Visualizing Your Success: The Most Powerful Tool to Ignite Your Inner Potential
‘If you can dream it, you can do it!’ said Walt Disney, and he was right.
This famous filmmaker began his journey with a drawing of a mouse. With the power of his imagination, Walt Disney visualized the worldwide empire we know today. The one that spans from theme parks to movies to TV shows to merchandise (just to name a few).
Visualization is a great tool that can make your own future brighter. It’s not just something used by entrepreneurs or self-development gurus.
Mental imagery has been used in sports psychology for decades to increase the performance of athletes. This psychological technique helps to decrease anxiety in competitive situations and to increase concentration. With it, you can also gain self-esteem, optimism, and mental toughness.
This means that it could also be useful in your job search!
It’s not only a spiritual or emotional tool, but an evidence-based fact: visualization improves your performance. If you combine that with diligent practice, the results can be more than convincing.
‘The results were nothing less than spectacular. From doubt came confidence. From distraction came focus. From anxiety came intensity. From timidness came aggressiveness. From inconsistency came consistency. And, most importantly, from decent results came outstanding results.’ - writes Kim Taylor, an internationally recognized authority on the psychology of performance.
He experienced the power of visualization himself as a young athlete and since then he has helped many world-class athletes and famous artists, published hundreds of articles, and wrote numerous books on the subject.
Okay, but how can you do it?
If you are familiar with meditation then it will be easier for you.
Find a quiet place to sit (or lie) comfortably.
Close your eyes and relax. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Notice your breath traveling through your lungs and your body.
Imagine your dream career or a moment from the future that you are craving right now. For example, a successful job interview or the moment when you receive an email that you have been hired by your dream organization or when you enter the door of your future office for the very first time and are happy to meet new colleagues. Immerse yourself in these images, visualize as many details as possible, and enjoy these moments of success.
There are a few factors you should pay attention to:
Perspective
For example, when you imagine your first day at work, you may see the picture from your perspective: you see the other colleagues as they greet you. But the whole thing could also display like a movie scene: you experience it from afar, seeing yourself and others distantly in the situation. There is currently no scientific evidence that either is more effective than the other. However, the first solution works better - visualizing what you really want while embracing all of the emotions that arise with your whole being.
Use your senses
You should involve as many of your senses as you can. Don’t just see your new working place, also feel the sun on your skin while walking to your new office, listen for any noises or the voices of your new colleagues, smell the air and even taste what you would eat for lunch in this new place! Feel the happiness that you have the job, what happens when you meet new people, and your strength as you face new challenges.
Try, try again
Practice is the basis for everything. You may not see anything the first time, so it works best if you build it into your routine. Find a suitable time for you to practice your visualization and do it every day. With just 10 to 15 minutes of daily practice, your inner movie will become deeper and more detailed. It will be easier to focus and you will enjoy the pictures of a brighter future more and more.
Be persistent even if you don’t feel like it. Regular practice is still useful for strengthening your goals and dreams even if you can’t fully immerse yourself.
If you are ready to start, check out this video from one of our community chats. Our volunteer coach, Roberta Meli, introduces how to use creative visualization as a powerful tool to help you gain awareness in your life. You can watch it here.
Of course, we’re not claiming that if you practice enough, your inner movie will become a reality. Maybe parts of it will become true. Maybe parts will happen differently but in an even better way than you could imagine.
But we all know that job searching is tough. If you’ve lost your self-confidence, visualization can help you find your way back to your inner stability. With its help, you can gain hope, self-esteem, and determination.
Mental imagery can also help you prepare for job interviews better. It doesn’t have to only be for a long-term dream. You can imagine your answers and behavior in advance, and clarify your thoughts. This will greatly reduce your stress level at the interviews and hopefully will help you land your dream job!
(To really prepare for your interviews you can also read our previous posts here: how to prepare for an online interview and how to be vulnerable during a job interview.)
If it’s still difficult for you to imagine a new future, then we at Empower Amsterdam are here to help. If you’re unemployed (no income), an international, and living in the Netherlands, you can apply for free coaching here. Our coaches can help you start visualizing your ideal future today.