A few years ago, I led an event where I asked my managers to present to their peers on their topics of expertise. And I could have never imagined the impact that request would have on me.
And I could have never imagined the impact that request would have on me.
As one woman stood up to present, she asked us all to close our eyes. She went on to say, if time and money were not an issue what would your life look like? After having heard my share of presentations in my 20 years of business, this was certainly not the first “visualization” speech I had heard. Little did I know that a few minutes later it would change my life forever! You see she went on to ask us not to picture what we had or what goal we would achieve but rather if time and money were not an issue what would we be doing at that moment? What would we be wearing? What room are we standing in?
It took about a nanosecond and my eyes started to fill with tears. My picture of what I visualized was so clear; I was standing in my kitchen with a cup of coffee, just having made my children breakfast and sending them off to school. I was checking a few emails from my laptop on the kitchen counter, my hair was in a ponytail, and I was wearing a gray sweatshirt (a gray Flashdance sweatshirt to be exact) and getting ready to head to the gym. My visualization of what my life would look like if time and money were not an issue made me so emotional.
The power of a question!
Being that I was in the front of the room with my assistant at my side, I was careful to hold my emotions in. At the next break, I hurried into the hallway and called my mom. I told her exactly what just happened to me, and although what I pictured was crystal clear, it caught me off guard because not only did I not belong to a gym, I didn’t even own a gray sweatshirt lol! Of course, it was obvious to us both that picture was trying to tell me something. I loved my role leading others in a corporate environment. I loved almost everything about it except the toll it was taking on my family (like missing my son’s first home run). It was at that moment I knew I needed to make a change.
Now a few years later, I realize I’ve given birth to my picture, my vision. One morning, it hit me, as I sipped on my coffee while checking emails, wearing a gray sweatshirt (yep, I actually found the Flashdance one too), with my hair in a ponytail, after making my boys breakfast, sending them off to school and getting ready to head to the gym. I am now living that moment I pictured during that presentation, and I will be forever grateful for that moment in time that I was asked to close my eyes.
Don’t’ you think you owe it to yourself to put the power of Visualization to work for you?
When is the last time you gave yourself a timeout to recollect your thoughts and remember where you want to be? So I ask you this. As you close your eyes, think if time and money were not an issue what would we be doing at that moment? What would we be wearing? What room are we standing in?
You might just be surprised at what one little mind exercise can do for you!
