The Power of Mental Imagery


by Norman Barlow - Date: 2006-12-05 - Word Count: 828 Share This!

My wife and I drove by this beautiful resort, and I blurted out, "I want to speak there, make a bunch of

money, and pay off our credit line."

I pulled over and went into the resort. I then went to the front desk and asked the clerk to show me the biggest conference room available.

"Are you planning to hold a meeting or conference, sir?" he asked.

"No. However, I do plan on attending one in this room and speaking here," I replied.

"On what date, sir?" he asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but a final date will shape up for me," I replied.

I walked up to the podium and imagined speaking to a group of people from a corporation. As I imagined this, I gripped the podium with both of my hands. I imagined a corporation calling me up and asking me to come to this very resort to speak to a group of sales representatives. I imagined myself negotiating with them the fee I wanted to charge, and when the person would hesitate, I would say with boldness, "I am worth it!" I imagined typing up the invoice and later going to the mailbox to pick up my cheque.

"Thanks for showing me the room. I will see you again," I said to the clerk as I left.

I kept seeing my mind all the things I believed would happen and expected to happen.

"The Phone Call"

It was early on a Saturday morning that a corporation contacted me about speaking to their group of sales representatives.

"I suppose you are holding it at such and such a resort," I said.

"Yes, how did you know?" the person replied.

"I'll bet it is being held in the Acorn Room. Am I correct?" I asked.

"Yes, but how did you know?" the person questioned.

"Ha someone already contacted you about our upcoming event?" they asked.

"No" I replied.

I was then asked what I charged and told the person the amount I wanted.

"You are not cheap. That seems like a lot of money," they replied.

"I'm worth it!" boldly came my reply.

"It sure sounds like you are. We will pay your fee" the person replied.

The person booking me for the date went on to say how they just couldn't figure out why they felt compelled to book me, a "no namer" when they had a budget to book a big name speaker.

After speaking at the event, a staff member came up to me and said, "How in the world did an unknown guy like you get to speak at our event?"

I looked them straight in the eye and said, "They had no choice but to book me to speak here today. You see, I was here before the event was even planned by your company."

"How to Use Mental Imagery to Achieve Your Goals"

1. Develop a clear mental picture of who you would like to become, what you would like to have, or what you want to accomplish in your life. Some people find it helpful to create a book with pictures cut from magazines to help them focus their mind on what they want.

2. Find a quiet, comfortable place. Imagine seeing yourself already succeeding at whatever it is you want to become, have, or do. First, see yourself as if you were on a movie screen. Notice any colors, sounds, feelings, smells, and tastes connected to the images. Then, see yourself actually entering the movie, experiencing the feelings connected to the events.

3. Rehearse this daily and make the feelings connected to you living out what you see even more intense-as if you have already accomplished your goal.

4. Prepare in advance and in "faith" in some ways for the day in which you will actually experience what you want to take place. For example, if you want to own a BMW, buy a BMW key chain and carry your existing car keys on it. If you want to lose weight, buy a pair a of jeans the size you envision yourself wearing and keep them in a place in your closet where you can see them each morning as you pick out the clothes you plan to wear each day.

5. Refuse to think about your current circumstances. Use mental imagery to take you where you want to be in your life, not where you want to stay. Do not focus on your limitations, your past, or your current circumstances. Move beyond your self-scripted limitations and focus on seeing a new and different future for yourself.

"Use the S.E.E. Approach to Achieving Your Goals"

S - Spend time in the theatre of your own mind seeing yourself having, becoming, or doing whatever it is you want.
E - Engage in using all your senses when seeing yourself succeed. What will it look like? How will you feel? What will you hear yourself saying? What smells or tastes might be connected to what you see?
E - Energize your mental images by preparing in advance by faith before they arrive. For example, start building your new wardrobe for the position you expect to be in one day.


Related Tags: visualization, visualize, imagination, mental imagery

Norman has over a decade of experience as a professional psychotherapist in the field of psychiatry. He holds a Master's degree and two earned Doctorate degrees in the field of counseling and is a Master NLP Practitioner. He is also a member of The Ontario Association of Consultants, Counselors, Psychometrists and Psychotherapists. He is the author of the audio book "The Success Formula" and his work has been featured in the media and journals. Currently, he is completing a book entitled "Breaking Point" Transforming the Life you Have into the Life You Want that will be published and released in September 2007.

The most frequent comment organizations and meeting planners see on the speaker evaluation forms filled out by members of the audience is "When can we have Norman back to speak to us again?"

www.normanbarlow.com

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