In this post on how to visualize something into reality, we will discuss how powerful the process of creative visualisation can be. In this post you will learn::
- What is Creative Visualisation?
- Who uses Creative Visualisation?
- How does it work?
- How do you do it?
- Benefits of Creative Visualisation
- Why it might not work
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: What is Creative Visualisation?
Creative Visualisation is the process of using vivid mental imagery to help you achieve your goals and desired future outcomes.
If you have a clear picture of your outcome in your head and want it bad enough you will condition your subconscious mind to make that picture a reality.
Your subconscious does not like conflict, so when you reinforce the imagined outcome enough times, it will start to think this is the reality.
This in turn will start to change your mindset, thoughts and behaviours to focus solely on achieving your desired outcome.
Who Uses Creative Visualisation?
All successful people use creative visualisation consciously or unconsciously.
They visualise their goals as if they’ve already been accomplished.
This makes them believe that it’s only a matter a time before become reality.
The below are some famous people who their success to creative visualisation.
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: Walt Disney
His imagination was so vivid, the people he worked with said he would often fall into a trance like state when he was imagining things.
He was so good at creative visualisation, he went from being a down on his luck animator, to building a theme park on 160 acres.
He would describe his dreams in detail to his creative directors who would turn them into reality.
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold used creative visualisation to great effect in his bodybuilding, acting and political careers.
“Create a vision of who you want to be — and then live that picture as if it were already true.”
“If you want to turn a vision into reality, you have to give 100% and never stop believing in your dream.”
“It is one thing to idolise heroes. It is quite another to visualise yourself in their place. When I saw great people, I said to myself: I can be them” Arnold Schwarzenegger
How to Visualise Something Into Reality: Albert Einstein
As a kid Einstein was an underachiever, he used to have to get tutorials in maths.
Despite this, his big breakthroughs came because he put a huge effort into visualising how inventions might play out in reality.
“I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking, Imagination is more important than knowledge,” Albert Einstein
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: Jim Carrey
Jim wrote himself a check for $10m dollars which he would receive from his acting.
He carried it in his wallet every day when he was a broke actor to help him visualise becoming the big movie star he is today.
Carrey also used to park his car on Mulholland Drive, visualise seeing himself as a successful actor and getting work from top directors.
“I would visualise things coming to me. It would just make me feel better. Visualisation works if you work hard” Jim Carrey
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: Oprah Winfrey
Oprah had a terrible childhood, she had to wear potato sacks instead of clothes, and was raped and sexually abused.
However she convinced herself she would be successful.
She got a full scholarship to university but left at age 19 to pursue a media career.
She was sexually harassed and humiliated starting out in her career, but she keep working towards her vision of having a successful career in Media.
Now at age 61, she is worth $3bn.
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: Drake
As an unsigned rapper, Drake googled ‘craziest residential swimming pools’ and used one of the top images as a desktop on his computer.
He saw that image every day and used it as inspiration to become a successful rapper.
When he did so, he bought that mansion.
One of the lyrics from his songs:
“This some sh*t I wrote about when I was broke. See the power of the mind is not a joke…” Drake
To check out the top three takeaways from my favourite non fiction books, check out my post on 12 Life Changing Books
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: How does Creative Visualisation work?
It has long been a part of elite sports.
Athletes and professional sportspeople will simulate scoring or winning while practising.
If they convince themselves they will score or win in their head, very often they do.
Many of them visualize in greatest detail how they intend to succeed, long before they start taking action.
The margins are so small in professional sports, it often comes down to belief and mental performance.
Creative Visualisation helps with both.
When you visualize, you create new neural-pathways in your brain.
Your subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between a real memory, and a vividly imagined visualization.
When you constantly reinforce your visualised outcome your mindset changes accordingly.
Once your mindset changes, your behaviours and habits change too.
These new behaviours, actions and habits bring you into contact with new people, new situations and new circumstances that will all help you achieve the outcome you have been thinking about.
When you really focus your thoughts backed up by the right emotions you can accomplish great things.
It is like acting out a rehearsal in your mind of what you want to achieve over and over again.
The more you want this outcome, the more emotionally attached to it you will become.
This will make your subconscious mind try harder to make it become a reality.
Example:
Think of a bride who wants to lose weight before her wedding day.
She can paint a vivid image of what she will look like walking down the aisle looking amazing in her dress.
This image is repeated every day in her mind and motivates her to exercise and eat right in the lead up to the wedding.
In the above example, the strong emotional connection to the goal is what will drive her to go for the healthy option in the supermarket, or to go to the gym after a long day at work.
If you aren’t emotionally connected to your outcome, then you are never going to achieve it.
By creatively visualising a picture of what your desired outcome is, you can tap into your emotional motivation.
This is the most powerful type of motivation as it will drive you on to do what you need to do, even when you are tired or try and talk yourself out of it.
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” Jim Rohn
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: How to do Creative Visualisation?
1. Define your goal.
Be as open-minded and think as big as you can.
Make sure it’s clear, specific and within a reasonable time frame.
2. Make sure you really want to achieve this goal
You must think you can achieve this goal.
If you don’t, then you will start making excuses as to why what you are imagining will never happen.
You must ‘buy in’ to your vision.
