Visioning the future and mental rehearsal are battle-tested, time-honored traditions of peak performers such as Lebron James and Michael Phelps.
However, you don’t have to be a world-class athlete to benefit from visualization and create the future you imagine. In fact, 76% of small business owners who used a vision board when starting their business say that their business has successfully met the vision they set when they started.
If you are feeling stuck in any area of your life or simply want more of something (abundance, growth, health, intimacy, love, connection … there are no limits, and you get to decide!), try this simple visioning the future exercise:
- Relax. Gently place your hands over your heart.
- Take a deep breath and close your eyes. With your hands on your heart, breathe deeply into your heart. Focus on your breath.
- Imagine your life 12 months from now. Where are you? Who is with you? How are you living? How are you working? See the details. Get specific. Put color and energy into this vision as if it’s already been realized. Imagine the future. Breathe the energy of that vision deeply into your heart.
- Open your eyes. Reflect on the vision. Write down with as much detail and clarity as you can recall the vision for your life 12 months from today. Conclude with writing about how living in that future state made you feel.
- Hold that vision of the future close to your heart. Refer to it often. Grab your journal and conduct regular progress reflections. Invite other like-minded people to join you on the journey forward. Fall in love with the process of becoming the new version of yourself.
A SIMPLE VISIONING EXERCISE THAT CHANGES LIVES
This technique works. It can help you create the future you imagine. I’ve experienced it in my own life, and I’ve heard from many others that it has helped them to create a desirable future.
One of those people is Matthew Menard.
Matthew attended a seminar I delivered in Mexico years ago, in which I walked his team through a visioning the future exercise. For Matthew, it set his course for a different future, and two years later, he shared this update with me on LinkedIn.
“I wanted to take a moment out of my day to do something I have been meaning to do for some time, to thank you. Whether you have the time to read this or not doesn’t change the fact that YOU and YOUR story inspired me and refocused my energy and passion. You spoke nearly 2 years ago at our corporate recognition event for Top Performers (Mexico, April 2015 just as a reminder). You spoke about being a champion and being successful in the new economy; suffice to say your dialogue was compelling and insightful. The exercise you ran us through of closing my eyes, thinking of what I wanted and where I want to be was the catalyst for me to push myself forward in my life and career and make incredible changes for my family. Since that time I’ve started a family and have a 19mth old beautiful baby girl, I worked my ass off, broadened my skill set, picked up a coaching designation and pushed for the role I knew I was suited for to be successful. I was able to lead my team to a record year in our Enterprise Business Organization! So in short, THANK YOU! Thank you for sharing all that you did. For making the impact you did. For the words and insight, I continue to leverage through your videos and notes. And thank you for inspiring me to keep pushing to be a champion every day. You will never truly know the impact you had.”
Thank you for sharing your story, Matthew. You are a true champion, in every sense of the word. It was always inside you.
It’s also inside YOU.
Vision your future. Be specific. Set your intention. Set goals. Say it out loud. Speak from the heart.
The universe is listening and will bring you the support you need when you decide, commit and GO! Step forward. Act boldly. Forgive your own mistakes and missteps. Keep going!
You can reclaim what you were made for at any time.
