I was reminded on Twitter by a quote how life coaches and gurus often talk about how sports people visualize victory.
They say if you use positive visualization, then your outcome will improve.
Then there are the people who tell you that if you use the “Law of Attraction”, that is if you ask the universe for something, and you believe, then what you ask for will come to you.
The problem is, for most people, experience does not match what they are taught. And that sucks.
In the headline I make a promise that you can make positive thinking work. How?
Let’s look at this pragmatically. Being upbeat and happy has to be better than being pessimistic and miserable, just out of pure quality of life benefit. So even if positive thinking had no other impact but to make you live life a little happier, then it has to be a good thing.
From a medical science point of view too, how you think has a profound impact on your body. Just look up the word “Placebo” then keep digging, if you want your mind blown.
What about those “big” material outcomes, like manifesting huge Cribs-style mansions, your dream date, or a Bugatti Veyron (in deep red please, with chrome trim)?
I actually do think you can convince the universe, reality, or the deity of your choice to give you a break on this stuff. Many successful people have claimed visualization or affirmations have brought them a great deal of that success. Some of the stuff I have experienced has lead me to think there is something to it.
This does not, however, mean that there has to be anything magical about it.
In fact, being a lapsed programmer, I think a lot of it has to do with the squidgy grey computer we have between our ears, and the coding we supply it.
Computer programmers have a term that I think applies well:
Garbage in; Garbage outThat is, if you shovel in bad code or data, don’t expect the results to be brilliant.
Think about what you are saying to yourself about the things you want. If you are constantly sending your bio computer the instruction to fail then that is what you will do.
Are you telling yourself things like …
“I am going to fail.
I don’t deserve this.
Why do I even bother.
This person hates me, they are just being polite.
Don’t look up, if nobody notices me I can just slip out.
Stupid stupid stupid.
What is the point, it won’t work.
What if everyone hates it?”
… because if you are, then you are putting garbage in and all you can expect to get out is garbage.
If instead you code your autopilot to be expecting success, and looking out for ways that your on-board computron can help you achieve that, then your results are likely to be much better. That’s not woo-woo, it’s actually one of your brain’s jobs!
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It’s not just brain programming that makes all the difference though.
Think about those much-discussed visualizing athletes. As well as visualizing, what do they also do? (Ignoring those who sit around eating cookie dough ice cream instead of training, but through the power of visualization still miraculously win gold at the Olympics).
Pick out any winning athlete and I can guarantee they train very hard. Sorry to the folks who wanted to rely just on visualization, but it ain’t gonna happen. Nobody gives out gold medals just because the universe thinks you are awesome (if that did happen I wouldn’t be able to move for gold, right? right?).
So, what do you need, if not just thinking real hard?
- Mindset (as mentioned above)
- Training (daily learning and practice)
- Action (because theory is not enough, you have to take steps rather than just think about it)
Pretty simple really, and I am positive that if you follow that you will get more of the results that you are wanting 🙂
What say you? Please share your thoughts (positive or negative) in the comments ….