Jim Carrey, famous actor and comedian, known for his energetic performances, three years before becoming a household name, he was at little detour when he was driving home, where the biggest Hollywood stars live. To make himself feel better, he then used to imagine living there and “things coming to him that he wanted”. At about the same time, he decided to write himself a cheque for 10 million dollars, and promised himself he would actually cash it three years later. The cheque gradually deteriorated in his wallet, but three years later, he found out he was going to make that sum for his first Box Office hit, Dumb & Dumber.
So is it enough to write yourself a cheque for 10 million in order then to earn it? Definitely not, and this narrative takes nothing away from the work and the talent of Jim Carrey. But it does give us a superb demonstration of the art of visualisation.
To succeed somewhere, we need to start by convincing ourselves that it is possible, and then focus all our efforts so that others believe it too. By writing and then handling the cheque, Jim Carrey started to make his dream palpable. He could then spend all of his energy in a single direction, until the impossible became possible.
In order to achieve an ambitious goal, you have to start by imagining your success in your thoughts. This technique, known as “positive visualisation”, not only makes it possible to set a course and stay on it, but also to put yourself in condition for enabling your dream to become reality.
The truth is, if you can’t picture yourself achieving a goal, chances are you won’t. The more vivid you can get, the better it will work for you.
Many athletes and successful people have used this philosophy.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was always stressing the importance of seeing himself victorious long before the actual fight. He would picture himself having the “perfect” game, executing the defensive game plan and making big plays. Before the game even started, he had already played the entire game in his mind. This made a tremendous difference because it greatly increased his confidence and comfort level.
Michael Jordan, former basketball player who is winner of 6 NBA championships always took the last shot in his mind before he ever took one in real life.
Jack Nicklaus, American golfer who won 117 professional tournaments and is considered the best golfer in history. He has described that the visualisation extensively helped him prepare and win at golf. He said “ I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head”
So follow in the footsteps of some of the most successful people in the world and start visualizing your dreams today and support it with hard work, string determination and concerted planned efforts.
Remember losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success.
By TM Prasad Bartake