SELF-CONFIDENCE AT WORK

POWER OF VISUALIZATION
““Dreaming is not  enough. You have  to go  a step further and use  your imagination to visualize,  with intent!  Forget everything you’ve  ever  been taught, and believe it will happen, just as you imagined it. That is the  secret. That is the  mystery  of life." - Cristine Anderson

Visualization known  as one form of mental  rehearsal has been popular  since the Soviets started using it back in the 1970s to compete in sports. Many athletes employ this technique, including Tiger Woods, Adam Małysz, Mohammed Ali, or Emily Cook who has been using it  since her  teen  years. Seasoned athletes use vivid, highly detailed internal  images and run-throughs  of the entire performance, engaging all their senses in their visualization, and they combine their knowledge of the sports venue with it. World Champion  Golfer, Jack Nicklaus has said: “I never hit a shot, not  even in practice, without  having a very sharp in-focus picture of it in my head”.

Being able to make yourself feel certain of success can give you a massive edge in many professional and personal endeavors. Studies have shown that  confidence is the deciding factor in making a sale, closing a deal, acing a test, nailing an audition,  being hired or promoted.  And lack of confidence can put you into the decrepit state where even though you have the intellectual resources to succeed, you don’t even make the attempt  – you fail to ask for the sale, the raise, the help etc. You find yourself shying away from challenges, procrastinating on goals you set, earning less money, or even experiencing problems in your interactions with others.

Lack of confidence has the power to cause great problems in your life, not only because it makes you feel powerless and out of control, but also because it triggers you to act in ways that  are usually counterproductive  to what you want to accomplish. Visualization is one great way to help boost your confidence in many situations in your life.

IF GREAT ATHLETES USE THIS TECHNIQUE  TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE, HOW CAN IT ENHANCE YOUR LIFE AND POSITIVELY IMPACT YOUR CONFIDENCE?

The key to feeling confident  lies in a quote  from Albert Einstein: “Imagination  is more powerful than knowledge.” Even when your knowledge tells you to expect failure, you have the ability to consciously direct your imagination to override that impulse and feel certain of success anyway.

VISUALIZATION TO CREATE A MORE CONFIDENT YOU

1. Take a few minutes to write down some ideas about the self-image you’d  like to have. Obviously, confidence will be one of the traits you’ll include on your list, but also consider other traits you’d like to have, like compassion, discipline, ambitions, integrity, motivation,  focus, and so on.

2. Sit with a straight spine, close your eyes and call up a mental image of your current self. Does this person have any of the traits you’ve just written down? Most likely you’ll have at least one or two – even if you’d like them to be more prevalent.

3. Now,  imagine  that  those  traits  and  the  others  you’ve  chosen  are beginning  to become obvious in  this  mental  image of yourself. For  example, you might  see yourself standing a bit taller, smiling with happiness and purpose, or wearing an expression of peacefulness on your face.

4. Keep adding more and more visual cues to this mental image of yourself until you can see yourself as the person you want to be. Engage as many of the five senses as you can in your visualization. Who are you with? Which emotions are you feeling right now? What  are you wearing? Is there a smell in the air? What  do you hear? What is your environment? It will probably take more than one- 10 minutes’ session to gain a clear and strong mental image of this new you, but do the best you can. The more you practice, the easier it will become.

5. Now, as you look at this strong, confident person you created in your mind, begin to switch your focus slightly so that you are feeling and behaving as he or she does, mimicking his or her demeanor and posture. Feel yourself growing more confident, self-assured, impassioned about your life, motivated about your goals, and so on.

6. See yourself interacting in your daily life with newfound confidence and enthusiasm!

After returning to your normal activities, be sure to keep calling to mind a mental picture of this new you as often as you can, and make an attempt to feel and act like that person did during your visualization exercise. Eliminate any doubts, if they come to you. Repeat this practice often. Combine with meditation or an affirmation, for example: “I am courageous; I am strong”.