Visualizing success

Striving for success involves many things.  Preparation, planning, goal-setting, and practicing are all important components of achieving our goals.  But a piece of the puzzle that is often overlooked is visualization.  Without visualization, all the planning and preparation might be for naught if the intention is not set for success.  When visualizing, we enlist the power of our consciousness and its connectivity to the universal laws of attraction to bring to us what we have created in our minds.  The more detail we can visualize the better...what does success taste like?  Smell like?  Look like?  Sound like?  Think about  people, places, sights, sounds, whatever might play a part or be present when success is achieved.  Then imagine how it will feel to experience that success.  Calling all of our senses and emotions into action when visualizing is a powerful way to set the wheels of the Universe in motion to deliver the success we desire.  This week, how will you use visualization to achieve your dreams?

Inner wisdom

We all possess an inner wisdom we draw upon when searching for answers to a challenging situation.  Some people use their intuition, acting from the heart or gut.  Others may need to ruminate on the answers or actively call their inner wisdom into play to help.  We can do this in a myriad of ways: we can program ourselves to dream about the answer; we can meditate on it; we can set our intention by planting a seed in our minds; or we can journal.  Any of these methods can yield the same or different results, but in all cases we can tap into that inner voice that reflects our authentic nature and encourages us to follow our hearts.  When we recognize and cultivate our inner wisdom, we afford ourselves the knowledge of our entire life's experience and can be confident our decisions reflect our true being. 

Values

Our values drive us.  But sometimes we act on values that are based in fear, instead of based in passion or love.  An example of a fear-based value is "I have to lose weight because I don't want to be alone."  An example of a love-based value is "I want to lose weight because being healthy is important to me."  When we attach a love-based value on our goals, we are much more likely to achieve them because the goal is attached to our hearts.  If we are unhappy, we can often uncover the root of that unhappiness by examining our values and how they may be compromised.  When our internal heart-driven values don't align with our external world, stress and depression are sometimes the result.  If we want more "balance" in our lives, we can also look at our values to see where we might shift priorities to be more in sync with what our hearts desire. 

Going with the flow

Sometimes things don't go the way we plan.  Perhaps we hit heavy traffic on the way to work, or we miss the bus.  Instead of allowing frustration or anger to plant a seed in our day, we can instead go with the flow and take the opportunity to gain something out of the situation rather than let the situation rule us.  Maybe we find a new radio station that we like, or listen to an audio book.  Or, we can take a breath and look around and perhaps notice something that we normally wouldn't have seen, like the springtime buds on the trees.  Going with the flow requires staying in the moment, as opposed to thinking what could have been, or getting caught up in frustration.  After all, the present moment is the only moment that truly exists.  And while this moment may seem unplanned, it is the one that is happening right now.  Why not see where it takes us? 

Have faith

Having faith involves more than a "wing and a prayer."  Having faith means letting go of worry, insecurity, and all those nagging doubts.  Having faith means trusting that a higher power, however we choose to frame it, will bring us exactly what we need, when we need it.  Having faith means allowing the forces of the Universe to do their magic and shower us with the same energy we are putting forth.  Having faith means being open to everything that the Universe has to offer, and trusting that whenever it comes, we will be ready and willing to receive it.  Having faith means putting away our egos, our battles, and our desire to know, and granting permission to ourselves to just be.