The Power of Your Imagination (Part Two)
"The Power of Your Imagination (Part One)" shows how you can use your imagination to make an unpleasant existence into something more enjoyable. For example, while waiting in a long line, you can use your imagination to daydream about a morning hike along a mountain river. You can read Part One at www.tipsforsuccess.org/imagination1.htm.
Your imagination has several other powerful uses.
"Imagination could be classified as the ability to create or forecast a future or to create, change or destroy a present or past." -- L. Ron Hubbard
Increase Your Productivity
Your imagination can make you more efficient. Try this: List all the tasks you want to complete today. Before you start, take a few seconds to imagine yourself completing everything on time.
When you imagine the successful completion of a task, plan or goal, you are not easily sidetracked. You know how to make progress. It's like having a mental road map to follow.
Break Bad Habits
For example, you want to quit smoking cigarettes. So you create a future where you do not smoke. You see yourself enjoying a wonderful dinner in a fancy restaurant with no urge to light up. If you never change your mind, you work all day with no cigarette breaks. You watch your lungs clean up.
Dump Mental Baggage
Whenever an experience in your past bothers you, use your imagination to change it or destroy it.
For example, when you were a child, a girl named Wanda teased you about your big nose. She made you hate your nose and it still bothers you. Instead of getting a nose job, you imagine a different past. Wanda is now your best friend. Bang! You feel no need to change your big nose.
Understand Others
Use your imagination to understand how others feel. For example, your neighbor's barking dog wakes you up every night, but you don't know how to talk to your neighbor about the noise. So you imagine that YOU have a barking dog. Your neighbor wants you to keep the dog quiet. How should your neighbor discuss this with you?
Use your imagination to understand how your spouse, children, parents or friends feel. For example, you want to improve your marriage, so you imagine what it's like to be your spouse. How does it feel to be married to YOU? What must you change about your behavior to improve the marriage? You use your imagination to change the present.
Solve Problems
Write down a problem you currently face. Make a list of possible solutions. Imagine how each solution will work. Select the solution that appears to work best in your imagination.
Resolve Fears
For example, you are terrified of speaking in public, but need to give a talk to your church group. You see a future where everyone boos and throws rotten tomatoes at you. Using your imagination, you change this future and see everyone fascinated with your talk and grateful to you for giving them the information.
Then, just as you imagined, you get on stage and notice the congregation is smiling and interested in what you have to say. You notice that you feel no fear.
Improve Your Future
Perhaps the best use of your imagination concerns your future. What do you really want to happen? What will your future be like if everything goes well? Imagine this future.
You can imagine any future you like: happiness, money, justice, peace, love, prosperity and more.
You have an unlimited number of ways to use your imagination to change your past, improve your present and create a successful future. Use your imagination to discover them! |
