The Power of Positive Visualization

Our brains have an amazing built-in tool called visualization that is always at our disposal. We can use visualization for many helpful purposes, such as changing our mental and emotional state and helping us move towards our goals.

Simply put, visualization is imagining something in our mind as if it is happening. Part of us knows that it isn’t really happening, but significant parts of our brain can’t tell the difference between something that we are just imagining, and something that is actually happening, and we can use that to our advantage.

We are engaging in visualization all the time - remembering things that happened in the past, thinking about things coming in the future. With practice, we can learn to tap into our inborn ability to visualize and use it intentionally.

In this article, I’m focusing on using visualization to change your emotional state for optimal physical, mental, and emotional health. In later articles I’ll talk about using visualization for goal achievement.

Visualization for elevating your emotional state

Uplifting your mood has all kinds of benefits, which I wrote about in the blog post called The Power of Joy.

When we are in a state of joy (or other positive emotion), our bodies are flooded with more than a thousand different neurotransmitters that create optimal health, energy, creativity, and an abundance of other good things.

All our thoughts and feelings have a chemical signature. When we think angry, unhappy, negative thoughts, our brains produce chemicals (neurotransmitters) that match those feelings. When we think grateful, kind, happy thoughts, our brains produce chemicals that match those feelings. These neurotransmitters affect all systems of the body and mind.

Here’s a simple way to use visualization to elevate your emotional state:

Think of a time when you felt relaxed and happy. It can be a big event, like a wedding, but it can also be a small moment in time, such as sitting on a beach watching the waves go in and out. Now imagine yourself in that scene. Talk about what it’s like to be there, engaging all of your senses. (Talking out loud is best if you’re in a situation where you can do that, or talking just inside your mind works too.)

For example, say something like: “I am walking on the beach on a beautiful day. The sun is shining and the sky is blue. I can see the waves gently rolling in and out, and seagulls flying nearby. I can smell the salty sea air, and taste the salt in my mouth. I hear the waves and the cries of the seagulls. I lift my face to take in the sunshine. I feel so calm, relaxed, and happy. I love being here on this beach.”

When you get into that relaxed, happy place, notice the feeling of the positive neurotransmitters flowing through your body. You can visualize the neurotransmitters being created in your brain and flowing out into every cell of your body. If you like, you can imagine the neurotransmitters as a color, and see that color flowing into all your cells.

This calm, relaxed state is a great place to be. Your body and mind thrive in this state, with all these positive neurotransmitters flowing through your body.

Adding a future visualization

You can get a lot of benefit from doing just a memory visualization as described above. It is also very powerful to combine that with a visualization of a time in the future. If your focus is producing happy chemicals, you can imagine another scene in the future where you are feeling relaxed and happy (again stating everything in present tense as if you are in that future scene).

You can use this kind of visualization for emotional goals, such as reducing anxiety. Any kind of calm, relaxing visualization will help calm your survival brain, which helps with reducing anxiety in the moment. You also can use this kind of visualization to help reduce anxiety in future situations. Once you have achieved that happy chemistry place with your memory visualization, you can imagine a future situation.

For example, say your goal is to reduce your anxiety in a particular situation where you have felt mildly anxious in the past. Once you have used the memory visualization to get into a calm, relaxed state, shift into imagining the future scenario that you’re working on. Bring all those calm, relaxed feelings with you. Speak out loud if you can, otherwise just in your mind. Describe the scene using all your senses. Describe yourself being in the situation feeling very calm, relaxed, and happy. Imagine the best possible outcome.

A great way to close your visualization session is with a positive statement, such as expressing gratitude. The statement can be anything you like, and you can say the same thing every time, or switch it up. I like to end my visualization sessions with congratulating myself for doing the visualization and saying something like: “I’m grateful for everything in my life - past, present, and future.” And then I smile and say “Yay” as I lift my arms in a V for victory (which has been shown to be a power stance).

Visualization is a powerful tool that has unlimited uses to help make our lives better.

Like any new habit, it’s usually best to start small and build up. Begin with just a minute a day. Decide on a time of day that you will spend one minute imagining being in a scene where you feel calm, relaxed, and happy. Once you’ve done that for a week or two and and it feels easy and something you look forward to, increase it to two minutes a day for a week or two. Keep going until you are spending about five minutes in the memory visualization. Then you can start adding a minute for the future visualization, and increase it the same way. A good goal would be ten minutes a day total.

Send a quick email and let me know either: 1) what time of day you are going to do a one-minute visualization, and/or 2) what is your favorite happy spot where you’d like to do your first visualization?

I’d love to hear from you. Please send your comments, questions, and suggestions to liz@happybrainlife.com.

Have a beautiful day!

Liz