visualize

Sep

2021

How to Start with Visualization

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Did you know that some successful people like Olympic athletes hired visualization coaches to help them achieve their dreams? That is because visualization is a super powerful tool that helps high achievers reach their goals. Visualization helps them create their dream lives in their minds. It allows people to believe in this new reality that is manufactured in the mind. This brings about a new level of confidence to accomplish their goals. So, how to start with visualization?

Benefits of Visualization

Visualization is a mental exercise that allows you to focus on the future rather than the now. It makes you imagine a life that you could have. Why is it effective? Well, according to Jack Canfield, a motivational speaker and a co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul; Visualization gives you the following benefits:

1.It Activates Your Creative Subconscious

Did you know that brilliant ideas in the arts, businesses, sciences and other fields all came from the people’s creative subconscious mind? People’s imagination can produce genius thoughts; something that your conscious mind will have a hard time producing. You can get to this state if you find a quiet place to close your eyes and calm your mind. You need to let go of all the stress, worries and all negative emotions.

2.It Programs Your Brain

Instead of focusing on your difficulties, your brain will be reprogrammed to look at solutions. You will be able to readily perceive and recognize the resources available at your disposal. You will be able to find little ways or things that will take you one step closer to your goals.

3. It Activates the Law of Attraction

Since your brain has been reprogrammed to focus on the positive, this activates the law of attraction in your life. You will become a magnet, attracting people, resources and even circumstances and events into your life that will lead you closer and closer to your goals.

4. It Builds Your Internal Motivation

What separates successful people from those who are not is the level of perseverance. All the knowledge, talents and skills in the world are all useless without perseverance. Perseverance is persistence. It is the ability to stand up again when you fall. It is to continue working on one’s goals despite the challenges and difficulties. Visualization builds your internal motivation. It gives you your ‘why’.

How to Start With Visualization

It is easy to start with visualization more so if you understand the benefits behind it. But first, you need to be very clear on what you want. Your goals should be clearly defined. Once you have that figured out, all you need to do is set aside a few minutes of your time. Then sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and imagine.

What do you want to achieve?
Where do you want to be in the future?

Imagine the future as VIVID as you can. Imagine as if you are already there. It is a world wherein you are already living your dream life. Include all the details in your visualization. Activate all the five senses. See, hear, feel, taste and smell your ideal future.

Repeat this mental exercise daily. Choose the time of the day where you are most relaxed. That can be either in the morning, as soon as you wake up or at night, before you go to bed.

Sample Visualization

For example, your goal is to have a new car. Before you start your visualization, you need to be very clear first on what car you want, what is the model, the color, etc. Once you figure all these out, you are now ready to start visualizing.

Imagine yourself waking up in the morning, in your room smelling the air. You should be able to smell the morning breeze. Imagine all the details in your room. Then, you stand up and get ready for work.
After taking a bath and dressing up, you now go to the dining room to eat your breakfast. What is the food on the table? Imagine eating and tasting the food on the table.
Once you are done, you are now ready to leave for work. You now stand and get your car keys. What is the logo on the key? What does the car key look like? Imagine holding the car key in your hand.
You can now proceed to go to the garage. There, you see parked in the garage is your car. What is the brand, color and model of the car? You click the car keys to enter the car.
Once you get in, you can smell the interior of the car. You turn on the engine and you leave for work.
On your way to work, you turn on the radio of the car and you listen to music with a smile on your face.

To make it more powerful, it helps to create a vision board. A vision board is a visual representation of every aspect of your dream life. Then, expect amazing results.

Good luck!

Feature Image by Игорь Левченко from Pixabay

Jun

2021

The Secret to The Secret

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Have you heard of The Secret? The bestselling book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is actually about the Law of Attraction. It works on the premise that one’s thoughts can change one’s life. This technique was supposedly the secret to success of successful people throughout history such as Plato, Beethoven, Leonardo Da Vinci and Albert Einstein. Even famous celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Jim Carrey, Will Smith, Lady Gaga and Arnold Schwarzenegger all talk about The Secret. So, what exactly is The Secret? Is it as simple as changing your thoughts or is there a secret behind it? What exactly is the secret to The Secret?

The Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction is one of the Universal Laws of the Universe. It is a philosophy that states that positive thoughts bring about positive results. In the same way that negative thoughts attract negative results. It is based on the premise that thoughts are energy. And that likes attract likes. Why is it important? It is important because the law of attraction tells us to be careful of what we focus on.

What you think you become. What you feel you attract. And what you imagine you create.
– Buddha

According to The Secret, The Law of Attraction is “the greatest and most infallible law upon which the entire system of creation depends.” It is similar to the law of gravity in the sense that it will always be there. Whether you like it or not; it will have a major impact in your life.

Key Lessons From The Secret

Here are key lessons from the book that we need to be consciously aware of:

Everything starts with our thoughts.
Thus, we should always be aware of our thoughts.
Always think positive.
Pay attention to your feelings.
Don’t dwell on the negative.
Instead of focusing on the challenges in your life right now, it is better to visualize your ideal future instead.

The Secret to The Secret

So, if we think positive thoughts, does it mean that good things will start happening in our lives? Well, yes and no. Critics of The Secret say that the book gave an impression that it is all about wishful thinking. It failed to give an accurate distinction between simply wishing as against doing something about it. The truth is there is another underlying secret to The Secret.

Master Sri Akarshana, a famous yogi in the World of the Law of Attraction, gave a practical and easy to understand explanation on how to apply the Law of Attraction in our lives. He likened the application of the law to shopping online. According to him, there are three steps that you need to take in order to manifest your heart’s desire successfully.

1. Be Specific

When you are shopping online, you are looking for a specific item. Thus, what you do is to go to the specific website and search for the item. More often than not, we already have the specifics like the brand, size, design, shape and color in mind. It means it is already in our mind. We have already visualize it. On times that we do not know the specifics, what we normally do is to research and read reviews until we find the right product that we are looking for. You don’t expect a particular product to be delivered on your doorstep unless you have chosen that specific product.

The same is true with the Law of Attraction. You need to be specific. You want a car? Then, what car? What model? What color? You need to be very clear in what you want. It all starts in your thoughts. But it should also come with emotions. You need to really, really want it and believe that you can have it.

2. Act on It

Going back to your online shopping, the product that you want to buy will not magically be delivered unless of course, it is a gift from somebody. However, almost 99% of the time, chances are you actually ordered it yourself. Buying online entails you to go to the website, search the product, click the order button, pay and give your delivery address and contact details. In short, there was action needed on your part.

The Law of Attraction is the same. It is not going to be given to you no matter how much you visualize it unless you start acting on it. Thoughts and emotions are just the first step. To be able to successfully manifest, it should come with action.

3. Let Go

Equally important as the first two steps is the last step which is letting go.

Going back to your online shopping, once you place your order, do you go on calling the company every minute of the day just to follow-up your order? Sometimes you do it when there is delay but you do not do it every minute of your day. What you do after placing your order is to move on with your day-to-day activities.

Likewise, the same principle applies in the Law of Attraction. You don’t stress yourself every minute waiting for your dreams to happen. What you should do is to move on with your life. You can act on it again every now and then to follow-up but getting stressed and obsessive about it is not going to help. You need to let it go. What you are asking for will come at the right time and on the right form.

May all your dreams come true!

Photo by Matheus Bertelli from Pexels

Mar

2021

Reset Your Life Challenge

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Are you happy and content about where you are in your life right now? What aspect of your life do you want to improve? What dimension of your overall wellness do you wish to become better? If you are having problems right now, the good news is that you can actually reset your life or just a specific aspect of your life but you must be willing to make some changes. It won’t be possible if you keep on doing the same things over and over again. So, are you willing to take the reset your life challenge?

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
– Albert Einstein

1. Assessment

To improve on any aspect of your life, the first step is assessment. Find out where you are right now in terms of your physical health, emotions, finances, relationships or any other aspect of your life. The only way to go forward is to honestly assess your current state.

2. Be responsible

You are where you are right now because of you alone. You are having problems with your physical health because you have not been taking care of your body. A healthy immune system can fight off any diseases or viruses. Your finances are in a mess because you have not been taking care of them. It is the same in every aspect of your life that is failing. It is not because of your parents, your boss, the government or anything. It is all a product of all the decisions you have made in the past. So, stop blaming others. Instead, be responsible for your life. Stop blaming others. The sooner you will accept responsibility for your life, the sooner you will be able to take control of your future.

