Visualization is one of the best weapons you’ve got in your arsenal when you‘re setting out to create change. When you add feeling to what you see in your mind the results you can create in your life, often really quickly, will blow you away. Like anything, it takes work. Yep, you gotta actually do something to get any kind of results.
If you’re new to visualization, or even if you’ve been practising for some time, it’s comforting to know that there’s a few common problems with visualization that people tend to experience. If you’re struggling at all you’re definitely not alone. Even after using this technique with massive success for many years, I’ve still got a couple of areas in my life where I struggle to get it right.
Let me share with you a personal and ongoing struggle of mine that might help you understand some to these common visualization problems. This one is the elephant in the room that I usually avoid discussing… Whoa, cant believe I’m actually going to write this as it’s like my biggest sore spot and at times I let it make me feel like a failure. Ok, here goes.
In the last seven years I’ve managed to pack on an extra 50 pounds to my super short frame. Impressive right? I gradually went from being a fit and healthy person to being fat, feeling like I’ve got no energy and totally hating the way my body looks – yet I still keep on adding more pounds… WTF? Now I’ve had some great reasons (excuses) that I could probably string a long for a bit longer to justify to myself why the scales keep going up. My favorites are that I quit smoking eight years ago, that I turned thirty and had a slowing metabolism to deal with (like it just happens the day the calendar clicks over…) and I like to blame the few major surgeries I’ve undergone a fair bit as well. Hey it was a totally crap time in my life! Truth is, I spent the last six years slogging away at a career that left me feeling empty, creating a body full of cortisol from the continual pressure and stress, I spent a minimum of 12 hours a day sitting in a chair, stopped exercising regularly and ate a ton of crap food. I swear, my car would go into autopilot every morning on the way to work, and whether i wanted to or not, I always ended up in the McDonalds drive thru!
So why am I sharing this? Well, to show you that a person who can create amazing results in areas like finances, and attracting material objects or experiences, can have the same common problems with visualization that you face.
As you can see, my weight loss dreams have been an epic fail to date. Each year for at least the last seven years I’ve set a goal to lose 10 pounds. Pretty straightforward right? Every year, without fail, I find that I put on virtually that exact amount! Aargh!!! So why does this happen? With years of study and researching this area under my belt, I feel like I shouldn’t be making mistakes with this stuff. But, I have. And, it’s ok. Truth is I’ve been trying to take shortcuts which is just plain lazy. I wanted the rewards without doing the work.
After having an honest look at myself, I’ve found that these common problems with visualization below are what need to be resolved so I can create real change.
Problem one is that I’ve been fixated on a number. All I’ve given my attention to is the number and the only feelings I have behind it are fear and anxiety that I won’t be able to lose that much weight. Law of Attraction is always working and can only bring me what I ask for and feel to be real. Basically the only message the universe is hearing from me is 10 pounds, backed with the worry of not being able to lose it. As always it’s delivered and I get the 10 pounds I asked for – every time.
Problem two is that I still have a stack of limiting beliefs surrounding food, body image and love which I have failed to truly acknowledge or deal with. Everyone has beliefs about themselves, some positive some negative. Most of these beliefs were not consciously chosen, they were planted in our minds by other people throughout our lives. Discovering what beliefs are holding you back, then actively trying to replace them with new ones that can actually help you is super important.
Problem three is that I haven’t found a compelling reason to force myself to commit to making the changes necessary to be healthy and fit again. “Find a why that makes you cry” is a phrase I love and it is so true! No idea whose quote it is so if anyone knows please share below so I can update. When the road to your goal gets hard and you feel like throwing it all in, having a reason to keep pushing on can get you through the toughest challenges and keep you moving in the right direction.
I used to think the problem was just that I couldn’t picture myself being 10 pounds lighter but this isn’t the case. Without getting clear on the problems above, I could picture myself looking like a Victoria’s Secret model and still get crap results.
Hopefully by sharing my struggles this will help you overcome your own problems with getting visualization to work for you. You really are worth investing the time in to dig deep and get to the root of the problems. The key now is for us to take action, remove the blocks we’ve created and get visualization working for us!
