“Visual imagery is an essential part of your mental package, so master it.” - Ray Floyd.

It's estimated that 70 percent of people fail to reach the goals they set for themselves.

Let’s face it; setting and achieving goals can be hard sometimes. But, what if we told you that there are sure ways of reaching your goals?

Mastering the art of visualizing can play a key role in achieving your goals. Most successful people identify it as one of the secrets to their success. The good news is: the power lies within you. If you know how to go about it, you can put it to use. Let’s take you through a complete guide on how you can master the art of visualization.

What Is Visualization?

Visualization involves painting a mental picture of your desired goals. In other words, you bring your goals to life by using your thoughts to create a positive outcome.

Contrary to general belief, it has nothing to do with mere wishful thinking. It doesn’t involve vague fantasies or waiting for things to happen on their own. Mental imagery is effective and future-oriented but rooted in reality.

In sports, visualization has become one of the main tools used by athletes to reach epic heights. They rely on mental imagery to win competitions, recover from injury, and feign practice.

How Does Visualization Work?

No matter who you are, you can apply this technique in your life. But, it’s vital to note that it will never work if you have doubts.

“Believing” is a key ingredient that fuels the whole process. It makes you achieve all your desired goals. No matter how long you spend visualizing your goals, you can’t go far without believing.

It’s needed for you to see this process as a productive and real exercise. When this happens, the whole process will have a stronger and faster effect.

The Science Behind Mastering Visualization to Achieve Your Goals

According to the experts, the human mind can’t differentiate between reality and imagination. It’s because a similar flow of neurochemicals pop up when you have a thought. It comes up when you’re thinking about the present, past or future.

Thus, your brain gets a similar feeling when it’s visualizing or performing a physical action. The picture visualized may be a far-off goal, but the brain would perceive it as a real action in a present moment.

The reason is simple. The neurochemicals produced in the brain affects your attention and motor control. After which, it causes you to swing into action.

Meanwhile, new neural networks appear in your brain. These neural networks forms in your brain whenever you create a mental image in your mind (good or bad). Also, they are responsible for adopting new perspectives, beliefs, and innovative actions.

Here’s the icebreaker:

Anytime you engage in visualization, you create a new neural network. This neural network continually send impulses to your senses--telling them you have achieved the mental image you created.

How do you maximize it?

Keep visualizing the only the pictures you want to see. Stick to these images until they becomes a reality. By doing this regularly, you’d be able to view your surroundings from another angle to achieve your set goals.

Why Is Mastering Visualization Important for Reaching Your Goals?

Making it a habit to visualize success is necessary if you want to be successful. The story of Jim Carrey is a perfect case study:

Jim Carrey always parked on Mulholland drive every night before he became famous. Every time he drove to the park, he wrote himself a $10 million check. Jim gave himself three years to achieve his dream.

Exactly three years later he got a major role in a Blockbuster movie where he got the $10 million check. His visualization paid off.

Here are five reasons why you need to master the art of visualization:

It Increases Your Motivation

Visualizing can help you improve your motivation level. It gets you familiarized with the feeling of achievement. With that, you can reach your end goals and believe success is possible.

You Get a Clear Definition of what you want

Visualization is a great tool that boosts your focus level. It helps in clearing out the emotional distractions that surround you. Once you set your goals, you can use mental imagery to stay focused until you reach them.

It Optimizes Your Performance

One of the best ways to optimize performance is by mental imagery.

When you visualize yourself in high-pressure situations, it affects your reality. It prepares you mentally for challenging circumstances. That way you can respond better to future anxieties and develop coping strategies.

It Increases Positive thoughts

As we go about our daily activities, we're bound to come across some negative vibes. This negativity can come from anywhere. But, visualizing about positive thoughts can help you stay in check.

Visualizing can help you radiate positive vibes from inside. It would keep you unaware of the negativity in your environment. You won't pay any attention to any external negativity.

It Reduces Stress

When you feel out of balance, it helps get your mind back on track. By listening to cool music and visualizing, your thoughts get organized. After carrying out this activity, you're likely to fall asleep and feel refreshed when you wake up.

Three Key Techniques You Can Use In Mastering Visualization

Here are three essential techniques you can use in visualizing your goals:

Receptive Method

Receptive visualization involves you picturing yourself in a disassociated way—rather than actually performing the real action. This technique is a great option—if you want to work on your interactions with other people.

For instance, if you plan to have a business meeting with a potential client, you can visualize yourself flawlessly convincing the client and then visualize the client agreeing with you.

The beauty of receptive visualization is that you're in complete control of everything that happens. Thus, if things start to go the wrong way, you can change everything to your favor.

Performing this technique is nearly like playing a movie in your mind—with you taking the role of the movie director. You can keep at it until it feels like you’re in charge of both the action and decision making.

Altered Memory Method

Have you been in an unfavorable situation you wish could change, but couldn’t? If your answer is yes, this technique will interest you. The altered memory technique uses unfavorable conditions as a driving force.

The altered memory technique involves replaying unfavorable scenes. In this exercise, you can replace the negative responses with positive ones. It may appear complex at first. However, when you alter and recreate the scene, the sad feelings will fade away.

What’s more? The memories of the actual event will also disappear.

Treasure Map Technique

The Treasure Map Technique involves you using both physical and mental elements.

You mentally visualize your end goal as the treasure. Then, you draw a physical map showing the road to your goal. The physical map represents all the things you must do to achieve the goal.

As you keep visualizing your goal mentally, you must stick to the physical map. You should also stay focused on your goal until it's actualized. This technique is a perfect option for inventors.

The technique requires a lot of patience and no distractions.

How Worrying Can Affect Your Visualization Process

It’s essential for you to know that worrying over a situation is an unconscious way of visualizing. The only thing is, it’s on the negative side.

Do you worry about issues or have fears about the unknown? If you do, it means you’re visualizing negative events, and it’s something you don’t want. When you harbor negative thoughts, your brain rewires in limiting ways.

What does that even mean? The brain forms helpful and powerful habits. Nonetheless, it can go the other way round if it's programmed in unhelpful ways like worrying. When you worry, you’re rewiring your brain with new patterns that support your fears.

The pattern of behavior that results is usually unhelpful. The more times you worry, the easier it is to replay the pattern. When this happens, worrying becomes your frequency response when you face uncertainties.

The things you worry about may likely become your reality. This happens because of the stimulation of the RAS in your brain. At this point, your brain searches for anything around you that supports your worries. This faulty perspective causes you to make poor decisions in reality.

The Bottom Line

Anyone can master the art of visualization. It only takes more effort to reach that point. Also, it’s essential to note that visualizing isn’t the same thing as daydreaming. Instead, it’s a precise process of applied neuroscience methods.

Visualizing takes a lot of patience and diligence. So, you have to make it a habit to master the art. The continuous application will aid in enhancing your performance on any set goal.

You can take the bold step today with small goals. Over time, your horizon expands as you get better in the act. All it takes is your discipline and commitment. Why not start right now?