You are what you are today because of the choices you made in the past.
– Jim Rohn

3. Visualization

The next step is to figure out where you want to go. How do you see yourself in the future? What is your ideal life? Visualize yourself living that ideal life. You don’t have to worry about whether it is possible or not. That is what dreams are for. In fact, the bigger the dream, the better. It helps to start by creating your own bucket list.

4. Creation of Goals

Now, it is time to create a bridge between your present life and your ideal life. The only way to do that is to make a connection between the past and the present through goal formation. Goals are supposed to be SMART. That’s the only way to achieve them.

5. Launch

Once you have concrete plans, the next thing to do is launch. The sooner you implement your plans, the sooner you can achieve that better life. What are you waiting for? Start now and look forward to a better tomorrow. When the clock strikes zero o’clock later, it is a promise of not just a new day but a new life.

6.Persevere

Once you start, learn to persevere. Perseverance means having the determination to continue despite all the obstacles and challenges that come your way. Don’t quit. Never give up.

Goodluck!

Feauture Photo by David Alberto Carmona Coto from Pexels

Feb

2021

Spring Day

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Spring is the season of new beginnings. It is in spring that flowers bloom, animals awake and birds start to chirp. No wonder spring has always been associated with hope. The signs of new life popping in every corner is proof that the dreary cold and winter days are finally over. In the same way that hope can actively transport an individual from darkness to light. Hope gives the promise that someday, circumstances will get better. That is why people look forward to that first spring day.

Passing by the edge of the cold winter, until the days of spring, until the days of flower blossoms. Please stay, please stay there a little longer.
– BTS, Spring Day

In times like this, when everything seems to be gloomy; more than ever we need to hold on to the power of hope in our lives. Don’t give up. Believe that one day, all this will be over. Soon, spring will come. Someday, we are all going to look back to this day and maybe understand why we had to go through such difficulty in our lives. Thus, is it important to learn the lessons and move on in life. Understand that life goes on. Hopefully, we can all come out of this as better, happier, healthier and wealthier human beings.

So, turn your focus from the negative to the positive. Visualize what your spring day is going to be like. What do you want your future to be like?

That is one good thing about this world…There are always sure to be more springs.
– L.M. Montgomery

Feature Image by Pixabay.

Jan

2021

Life Goes On

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The year 2020 has been tough. But no matter how tough it has been, you were able to survive it all. So, congratulations! You made it at this point. It is now 2021. The New Year signifies new beginnings. Life cannot remain in a standstill. At some point, people need to move on and accept that life goes on.

Challenges are part of life. Even without this pandemic, every human being will go through challenges in their lives. What is important is how individuals will react to challenges that will come their way. It may sound cliche but everything happens for a reason. Learn the lesson and move on. That is the essence of life.

The COVID-19 pandemic literally caused the world to a standstill. the world which we are used to ceases to exist. Suddenly, we have no choice but to adapt to the new normal. It happened in the blink of an eye that no one was prepared for it. But now that it has been months since the start of the pandemic, people need to learn the lessons from COVID-19 and move on. There is no point resisting the new norm. It will only cause stress and more problems. Unfortunately for us, it will be difficult to go back to the world that we were used to. So, there is nothing left to do but to embrace change.

Life Goes On is a promise of a better tomorrow. We don’t know when it will come but it will come. One day, all these things will remain just a distant memory.

Close your eyes for a moment. Hold my hand to the future, let’s run away. Like an echo in the forest, the day will come back again as if nothing happened.
– BTS, Life Goes On

New Beginnings

The New Year is the perfect time to redesign our life through a bucket list. The goals that we had before may no longer be applicable in the new normal. So, take this time to reflect on what it is that you really want in life. Visualize your ideal life. Unleash the genius within you. It is okay to start from scratch. Just believe in yourself. Believe that you have the power to create your reality. You can be happy, healthy and wealthy. It is all up to you. Listen to your hear t.

No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today. life goes on, and it will be better tomorrow.
– Maya Angelou

Let’s all work for a better 2021. Happy New Year!

