Visualize Greatness and Measure It

Feeling grounded and centered is a good thing.  It means that we feel balanced.  We are aware.  We are in touch with ourselves and hopefully those around us.  With the distractions of everyday life, we lose that sense of being on "solid ground," and we can sometimes feel that life is getting away from us.  

In order to reclaim a healthy, centered lifestyle, start at the beginning.  Visualize success. Imagine in your mind that you are rising to the occasions in your life.  You are meeting your goals for the day. You are preparing your meals and snacks.  You are prioritizing stress management (relaxation therapy), fitness and sleep.  You are accomplishing your tasks at your job or in your home.  You are doing it and doing it well.  

How do you feel?  How do you feel knowing that you are checking things off  your list?  You are starting projects and chipping away at them, bit by bit until you can be finished?  You are taking care of yourself by noticing when you are tired?  You take a recess break and walk for five or ten minutes instead of taking a trip to a vending machine?  You are in touch with your feelings so that when you are overwhelmed, you slow down and take a breath?   How does that feel?

We need to check in with ourselves regularly and often.  We need to gain valuable feedback about how things are going.  By noticing how we are doing, we can "track" where we are--where we want to be--and how well we are doing getting there.  We track all the time in this precious life.  We track our gas in the car so we don't run out.  We track our blood pressure and other vitals at the doctor's office.  We track our milk in the fridge so there is no morning meltdown.  We track our coworkers' contributions to a project.  We track our relationships with conversations that start like this:  "I need to talk..."  It's helpful information.

What we can do now is two-fold.  First, plan to be successful today.  Maybe success is starting a project at work or at home.  Plan for it to go well.  Expect to gain the support you may need.  Expect to stay on task.  Two, continue to visualize success as the project is underway.  Even if there are unexpected twists, plan to overcome them and achieve your desired outcome.   As far as eating goes, visualize the day's meals so that you can stay on track, eating from all the food groups.  Stick to the plan even if unexpected treats show up.  This should be easier because of the power of visualizing. Then, as the day goes on, check in at meals to see how well you are adhering to your plan.  This is the valuable measure of your success in real time.   Then, give yourself credit for doing exactly what you set out to do.  It all started with a positive image of your doing that very thing.

The mind is your powerful too.  Appreciate what it might do for you as you cultivate a healthier, happier, more balanced lifestyle.  Notice how far you have come from where you started to where you are now--and to where you'd like to be.  Measure your progress.

Do not waste this precious life.