Is your mental game working for you or is it something you battle every day? In all my years in the business, it still amazes me how little the mental game is written about or discussed. It’s like it’s taboo or considered a sign of weakness to even talk about it, which is crazy because we all know that’s where everything begins.
You can’t outwork your thoughts. You cannot compensate for negative thinking by working harder. You can try and that may work for a little while but it is unsustainable.
Your thoughts must be aligned with your goals and what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re thinking negative thoughts throughout your day, you can’t possibly expect a positive outcome. However, humans, by our very nature, tend to spend much more time thinking about what could happen or worrying about what might happen, rather than focusing on the desired outcome. If you’re thinking there is no way you’re going to get that million dollar rollover, chances are you probably won’t.
When you think those same thoughts over and over throughout your day, it eventually becomes a belief. This is great if you’re thinking positive thoughts but if your mind is preoccupied with the negative, it can be hazardous to your career. Because you are in a reactive business, staying on top of your mental game is one of the most valuable skills you can learn.
A visualization is really nothing more than a focused daydream and we all know how to do that.
We’ve all heard of visualization and maybe intellectually, you even believe it works – just not for you. The problem is most people don’t know how to visualize effectively. A visualization is really nothing more than a focused daydream and we all know how to do that. We do it every day and when we were kids, we were masters at it!
Let me be clear – I’m not asking you to sit cross-legged on a mat, burning incense and chanting “ohm” for hours on end. What I am proposing, is that you take 10 minutes in the morning before you leave the house to set yourself up for success and visualize whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish.
You can visualize in the short-term or long-term. You may choose to visualize how tomorrow’s big appointment will go with that prospect you’ve been working on for over a year. If your year-end production goal is weighing on you – visualize your desired income. You can also visualize the life you’d like to be living in ten years.
Regardless of what you’re visualizing, there are a couple of rules you need to know to do it effectively. The first rule is you must visualize with all five of your senses. It’s not enough just to see yourself in that corner office, you have to hear what your phone sounds like when it rings. You have to feel what that soft leather chair feels like when you lean back and take in the incredible views from your office. You breathe in the rich aroma of coffee brewing down the hall as your assistant brings you a cup just the way you like it. You take a long sip, savoring the rich earthy flavor as it hits your palette. Life is good.
When you use all 5 of your senses, the visualization becomes much more real. It feels more tangible to you and has a more significant impact on your subconscious mind.
There’s also a second rule of visualization you need to be aware of. Prepare yourself because I’m going to use the “F” word…The spark that gives your visualization power is feeling. You have to feel what it’s going to feel like mentally, physically and emotionally when you reach your goal. You must feel your daydream.
“Feeling” is the language of the subconscious. If you want to imprint an idea or concept on the subconscious, you have to feel your way there. However, the subconscious is worth the effort. Researchers have concluded that your conscious mind controls your thoughts only about 5% of the time. The rest of the time, your subconscious is calling the shots.
If your subconscious controls your thoughts a large percentage of the time, it would make sense to develop the skills necessary to manage your subconscious more effectively. Your subconscious not distinguish between fact and fiction, which gives you a distinct advantage.
If you can visualize yourself as a million dollar producer in that corner office, using all five of your senses and really feel what’s it’s going to feel like when you’ve reached that goal, your subconscious doesn’t know any better. It just runs with that idea. However, there is no “feeling” shortcut. If you’re not really feeling it, neither is your subconscious.
This is your movie and you are the star so make your visualization anything you want it to be. Ten minutes – 5 days a week and have fun with it! Like anything else, when you first start, it’s going to feel weird but stick with it. Who knows? You may even start to enjoy it.
The subconscious is one of the most powerful tools you have to work with. However, most people don’t even recognize it as a tool, much less try to manage it to get to their goals faster and easier. You can do just about anything for 10 minutes, so make those mornings count.
Learning to activate and manage your subconscious is one of the most valuable skills you can learn and it’s one you will use for the rest of your career. If you commit to the process, what you’ll find is – you start to act and make decisions more in line with your visualization. When you do that, you are definitively moving in the direction of your goals and dreams. Not only can it have a profound effect on your business, but it gives you a distinct competitive advantage and who doesn’t want that?