Oct

2020

Life-Changing Lessons from Walt Disney

Reading Time: 4 minutes

If you can dream it, you can do it.
– Walt Disney

Have you ever been to any Disneyland park around the world? If you have been there, you will probably agree that there is something magical about the place. A Disney experience is such an emotional experience. It is like being in a world of imagination where everything is joyful and blissful. It magnifies all your senses. Minus the crowd and the long lines, Disneyland will make you feel like a child again, full of laughter and dreams. Disneyland truly deserves the title as the “happiest place on earth”. But did you know that everything that you see and feel in the Disney parks all started in the imagination of one man? Yes, millions of people around the world can feel and experience the Disney magic today because one man was able to dream it and visualize it. It’s all thanks to Walt Disney. Take some inspiration on some life-changing lessons from Walt Disney.

The Story of Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney, popularly known as Walt Disney, was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of five children. At a tender age of seven, he already started working. To help his family make ends meet, he worked as a newspaper boy. While in high school, he attended the night classes of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. At 16 years of age, he joined the American Red Cross as an ambulance driver in France, after being rejected by the army for being underage during the first World War.

After the war, he became a night watchman. While working he began drawing animals at night. Although he wanted to become an actor at first because of his love for Charlie Chaplin, he opted to become a newspaper cartoonist instead. After his own cartoon “Laugh-O-Gram” became popular, he was able to acquire his own studio that produced a seven-minute live action and animation called Alice in Cartoonland. However, the studio went bankrupt after a few years in operation.

After some time, Walt, and his brother Roy decided to move to Hollywood to start anew. There, they created a character called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit together with cartoonist, Ub Iwerks. They were then able to strike a deal to have their cartoons distributed. Unfortunately, the rights to their cartoons were stolen by the New York Distributor.

The Birth Of Mickey Mouse

Out of desperation, they produced a new cartoon based on a character named Mickey Mouse. The audience was not impressed but the team did not give up. On the third animated film, Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse became an instant hit!

Video Credit: Walt Disney Animation Studios

In 1929, Disney introduced Mickey’s friends – Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. In 1937, the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was shown in movie theatres. The movie earned $8 million dollars despite the Great Depression happening at that time. The film made Walt Disney a millionaire.

The Birth of Disneyland

Despite the financial success brought about by the film production company, in Walt Disney’s mind, he still envisions an imaginary world of fairy tales. Unfortunately, investors were wary. Even his brother Roy, did not support him with his new idea. Still, Walt Disney persisted. After being turned down 302 times, he finally got financing for his dream in creating the Walt Disney World.

In 1955, the first Disneyland Theme Park opened in Anaheim, California. Today, there are 14 Disney Theme Parks around the world: 2 in California, 4 Disney parks and 2 water parks in Florida, 2 in Tokyo, 2 in Paris, 1 in Hong Kong and 1 in Shanghai. As of 2018, about 726 million accumulated visitors were recorded to have visited the Disney parks since they opened.

Life-Changing Lessons from Walt Disney

Walt Disney’s life story is so inspiring that there are so many life-changing lessons the we can learn and apply in our lives:

1.Nothing is Impossible

Walt Disney grew up in poverty but this did not stopped him from reaching his dreams. If he just accepted his circumstances back then, then he would have not been able to inspire millions of people around the world today.

If you are born poor, it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor it’s your mistake.
– Bill Gates

2.Stand Up After Failure

Walt Disney did not just fail once or twice. He failed multiple times on his businesses. He also was rejected 302 times before he was able to secure funding for Disneyland. What is inspiring is how he was able to stand up despite all the failures and rejections. How about you? Did you give up the first time? The second time? How about after 50 failures and rejections? How about 100? 200? Will you be able to go on? It takes a lot of courage and perseverance to be able to do what he did.

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.
– Confucius

3. Do What You Love

One of the reasons why Walt Disney stayed motivated and did not give up was because he followed his passion. It will be very difficult to continue doing what you are doing if you do not love what you are doing. Passion is your key to success. Why do you think the likes of Bill Gates, Kobe Bryant and BTS are so successful in their own fields? What’s the rule of success that these people followed?

4. Believe in Yourself

Although the odds were not on his favor, Walt Disney believed that he can do it. During that time, the first world war had just ended. And remember that it was also the time of the Great Depression. It is quite similar to what is happening right now. People lost their jobs and the world economy was in recession. They just emerged from the flu pandemic that affected one third of the world’s population. Yet, he believed in the power of his dreams.

