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Your Powerful Imagination
During a tour of duty in Vietnam, Major James Nesmeth was captured and held prisoner in a tiny cell for seven years. To keep sane, he mentally practiced his golf game.
Every day he would imagine being at the first tee at his country club. He would imagine the weather, the feel of the club and the grass at his feet. He would look at the ball and imagine the perfect swing.
Soon after he was freed and returned to the United States, he went to his country club and played a round of golf. He knocked 20 strokes off his game the first time out! Without touching his club for seven years, he practiced every day and improved his game while a prisoner of war.
The same principle applies to your success.
"One's ability to imagine is directly proportional to one's ability to be successful." -- L. Ron Hubbard.
You can use your imagination in many ways.
Goal Achievement
Imagine successfully achieving your goals and your chances of reaching those goals are greater.
For example, Shelly and her sister Jill both want to own a home.
Shelly keeps a box filled with paint colors, carpet samples, floor plans and so on. She clips out articles about home locations, loans and buying tips. She has a clear mental image of what her home will look like and looks at it frequently.
Jill, on the other hand, worries about the high costs of homes. She feels terror whenever mortgage rates increase. She complains that life is unfair.
Shelly and Jill both learn about a house for sale where the seller might help on the financing.
Which sister says, "I'm sure I can't afford it."
Which sister says, "I'm going to go see this house during my lunch break."
Who do you think will buy a house first?
Problem Solving
When faced with a difficult situation on your road to success, you can take one of two mental paths:
1. Fill your mind with bad scenarios, anxiety or excuses.
2. Think of a good scenario, work out solutions and mentally rehearse a plan.
For example, a bully at your job named Joe says to you, "I heard what you said about me. You think you're better than me, don't you. I'm busy, but I'm coming to see you tomorrow."
That night, you can't sleep. You worry about Joe criticizing you, yelling at you or even getting violent. While thinking up excuses for not going to work, you change your mind and decide to face the problem head on. You imagine Joe cooperating with you.
You mentally review a conversation with Joe. You list everything you fear this bully may say or do and work out your best responses to each. You create a plan. You relax and fall asleep.
When you then meet Joe, you are prepared. You look him in the eye and accept anything he says without flinching. Joe feels your confidence and calms down.
Self Discipline
Your imagination can help you break a bad habit.
For example, your paperwork mountain is swallowing up your desk. Instead of doing the bare minimum amount of work, you envision yourself completing the entire backlog in one day.
You mentally see yourself closing the door, turning off the telephone and jumping in. You watch yourself plow through the pile despite everything. You feel the joy as the last piece of paper is handled and you look at your clean desk.
You imagine all this while taking your morning shower.
When you arrive at work, you know what to do. Because you have a vivid imagination, you will soon have a clean desk.
As another example, you are never on time for meetings. People bring reading material to your meetings as they know a 2:00 P.M. meeting will actually start at 2:30 P.M.
To change this, you imagine yourself running ahead of schedule. You notice how you are better focused. You see yourself scheduling meetings based on reality. You even plan responses to everyone's surprised looks when you show up on time.
Other Uses
* Imagine how the rest of your day will go for you. Will it be productive? What will you accomplish?
* Imagine your next vacation. Where will you go? What will the weather be like? How will you feel afterwards?
* If you are looking for a spouse, imagine what he or she will be like. Imagine your lives together.
* Imagine bigger goals for yourself. What would you want to accomplish if you could accomplish anything at all? What are you really capable of doing? What would be a fantastic, gigantic goal that you can possibly achieve?
* Imagine accomplishing each and every goal you have.
You can probably imagine many other uses.
Simply using your imagination lowers your stress and makes your life more positive.
Imagine yourself using this tool and then do it!
For information about L. Ron Hubbard visit www.lronhubbard.org.
Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce you to the technology of L. Ron Hubbard. Copyright © 2004 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Programmed in the United States. For books by L. Ron Hubbard, additional articles or information about TipsForSuccess.org, click here. To contact us, click here. |
