When we think about making changes in our lives, we often think about plans.
We create a list of goals, break down each into small actionable steps, and commit to taking action every day.
Although that’s great, most people stop there and overlook an equally crucial part of the process, which is the starting point of everything:
Imagination.
Every desire starts with an idea
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
Albert Einstein
Whether your desired change is to lose weight, find a loving partner, or start a business, you have to be able to imagine it before you can rationalize it into a plan of action.
Imagination is the starting point of every dream.
The moment you imagine something, you allow it to become possible.
It’s also a crucial part of creating change.
Here’s why.
Imagination reprograms your subconscious mind to fit the change you want to see in your life
Are you familiar with the concept of neuroplasticity?
It’s the ability of our brain to change and rewire to function differently than how it functioned before.
Going after something big, like a desire, a goal, or a dream — whatever you may call it — involves growing and evolving.
It involves change.
Let’s say your goal is to lose weight and get in shape.
If you are not used to being fit, you are not used to eating like a fit person, and you are not used to exercising like a fit person.
Ultimately, you are not used to thinking like a fit person and making the choices a fit person would make.
If you start making better choices and changing your behavior without changing your mindset as well, your brain will pull resistance to your new habits, sabotaging your efforts.
That’s what the human brain does.
It craves familiarity. It will always try to keep you in your “old habits”.
If you want to reach your objective and make lasting change, you need to re-wire your brain to start thinking like a fit person.
That’s what repeated imagination does to your brain: it re-wires it.
Imagining being a fit person over and over again will re-wire your brain to think as if you already were that person.
And once your brain is on board with that idea, making the right choices that will allow you to reach your desired outcome will be easier, and there’ll be no resistance.
Working from your brain is much simpler than relying solely on your willpower.
Multisensory stimuli are more powerful for the brain
I recently came across a technique that claims that if you write the desired end result of your goal on a piece of paper three times in the morning, six times during the day, and nine times in the evening — it’s going to come true.
It sounds like nonsense to me, but if that helps people stay motivated and gain momentum — I’ve got no issue with that.
But I do have some concerns about its efficacy when it comes to re-wiring our brain to fit with the change we want to bring into our lives.
This technique is lacking a very important aspect of what makes rewiring possible: multisensory stimuli.
Imagining the desired outcome in our head allows us to engage with our senses, and that is very powerful because — as you might have heard — there’s no difference between perceived and real, for our brain.
Imagine you are on the seashore.
The soft sand is caressing your toes as the waves gently come and go.
A gentle breeze brings fresh air into your nostrils and fills your lungs with rejuvenating oxygen. You can hear seagulls chanting in the distance, their chant merging with the soothing sound of the waves.
The golden sun’s rays warm your skin.
You look down at your body and you feel great. You look at your legs, your hips, your belly, and your chest. You feel amazing.
There are people around you, passing by, playing with their kids, and reading books.
You are completely at ease in your body and enjoy the warmth and comfort of that moment.
Isn’t this much more powerful than writing “I am fit’” 18 times per day?
Repetition is key
Our brain takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit.
If you keep imagining your desired outcome and experiencing it with your senses, you will start imprinting that concept in your brain which will soon make a habit out of feeling that way.
You will change your mindset by creating new pathways and ways of thinking.
When you’ll change your behavior and start doing what it takes to get fit (or whatever it is you are after), your old thinking pattern won’t get in the way.
You will be able to keep consistency and be disciplined in your efforts because your new behavior will fit into your new context and it will all make sense together.
…
You can’t put the engine of a Ferrari in a Skoda, right?
You can’t put new content into your old context and expect it to fly, either.
If you want to change your behavior you have to change your identity to fit your new behavior.
Use science-based techniques to re-wire your brain to embody the change you want to bring into your life.
And see your actions follow through with effortless ease.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Edward Howell on Unsplash