With all the talk last week about bad luck and superstitions, this week’s topic of manifesting is a welcome change. When I read Christen’s blog about positive affirmations last Thursday, my first comment to her was, “I don’t do that,” a phrase often used by my granddaughter in answer to something she doesn’t want to do. I laughingly told Christen that I’m always afraid to say some affirmations out loud (or even think them) for fear of jinxing myself or tempting fate…you know, say something positive and then knock on wood to make sure it stays true. Wow, I am superstitious, aren’t I? The funny thing is, I do believe in positive affirmations, just not in the same way that Christen does.
Last month, we talked about vision boards as a method of visualizing the things we want, and that is the start of a technique I have dubbed, “See Think Believe Do Be”. The idea started when I was working on my vision board for One Little Word. We make a vision board every year for this project, and I usually go about it the same way, as demonstrated on the blog linked above. But this year, we had a guest instructor “Lu” lead us through a few alternative ways to approach the vision board, and one of them reminded me of a positive affirmation technique I’ve practiced many times through my morning “mindfulness” ritual.
Visualize the life you want to have. Plan out the perfect day. See yourself doing the things you want to do. Feeling the feelings you want to feel. Imagine yourself being the person you want to be and living the life you want to live.
This is the “See” of my technique. When you write or draw out your vision, do it with as much detail as you can imagine. Really describe all of it. Really SEE it. Be specific. KNOW what you want. I wrote out a detailed schedule of how I wanted a typical work day to go, starting from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. I added in all the things I wanted to do, and as I was writing it out, I closed my eyes and imagined what it looked like and how I felt. There were no negatives…this was my perfect workday.
I’ve found that once you can actually see the future you’d like to manifest, it tends to stay with you. It’s not some vague notion of being successful at work, or losing lots of weight…it’s the ideal image of what you want emblazoned on your brain. It makes it something tangible. Something real. You start to think about that life and really want it. And then, when, through the course of your day, you are faced with choices – decisions that will affect the outcome of that vision – you tend to think back on that idea, and it helps you to make the better choice. This is the “Think” part of the technique.
Since creating that daily schedule, I’ve found that I’m a lot more productive in my day. I’ve got a plan. I’m getting things done. I’m thinking about my goals all the time. That vision is an ever-constant reminder of my end game, and I’m constantly weighing choices and options to see whether they fit with my overall plan. Some people call this “alignment” with your “higher good”. I call it the “Believe” part of my technique because this is when I really start to believe that my goals are possible.
Once I start to believe that I can have this life I envision, then I start finding ways to make it happen. I find that I am constantly checking that alignment against what I’m doing, I start breaking those goals down into smaller steps and then start ticking them off, one by one. I’m not rushing to finish…I’m just working the plan, taking the steps, doing the work. Little by little, I’m making progress. This is the “Do”.
If you look at my technique and you see that “Be” is the last step, you might think it’s the end, but it’s not. Be actually comes into play from the very beginning; from the minute you start to visualize the life you want you start to become that person. And that’s really what manifesting is all about. If you can dream it, you can be it, and at each step of the process, you are actually doing the things that someone who “is” does. BE that person. LIVE that life. If you can imagine that life, if you can see that life, then you can live that life. All that is left is to do the things that make that life a reality. A person who is healthy has a healthy exercise routine, so be that healthy person - get up and exercise. A person who is successful at their career has certain objectives they need to meet, so be that successful person – line up those tasks or quotas and figure out what it will take to meet or exceed it, then just do it.
See⇢Think⇢Believe⇢Do⇢Be
It all starts with see. You can think it, and you can believe it, but you have to do it to be.
As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Let’s talk some more about visualizing our perfect day or our perfect life. I’d love it if you would share your thoughts here in the comments, or on our MMC Chat Facebook Group.
