Angie LeVan is becoming one of my favorite reads. She wrote this gem on visualization in December and followed up with a great article on thriving this month.
Don't get me wrong I'm not one of those "positive thinking" people. That is to say, I don't think of positive thinking as it's interpreted by many of those who claim to be disciples of the silly “if you think it, it will happen” commune.
It has been my experience, however, that many people get held back by negative thinking not based in reality, they avoid good risks because of catastrophic thinking grounded in haywire logic. We've all been guilty of this, in fact it is the sort of thing phobias are made of.
One method of overcoming irrational thinking is to simply have a debate with it. State the fear, determine whether it is reality based and if it's not, challenge it. Allow the fear to counter with a “what if” or alternate scenario and respond again until you've uncovered every irrational thought driving the fear and defeated it in argument. All of this should be in writing. Once you've accomplished this, practice the argument over and over again in your head until its' memorized.
Another approach is visualization, which involves actually developing a mental image of achieving your goal. A pretty simple, easy to use example from Angie's post:
“Begin by establishing a highly specific goal. Imagine the future; you have already achieved your goal. Hold a metal ‘picture’ of it as if it were occurring to you right at that moment. Imagine the scene in as much detail as possible. 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? Sit with a straight spine when you do this. Practice at night or in the morning (just before/after sleep. Eliminate any doubts, if they come to you. Repeat this practice often.”
It may seem corny but I found this to be highly effective particularly with folks who suffer from anxiety disorders or chronic pain.
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