What most people don’t realize is that knowing what you don’t want is NOT the same as knowing what you DO want! Most people can tell you what they don’t want, but relatively few can tell you what they do want! They don’t realize just how different these two things actually are. And that’s kinda problematic. See, what you focus on magnifies. They say it and it’s true, “where focus goes, energy flows.”

When you are clear on what you really want out of life and how you want to live, it’s much easier to go get it! We may think about it at certain stages of life, if we have a big decision to make, or when we’re going through a life transition. But outside of that, it’s easy to let the busyness of life take over and prevent us from regularly reflecting on these things. 

Need help getting clear on what you *actually* want? Keep reading, because we’re here to help! In this article we’re going to share a process to help you get clarity, visualize what you truly want, and stay connected to it. 

The Science of Visualization

There’s tons of science on the power of visualization. Success stories abound – from elite athletes to successful leaders, speakers, and entrepreneurs. Whether it’s Jim Carrey writing himself a check for a specific amount and then landing a movie role that paid him the exact figure, or Katy Perry creating a vision board as a child and later winning the grammy pictured on it, they work. For an in-depth look at the neuroscience behind all of this, we totally recommend reading The Source by Dr. Tara Swart.

Visualization activates the same areas in the brain as doing the action in real life. It can help you get more comfortable with things that are new and different. It can also help you become your future self by experiencing what it’s like right now.

Why Our Brains Need to Filter

Suffice it to say, there are a few key processes going on in the brain in regards to visualization and manifesting your desired future. All the time, you’re surrounded by so much more information and stimulation than your brain can effectively take in. Not to mention, your subconscious can process wayyy more than your conscious thought. Thus, your brain has no choice but to filter a lot of it out. 

For example, we bet you’re not actively thinking about the feeling of the clothes on your body all the time. But you can direct your attention to it if you want to. Just like you’re not always thinking about breathing, yet you have the power to slow it down or breathe in a pattern if you want to.

The question is, is your brain filtering out the things you want it to? Did you ever think about the fact that since your brain primarily wants to predict and protect, it avoids risk and unfamiliarity by default? Yet, if you have a vision and goals that are different from your current reality, and no doubt you do, risk and unfamiliarity are exactly what you need to get more comfortable with!

The Power of Your Attention and Mindset

By consciously choosing what to focus your attention on and staying connected to it, you’ll be priming your brain to notice opportunities you might otherwise be filtering out, even unintentionally. Did we mention this is powerful stuff?

The other thing? Your mindset and your belief in yourself and what’s possible for you are SUPER important to achieving those things. Just believing that something is possible causes physiological changes in your brain and body, not to mention changes in the way you show up. And you need to show up in order to go after what you truly want in life!

This also involves taking ownership of the fact that you have the power to change your thoughts. You have the power to change your relationship with your thoughts to one that is supportive of your goals and desired future. This is a topic for another blog, but it’s super important to acknowledge here.

Action Steps You Can Take Today

1. Visualization

It’s not woo woo, it’s science! As we already discussed, this stuff works. Images connect to your emotions differently than words do! So ask yourself to help you visualize : if you could wave a magic wand and transform your life, what would it look like? 

Can you close your eyes and visualize every detail? Get super specific;  the more specific the better. What are you wearing? Where are you? How do you feel? What are you doing? Where do you live and work? What relationships are present or not? What’s different about you in this version of yourself? What do you do as her that you didn’t before? What are you no longer doing, tolerating, or available for?

Can you feel the feelings, letting them wash over you? Can you view it as present, or even as past, that it’s already done? How grateful are you? What do you do to express it? Take a minute and just feel what it’s like not only to have your desired outcome but also to be thankful for it. What would you tell your current self about how you got to this point? What advice would you give her? 

Feel free to do this a few times a week, if not daily, even just for a few minutes at a time!

2. Journaling

Writing down your thoughts and dreams is another way to help you visualize what you want. Getting your thoughts out of your head and onto paper also helps provide clarity.

What do you really want? Make sure this is true and aligned in the different parts of you. Is what you want logically, emotionally, and deep down in your gut the same? Or is one part of wanting something that feels off to the other parts? This “alignment” is very important for you to be able to commit to taking action. It’s also key that what you want is what you want, and not what you “should” want according to anyone else.

3. Staying connected

To your goals that is! This is one reason why we love digital vision boards, you can take it with you everywhere you go, can easily be reminded visually of your dreams, and keep it in the front of your mind so you don’t lose sight of your big picture. 

We get it, life gets busy. One minute you’re daydreaming about your dream beach house and the next minute, you’re thrust back into your current cycle of work, stress, exhaustion, negative thought spirals, and numbing out. And then you forget all about it until something reminds you days or weeks later. 

Doing this work will help you break free of this cycle! The key is staying connected and keeping your vibe and mindset positive. It’s so important to nurture positive thoughts and create these new patterns in your brain. We also need to assure you, you’ll have ups and downs and this won’t be linear. But the key is your resilient mindset, not staying down, and bouncing back.

Turn Inspiration Into Action

It’s our totally free (we can’t actually can’t believe it’s free, but you’re welcome!) guide that includes EVERYTHING you need to get started – journal prompts, a visualization exercise, and even our very own canva template to make your digital vision board! Consider it the next level of what you’ve read here. We’re going to guide you step by step to take your learnings and put them into action! Download it here!

We would LOVE to see your board and cheer you on. Get in touch with us at hello@livewellandwhole.com 

If you find any of this to be a little overwhelming or just feel like having personalized support, we got you. You can book a free 1:1 session where we can help you map out your vision and break it down into tangible action steps. Click the link here!