“To bring anything into your life, imagine that it’s already there” – Richard Bach

Your imagination ....This is where you get to escape to the place where your dreams live. 

If there is something you really want, imagine that you already have it in your mind first. Right now, it doesn’t matter how feasible it is that you will get or be any of the images you create in your mind but it is important that you don’t hold back. Dream like a child would in a world where everything is possible!

Fill your images with colour, make them bold and most importantly, put yourself in these images using all of your senses to make them come alive. Think about where you are, look at what you can see, think about what you can hear, what you can smell and if you can taste anything.

Make the image bigger and really feel like you are experiencing it. How does it feel to live in this dream, what are the circumstances of your life?

By creating these mental scenes and images you are starting to create your future. Ask any top performing athlete if they imagined themselves winning before they competed and you’ll find that in most cases, mental rehearsal was an essential part of any winner’s training. This technique of visualising what you want before you have it is a highly effective tool that will unquestionably help you get what you want in your life.

The best part of visualising is that even if you only to do it for a maximum of 5-10 minutes a day, that’s enough for it to work so long as you stick with it and make it part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth. Once you have seen your future through visualisation you can get on with the rest of your day knowing that your dreams are one step closer.

“There's no force in this world greater than the power of a dream.” ― P.S. Scott, Angel Land: A Teen/YA Fantasy Light Novel

I love this quote because dreaming is the driving force behind everything, the dream always had to come before the manifestation of anything. Think about it, take a look around you right now, everything started as a dream in someone’s mind first. The clothes you’re wearing, the mode of transport you last used, the device you’re using to read this blog post right now, none of it would have manifested unless someone thought ‘what if’ first.

That’s why dreams are so important, they allow us to imagine what could be and then give us motivation to take action towards making them happen. Everyone has dreams of what could be, they’re necessary in order for us to become all we can be which is why everyone’s dreams are different, we all want different things. Without them, we wouldn’t be who we are or have the things we have today.

So what’s your dream? Take a minute to think about your deeply felt desires for your life,

let your mind wander and imagine where you would live, what your life would look like and what you would be doing if you knew you couldn’t fail. Assuming that your dreams do not involve a specific person behaving in a specific way, build some images in your mind and put yourself into those images. Really feel what it would be like to live the life of your dreams, feel the emotions and sentiments they would give you.

It’s in your dreams that you will find not only some brilliant ideas but inspiration to go out and get what you want while also becoming more than you ever thought you could be.

“A man without a vision for his future always returns to his past” – Anonymous

When you ask a person what it is they want for themselves in life, it’s surprising how often they proceed to tell you what it is they don’t want. By always focussing on the things you don’t want you are actively ploughing your thoughts, words and actions towards that and hence it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle of history repeating itself.  

In order for any aspect of your life to change you first need to decide what it is you want for yourself. Let’s take your job for example, even if you may not be sure exactly what career you would like to pursue, you can still figure out what sort of things you have enjoyed doing up until now. Perhaps you enjoyed talking and interacting with people, perhaps you enjoyed being creative in some way, or perhaps you enjoy performing. Whatever aspects of your past you felt good doing, focus on these areas and make them important parts of your dream job without being specific as to what that job actually is. By just being clear on the elements of what it is you want to do will, in many ways, be more effective than just focusing on a specific role, as in doing so you keep more doors open leading to many more possibilities for you.

So start thinking about what it is that you really want and begin to focus on that rather than staying stuck in the loop of believing that where you are and what you have is all you can ever get to and all you can ever have. Your life can always change no matter what has happened in your past, your history of life does not have to repeat itself but it will only begin to change if you get clear on what you want for yourself first.

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Saying thank you for anything feels hard when your life is hectic and you’re not feeling great about things. I get this. So when you really have too much on your plate to feel grateful for anything allow yourself time to sit with your feelings first. Take a moment to breathe deeply and do something kind for yourself.

Then, when you’re feeling like you have a little bit of calm in your life, even if it is in the eye of a storm, take those quieter moments to find something in your imperfect life to be grateful for. Instead of constantly chasing happiness look at all the things you have in your life that already contribute to your happiness. For example, did something make you laugh this week? Are you in good health? Did you eat something nice? Did you do one small thing for someone recently – if so be grateful to yourself that you did. Choosing your moments to be grateful is rewarding.

Maybe when you wake up at the start of your day, think of just one thing you can be

grateful for before you get up. Then, not necessarily daily but as often as you can, keep a note book by your bed where you can write down anything and everything you feel grateful for. Now and again focus on one thing from your list of things you’ve been grateful for, spend a minute feeling how thankful you are for that experience and let the feeling grow.

Life doesn’t have to be perfect for you to realise that you’re doing better than you think you are. Acknowledging your gratitude for what you already have will inevitably contribute to your happiness and wellbeing while helping you cope with everything in life a whole lot better.

Will The Real You Please Stand Up!

Have you ever watched someone else and wished you had their life? You do know that if you had their life, you probably wouldn’t be very happy? The reason is that whatever your lessons are now you will still have regardless of what your life appears to be. That’s because your lessons are yours, not someone else’s and everyone has something to learn.

The fact is that, rather than wear a mask so that you can be accepted by others, if you have the courage to follow your own path in life, to listen to your heart and intuition, only then will you find where your authentic self lies. Your true self knows who and what you want to be and by tuning in to the person behind the mask you set yourself free.

Try now and imagine what your true, authentic self would look like. Feel how happy you would be to just be yourself and imagine your true self standing in front of you. See how your real self stands, walks and talks to people and see how the true you thinks. Once you have a clear image of your authentic self in front of you, step into the body of that person and see through your authentic self’s eyes, hear through their ears and really feel what it’s like to be that person. Having taken time to be your true self keep practicing this until it becomes easier to be your true, honest self.

You were not born to hide in your own shadow of yourself, you were born to be yourself, to contribute to the world as only you know how and you will only achieve this if you stop hiding and start being you.