- Pick one thing that you want to improve in your life. Write it down as a goal and make it as specific as possible.
- Find a quiet space and begin taking deep breaths. Take full breaths in through the nose and slowly exhale through the mouth. Try to keep your breath quiet and relaxed.
- Use your imagination to construct the mental landscape in which you see your goal happening in real time. When your goal becomes reality, what will it look like?
- Now that you are starting to see your goal in your minds-eye, fill the mental picture with realistic colors. What are some of the colors that stand out most?
- Next, focus on the sounds you hear in your imagined environment. What will you hear when you achieve your goal?
- Over the next few days, do your best to add elements to deepen the vividness of the imagined experience. Include other sensations, like touch and texture. What are the smells associated with your desired experience? If the taste is applicable to what you want, then include it too. There is so much detail that we take for granted in our daily experiences; endeavor to create the same rich detail in the new experience that you dream of having.
- Construct a mental movie in the present tense. Live that reality as if it were happening now. Place yourself at its center. Experience the excitement or other positive emotions that come along with living that dream. This mental exercise might take some time to get right. Therefore, spend five to ten minutes each day practicing, gradually making the imagery real for you. In time, you will easily be able to summon the entire three-dimensional motion picture at will.
There is no one way to use creative visualization. Some techniques even involve various affirmations or mental scripts to narrate the imagery. The main idea is to tap into your creative capacity to make vivid images in your mind.
You do this all the time anyway. Every time you see, hear, touch, taste, or smell a part of your world, you are making an internal representation of what you believe it to be. You do it with the self-fulfilling prophesies conjured by your negative self-talk. Now, instead, start imagining things that actually want to have happen.
If you want to create something new in your life, you can direct your energies toward an experience that is in better alignment with your ideals. You may want to improve your performance in some areas of your life, or you might dream of experiencing something entirely new to you. Many people swear by the practice of creative visualization, so try it out. The ability to generate new realities mentally may ultimately be one of the most valuable skills you can learn.