Happy Monday!

It's that day again, your favorite day, right? There is no such thing as case of the Mondays with you, right? How was your weekend? Did you participate in something new and exciting? Did you take time to touch your dream? For example, if there is a new vehicle you are working to purchase, did you test drive it yet? If you want a home did you go to an open house to see the property? If you want that promotion at work, did you shadow the person performing the role you want or take time to review the requirements and visualize yourself performing them task daily?

Visualization plays a role in you actually achieving whatever it is that you are working towards. Some of the questions that I asked earlier are based on visualizing what you want. The more you visualize it, the more your subconscious mind will work. This helps you get in contact with opportunities to bring your desire to you. Scientists believe that we may experience real-world and imaginary actions in similar ways, explains Aymeric Guillot, Ph.D., a professor at the Center of Research and Innovation in Sport at University Claude Bernard Lyon, in France. Whether we walk on a mountain trail or only picture it, we activate many of the same neural networks. These are paths of interconnected nerve cells that link what your body does to the brain impulses that control it. For example, imagining yourself doing movements can help you get better at them: Golfer Jack Nicklaus practiced each shot in his mind before taking it. Mental workouts stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, which governs our fight-or-flight response and causes increases in heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. Therefore, envisioning a movement elicits nervous system responses comparable to those recorded during physical execution of the same action, says Guillot. Some research suggests that imagining could help you get results even when you don’t move a muscle. In one notable study that appeared in the North American Journal of Psychology in 2007, athletes who mentally practiced a hip-flexor exercise had strength gains that were almost as significant as those in people who actually did the exercise (five times a week for 15 minutes) on a weight machine. If your challenge is more mental than physical, such as, handling a difficult conversation, imagery can keep you calm and focused. “Mentally rehearsing maintaining a steady assertiveness while the other person is ignoring or distracting you can help you attain your goal,” says Kadish. Envisioning this calmness may also decrease physical symptoms of stress, like an increase in heart rate or stress hormones. When you repeatedly imagine performing a task, you may also condition your neural pathways so that the action feels familiar when you go to perform it. Finally, on a purely psychological level, envisioning success can enhance motivation and confidence. Implement these steps and move to your success. You can do it! Use all of your senses- see, hear, smell, taste, touch Be the star of the event, not a viewer Practice It Write it down Focus on the specific positive outcome Imagine every step Feel the results Script your success Be true to yourself Reference: Tori Rodriguez, 3 Easy Visualization Techniques, Real Simple