There’s a well-known tip handed out to newcomers in the cycling world – “look where you want to go.”  Sounds simple enough, right?  For instance, if you’re about to make a sharp right-hand turn, you want to be looking at that spot just beyond the corner, where you will come out of the turn.  This helps you take the corner faster and your focus is on completing the turn cleanly.

Stated another way, “you will go wherever you look.”  And, this is undeniably true in my experience.  Imagine seeing a rock in the middle of the road and thinking to yourself, “I really don’t want to hit that rock….so….I won’t look at it.”  So, your not looking and then, you do the unthinkable…you look at the rock.  And, BOOM, you hit it dead center.  You directed your attention to the rock…and you got what you looked at!

 This idea of directing our focus can also be applied to how we live our lives.  Through visualization we can focus our attention on the things that we really want in life.  Ex-model Kathy Freston1 (now an author and meditation counselor) states, “we tend to give our energy to what we fear instead of what we hope for.”  With visualization, you do just the opposite.  You focus on and re-affirm what you really want to have in your experience.

 Visualization is a powerful tool for initiating change, and can be utilized in a variety of scenarios: reducing stress; losing weight; achieving goals; improving health; overcoming obstacles; breaking habits; and even envisioning how a specific event will go…the perfect date, dinner, meeting, weekend, etc…  Visualization allows us to “see” the result of positive change in our lives, rather than focusing all our energy on our current troubles.  When we can “see” what we hope to have, we inspire and empower ourselves to make it happen!

Try the following visualization before your next “big” presentation –

 
Find a quiet space where you can sit comfortably.  Close your eyes.  Take a few breaths.

Visualize yourself walking into the meeting with confidence and ease.  See how well-prepared you are, knowing that your presentation is sincere and from the heart.

Visualize yourself as the meeting starts.  What you are doing and saying?  Who else is present at the meeting?  What does the room look like?  Notice the environment:  the lighting, the temperature, the colors, the sounds, the smells...

Now, clearly visualize yourself giving your presentation.  See yourself communicating easily with and engaging the entire group.  Note how you gauge the response and mood of the group and adapt your presentation and communication style accordingly.

Now, see the meeting coming to a close.  Look around the room and see the nods & smiles, a sign that your presentation has hit the mark.  Visualize yourself talking to people from the group afterwards.  See them shaking your hand, congratulating you on a job well done!

When you are ready, slowly open your eyes and come back to the present.  Notice how you feel.  Are you more comfortable?  Do you feel more confident?  Remember to pause a moment before your presentation and bring yourself back to this place.

1 “Visualize This”, Megan Othersen Gorman, Prevention Magazine, January 2004 Issue

Copyright 2005 © Spiral of Life Coaching – Laurie Valaer