–
–
Transcript
In a past video II talked about changing your internal language, but in this tip I want to talk about changing your internal mental imagery. I mentioned in a previous video about the 2012 study showing us that those who were trained to use their minds to visualise and imagine themselves being physically active or achieving they goals ended up actually being more physically active and motivated to do so. There are various theories on the exact neuroscience of this but in essence, if we prime our brain by telling what we want it to achieve, it will be more likely to do it.
If we give it the destination, it will figure out the direction to take us.
So now you can start using this to your advantage. That could be far more than physical activity. You could visualise yourself eating healthy food and imagine feeling really happy about it and smelling its rich and full flavours. You could imagine laughing with your closest friends, or even feel happy when you reach some of your health goals.
So have a think and play with it. Your imagination is your playground so enjoy it. We were given this amazing instrument inside of our heads that can create and play all sorts of tunes. I will make one point clear though – do not just visualise it, but you must also feel it. Feel the emotions associated with that new image or narrative. Feel the joy, gratitude, freedom, lightness, strength, energy, kindness or whatever other positive emotion.
Just like with the internal dialogue or self-compassion, you don’t have to do this daily. And in fact, I encourage not to do this strictly because when you forget one day will create more guilt about not doing it. We need less guilt! Instead, you could just do it randomly when you are waiting for something or sitting on a bus or train, or waiting for something to cook. Instead of checking your phone or TV and your mind being controlled by something external to you, try sitting back, closing your eyes and letting your imagination free you to a happier place.
Just try it, and perhaps head over to the closed facebook group and tell us how it made you feel.
References: