Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Creating the Life You Want:
Intention. Visualization. Reflection.













How do you create the life you want? Seriously, I'm asking....

That is the big question for many of us. In particular, how do we make those big lifestyle changes that seem impossible? I've been pondering this question a lot lately. I'm no Deepak Chopra, but here are my humble thoughts on the subject.

I'm interested in knowing your thoughts.... please share.


Intention.
Set a clear and conscious intention for the things that you want in your life, then write it down and communicate it to someone else. Think about all the times we say, "I didn't mean to do that". Instead of floating through life unconsciously, we should mean what we do, and do what we mean to do. The funny thing is that setting an intention and achieving it is not really all that hard.  The hard part is figuring out what it is that will really make us happy. The expression, "be careful what you wish for" comes to mind.

Visualization.
Once you have set your intention, spend time creating a picture in your mind of what that reality would look like. Use all your senses to imagine that intention coming to fruition. Write about it, cut out pictures and stick them on your refrigerator, draw a picture.... just spend time thinking about it. It is in these moments of positive contemplation that ideas spring forth, paths emerge, plans fall in to place, and the inner strength and motivation that may have once seemed lacking suddenly comes to life.

Reflection.
As you start to achieve your goals, the visualizations will take on new shapes, become more detailed, and perhaps take unexpected detours. The process of fully realizing the intention can be stymied when you don't take the time to properly reflect on the journey. It's important to process (ideally through writing) all that you have done to achieve your goals, what has worked, what has not worked, and how you want to proceed. Acknowledge the progress that has been made. Allow yourself to appreciate it and use that gratitude to motivate yourself as you carry on.
Creating the Life You Want:
Intention. Visualization. Reflection.
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2 comments:

  1. Rebecca, great post!
    When I was right out of undergrad, I attended a workshop by this person who got his Ph.D. researching the creative process and bringing your ideas to life...the three tenets you have listed (intention, visualization, and reflection) all were part of his framework, too...
    So true!
    You have to dream before you can realize your dream, but you have to believe that it will happen.
    Love your blog and am looking forward to getting together with you and your kids tomorrow for a pool date:)

    Also, I have an award for you over at my blog:

    http://sunriselearninglab.blogspot.com/2010/07/cool-awards-for-some-cool-bloggers.html

    See you soon:)
    Colleen

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's an interesting overview about life

    Very cool ...

    regards

    ReplyDelete