5. Visualization Works

Everything that you see and experience in Disneyland today started on Walt Disney’s imagination. He was able to imagine a whole new world on his mind. In fact, every man-made thing that you see around you started on one’s person’s imagination. That’s how powerful the mind is. As what Walt Disney believed, if you can see it in your mind, you can do it. Pursue your dreams and turn them into reality.

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
-Walt Disney

Updated version. First published in Pinoy Smart Living on 09.06.2018.

Feature Image by Aline Dassel from Pixabay

Apr

2020

Fun Things You Can Do When You Are Stuck at Home

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Most countries around the world have implemented some form of lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Lockdown is the now the new normal. While some places are already beginning to ease restrictions, some are still extended while others are shut down again because of fear for a second wave. If you are one of those people who still do not have the liberty to go out of the house, here are some fun activities that you can do to keep your boredom at bay when you are stuck at home:

1.Binge-watch a TV Series

In normal times, binge-watching is bad because it is unhealthy and unproductive but during these extra-ordinary times, it can be good especially if you are watching shows that you can learn from or increase your emotional intelligence. You can also make it a family activity by watching a marathon of movies that you can enjoy with the kids.

2.Learn a New Language

Learning a new language does not only give you a competitive edge in your career, it is also beneficial to your mental health. It boosts brain power. It improves your memory. Learning a new language also sharpens your mind. It can also help boosts your confidence. In addition, it can help you understand movies or dramas without reading subtitles especially if you are a fan of foreign shows like Korean dramas.

3.Plan Your Next Vacation

In a s tudy that was published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life, it shows that a great proportion of people’s happiness comes from planning the next vacation. It is largely due to the anticipation of relaxing, going on a holiday and travelling to a different place.

So, what are you waiting for? List down your travel goals and start planning for your next vacation!

4.Play Board Games with your Family

While no one can argue with the benefits of technology, sometimes good old fashioned board games is a welcome change. Instead of individual family members holding their different gadgets, why not bond together as a family and enjoy quality time playing with your parents, children or siblings. For sure, it will be fun. It also encourages open communication among family members. You can play board games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, Life, Pictionary, Battleship and Cranium.

5.Read Books

Reading books is good for you. It improves your brain function. Through reading, you will be able to increase your knowledge. and broaden your vocabulary. It makes you smarter, improves your memory and enhances your level of concentration. In addition, reading also reduces stress. It also keeps you entertained. The advantages are simply too many.

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
Dr. Seuss

6.Redecorate your Home

The way your home looks have a great effect on your mood. A home that is clean, well-organized and has the right atmosphere can help get rid of anxiety and stress. You can start by decluttering and disposing things that you no longer need.

7.Sleep

In this modern world, a lot of people in the urban areas are caught with the hustle and bustle of city life that most are not getting the required hours of sleep that the body needs. Take this rare opportunity to get enough sleep. Remember that sleep is a vital factor in boosting your immune system. Your immune system is your best defence against diseases.

8.Start a Group Video Conference Call with your Friends

Social distancing does not necessarily mean breaking up friendships. While it may take a long time before you can party and go out with friends again, you can still connect with everyone through video chats. There are many free platforms that you can use like Facetime, Google Hang-out, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Viber, WhatsUp, Zoom and many others.

9.Start a New Hobby

Is there something that you really wanted to do when you were still a kid? Something that you have been putting off simply because you neither have the time nor money to do so. Now is the time to start doing that. There are many indoor hobbies that you can do. You can knit, weave, sew, paint, quilt, cross stitch, origami, make jewelries, write poetry, make a scrapbook, garden etc.

A hobby helps you relax. It allows you to take a break from all the stress and just simply enjoy the moment. It is good for your mental and emotional health.

10. Visualize your Future

Success starts with a vision. When you visualize, you imagine things. You see yourself in the future in vivid details living the life that you want to live. The more specific your imagination will take you, the better it is. By doing so, you are already increasing the likelihood of success.

Visualization is fun. It gives you something to look forward to. It also helps you rise above the storm and challenges in life because it helps focus your energy on the desired outcome rather than the problem. It is all about looking into the future rather than being depressed about the present.

If there is anything that you wish to add, please feel free to do so. Your inputs will help a lot of people go through these hard times.

Feature Image by Posted by A.L. Jonas in Intellectual, 0 comments