I could’ve pictured myself driving a Bentley but it wasn’t realistic. I also knew that there were benchmarks I needed to fulfill in order to buy my dream car. It took some years to get those done, like establishing a good credit score and landing my first corporate job. But it was worth the wait. By the time I was able to purchase my dream car the Lincoln LS wasn’t as nice as it used to be. I got a better car instead, a Cadillac CTS and guess what the colors were? Black body paint and tan leather interior!

Photo by Mert Talay on Unsplash

3. Stay Positive

Recommended reads for visualization: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom by Robert Kiyosaki