Visualization

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Visualization by Arnold Schwarzenegger

What is it that makes a person a winner?
What distinguishes those who succeed from those who fail?

“It’s all in the mind,” says Arnold Schwarzenegger.  A former governor, billionaire, movie star, body-builder,five time winner of the Mr.Universe title, Arnold is living large.But it wasn’t always like that.  He can remember back when he had nothing except a belief that his mind was the key to getting him where he wanted to be in life.

When he was very young, by using visualization he pictured himself being and having exactly what he wanted. Mentally he never had any doubts about it. The mind is really so incredible, he would say.  Before he won his first Mr. Universe title, he said he walked around the tournament like he owned it. The title was already his.  He had won it so many times in his mind that there was no doubt he would actually win it.

When he became an actor he used the same visualization technique.  He visualized himself being a very successful actor and making millions of dollars.  He later said, I could feel and taste the success.  I just knew it was all going to happen.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to create and influence his reality with visualization!

What is Visualization ?

Visualization is using your imagination to see yourself in a situation that hasn’t yet happened, picturing yourself having or doing the thing you want, and successfully achieving the results you desire.

As an example, say you want to become more confident.  By using visualization you picture yourself as being confident.  You see yourself doing things, talking to people, all with great confidence.  You picture yourself and situations that normally give you a difficulty and you see yourself in these situations at ease, confident, and performing well.When using visualization you may picture your friends and associates complementing you, or congratulating you on your new-found confidence.  You feel the pride and satisfaction of both being a confident person and of enjoying the things that happen to you as a result of your confidence.  With proper visualization you’ll picture everything that would or could happen to you and live as if it really is happening to you.

Steps to a Successful Visualization

1.  Decide what you want to do: Ace a test, get a new job, start a new relationship, make lots of money, be more confident.
2.  Get relaxed.  Take a few minutes to relax your mind and body.
3.  Then using 5 to 10 minutes of visualizing yourself doing, being, whatever it is that you want to become in your visualization.

Stay on thoughts of doing and having the thing you want, not as some future reality that might happen or could happen.  Live in your mind as if it’s happening to you right now.
Create little inner videos or film clips.  See yourself doing the thing you want in your video.  On one level, you know it’s not yet happening to you; it’s not yet real.  It’s still just a visualization, a mental picture.  But you must understand the mental pictures we indulge in, the ones we regularly think about, become a blueprint for how our goals, a mold into which we pour our energy.  These pictures are real forces that will work for us.

Tomorrow we will get deeper into effective visualization.