Once you have done this, you can start using vivid imagery to motivate you to make this vision come true.
3. Visualize a clear mental image of desired outcome
Make this image as clear and detailed as you possibly can.
Let’s say you want to run your own fashion business:
- Where are your offices?
- Who is your target market?
- How many people do you employ?
- What are your business goals?
- How long is your commute?
- What kind of house to you live in?
Get right down into the detail of what your life would be like if your vision came true.
The more detailed and vivid the picture the harder your subconscious will work to make it a reality.
When you visualise your desired outcome, you need to feel positive emotions.
Picture yourself achieving what your outcome and how good you feel about it.
If you think negatively about your desired outcome, you will talk yourself out of changing the necessary beliefs and behaviours to achieve your goal.
“If you can see it and believe it, it is a lot easier to achieve it.” Oprah Winfrey
4. How often to do Creative Visualisation?
There is some guidance to say that you should make creative visualisation part of your daily routine.
However, I think the most successful people have their vision etched into their minds and are constantly thinking about it.
When they encounter stumbling blocks or obstacles, they are more resilient because they never lose sight of their desired outcome.
Ultimately it is up to you how and when you do it. However, the more frequent you do it the more powerful it will be.
Many people visualise their desired outcome for a few days but quickly give up when they haven’t become instant millionaires.
Have patience, play the long game and results will come.
5. Vision Board
A vision board is a board used to build a collage of words and pictures that represent your goals and dreams.
You can easily put together your own using words, images, on any type of board/page.
Then put it somewhere where you will see it every day to keep reinforcing your desired outcome in your subconscious mind.
How to Visualize Something Into Reality: Benefits of Creative Visualisation
1. Helps you define what exactly you want
In order to create a detailed mental image of what you want you have, you need to figure out what it is first.
Many people never focus their attention on what they want from the future.
They are too busy getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of their daily lives.
Once you define clearly what you want, you can start putting steps in place to achieve it.
2. Reduces overwhelm
With social media, 24 news, constantly checking emails, and never-ending to-do lists it can be hard to see the wood for the trees these days.
Having one big desired outcome that you keep reinforcing in your mind will help give you keep some perspective on what is most important.
We only have so much time and energy each day.
Knowing your long-term goal will help you decide how you allocate this finite amount of time and energy.
Successful people who know what they want are great at saying ‘no’ to anything that does not align to their goals.
3. Increases positive thoughts and behaviours
Many of us already use our energy to think about the future through worry and the bad things that might happen.
By creatively visualising positive outcomes we can reclaim control over our thoughts, which in turn influence our behaviours.
After a few days of visualising success, you’ll start to feel more confident in yourself.
This will result in you seeing and taking more opportunities which will inevitably lead to more success!
4. Improves Performance
Constantly thinking of a clearly defined outcome in your mind, you will start to make better decisions. You subconscious will work tirelessly to make this outcome happen.
IF you want it bad enough you will find yourself planning on how to make it happen.
Repeatedly visualising a clear vision of what you want is the first step.
Successful athletes create a movie in their mind of their perfect performance.
They repeatedly use this visualisation in their training and preparation for competing.
Pro golfers will not hit a shot until they are comfortable that they can see the shot.
Free kick and conversion takers in football and rugby spend minutes visualising how the ball is going to go where they want it to.
“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough.” Oprah Winfrey
Visualising -> Reality: Why Creative Visualisation might not work…
It’s not a shortcut to wealth and success.
Daydreaming you are a millionaire or own your company won’t magically make it happen without putting in the required effort.
Creative Visualisation is a tool that helps us rise above limitations in our minds to take action towards our visions or goals.
If you are very uncomfortable with the images that you paint with your imagination, or find them very realistic, you will convince yourself that they will never happen.
i.e. if you want to become a CEO but have struggled to get promotions over the years in your finance career, you will talk yourself out of becoming a CEO.
However, if you believe deep down you can become a CEO, then visualising achieving that goal with vivid imagery, and reinforcing those thoughts into your subconscious everyday will help you make it a reality.
Try Creative Visualisation out today, build it into your daily routine and I guarantee you will start to see results.
If you are found this post on ‘How To Visualize Something Into Reality’ helpful and want more, check out the advice of 100 graduates 10 years out of university in my book ‘1000 Years of Career Advice’.
You can get the free ebook version here.
8 thoughts on “How to Visualize Something Into Reality: The Process of Creative Visualisation”
Loved the way you presented it. Subconscious mind has a lot of power, which, if used properly, can guide you towards success.
I totally believe in creative visualization. That’s a great reminder to change my desktop image – I had never heard that story about Drake!
I short we call it Law of Attraction which works in all the cases. However I really must say tht you have explained it pretty well.
So long as it’ll help you carve your goals and desires out into the Universe and helps you to be motivated to achieve them, I’m down! P. S. Jim Carrey’s story is hands down inspiring!
I totally agree with this and do actually use this method. It is a great thing to visualise and then achieve those goals xx
I love this creative visualisation I’ve always to focus on my goal with a great mindset nice post!
I think creative visualisation can really help and plan and move forward with the goals you want to achieve. Great post
Laura x
Many people define goals but fail to work through them in order for them to become reality. That’s the real problem of so many. These are nice tips by the way.