Using Visualization for Success: The Definitive Guide

While the definition of success will vary for most of us, we could say that we all want to be high achievers, individuals whose determination, drive, and energy allow them to perform in great ways, whichever the field may be.

We all have goals. Some of us have highly detailed colorful goals while others are still building the definition of their dreams and aspirations. Even building detailed goals is a science in itself, but we will dedicate time to that matter in another moment. 

What is essential today is to explore an extraordinary tool we have at our disposal to materialize our goals, to give life to our dreams, and to provide us with a great push forward. That outstanding tool is visualization.

Why Visualization for Success?

Recently we explored visualization meditation as a powerful tool to obtain great benefits and the different techniques to implement this practice. However, we decided not to navigate in detail the different scenarios and purposes to be using visualization on a daily basis.

Success is a pivotal element in our lives. A large part of our decision-making is primarily influenced by our desire to achieve success, regardless of our own personal definition of it. Thus, discovering and studying the resources that will allow us to get closer to success becomes so important in our lives.

Visualization is the practice of creating a detail-rich mental image of the life we want to live, the outcomes we want to achieve, and exploring this image with careful attention on a regular basis. While this is, of course, a simplification of the practice’s concept, it is enough for beginners to start studying and implementing.

When we focus directly on visualization for success, meaning that we want to use the practice to help us achieve concrete goals, we end up having a very valuable tool.

Achieving success in any field or aspect of life is difficult and demanding. Every challenge requires our best, something that becomes truer and truer based on how ambitious we are. So let’s explore visualization for success as a powerful element in our toolkit. 

Four Reasons to Practice Visualization for Success

We could say that visualization for success helps us in four concrete ways:

1. Inner source of motivation: One of the biggest challenges for people pursuing an ambitious goal is to find the motivation to do what it takes, to invest the hard work and effort on a daily basis. It’s known that visualization for success can work as a highly effective source of motivation, always available at no cost.
2. Boosted confidence, decreased anxiety: This is probably the most important reason to implement visualization for success. Lacking confidence and experiencing high levels of anxiety are the ideal cocktail to prevent our dreams from materializing. When we are confident and keep anxiety under control, we become self-assured, assertive, and decisive. We are more able to take forceful action toward our dreams. Also, feeling confident is a source of energy and motivation in itself.
3. Creative exploration: In order to obtain success, we need to overcome many different challenges. Such challenges not only demand our hard work and talent but also our creativity and willingness to adapt. Visualization for success makes the most of our creative muscle, seeing in our minds the dream we want to materialize and discovering the many different ways we can get there and how.
4. Practice and rehearsal opportunities: This may be the biggest reason why many artists and athletes use visualization as a key element in their routine. If we visualize an upcoming performance in a positive, successful way, we will have the opportunity to vividly see ourselves performing as desired, which is a powerful way to practice.

How to Practice Visualization for Success

Now you understand the motives, let’s implement visualization for success in your daily lives. It’s going to take a couple of minutes and can be done after you wake up or before going to bed. 

However, if we have to help you choose one, practice in the morning. This will allow you to start every day with forceful determination and drive.

1. Sit down comfortably and close your eyes in a quiet space, making sure you will remain undisturbed for a minimum of 5 minutes.
2. With your eyes closed, imagine that you are watching a movie but you will be the one creating the setup. Here, see yourself in the future, physically and emotionally. Add rich detail to what you see: face and body, clothes and accessories, gestures and movements, the environment, and other people. Define how the “you” you are seeing is going to feel in that moment.
3. Once the distant image is defined enough, stop watching this movie and enter it, meaning that you will start looking through the eyes of the “future you” you just created. See, move, and feel. Intensely focus on how it feels, how your surroundings look, smell, and sound. Take all the time you want but do not rush this; instead, indulge in it.
4. After a few minutes of intense attention to this experience, return to the original distant view of this image. Once there, take this whole image and the experience you just lived and imagine yourself storing it in your brain, your heart, your pocket, or wherever it feels more powerful to keep safe and ready for future use.

The first couple of times, this practice could take a little bit more time and effort, while you build a stable image of the success you are trying to accomplish. However, after a while of solid practice and as you learn more and more, you will feel more comfortable and fluid with the process, going in and out of your visualization with intense benefits.