Lifestyle
Imagine It and Make it Happen!
By 1
Jan 1, 2007 - 7:00:00 AM

Imagine It and Make it Happen!

(HealthNewsDigest.com).. Daydreaming may be a lost art. These days, not too many of us have the time to sit and day dream (Between cell phones, Blackberrys, computers, etc., we're always working!) but daydreaming and having a vivid imagination can help us to reach our goals. Albert Einstein once stated that imagination is more important than knowledge, so since we're beginning a New Year, this may be a great time to take his advise to stop and fantasize a little. And if we think that we don't have a good imagination, let me suggest that we can learn through practice. We can imagine it, and we can make it happen!

Research has pointed to imagining something and actually seeing it, as virtually one and the same to our brain. Researchers tracked blood flow using a functional MRI on subjects that viewed a face or place, versus imagining the same face or place. The same blood flow and brain activity took place regardless of whether the object was real or imagined. And psychologists have long used these visualization methods to help people conquer fears and phobias. Visualizing ourselves succeeding can be a powerful motivational tool.

How can we apply this new information to help us to reach our goals?

Here goes, let's think of a goal and break it down into its specific concrete components. I'll use our health and lifestyle habits as an example (of course, what's more important?). Let's say our goal is to exercise more often to increase our health. Let's break this down into its components, the realistic number of days we definitely can exercise, proper clothing needed, location such as at home or gym, and so on. Next, we start with the first and easiest component that would lead to our achieving the goal and then we start imagining actually doing it. Let's practice this daily. For instance, maybe the night before we need to get up early to go to the gym, let's visualize getting up and feeling good about achieving this goal, and let's let our imagination take off. Let's do this for each component as we accomplish each small goal. Let's visualize the positive aspects of each step and the positive feelings of achieving the end result. If our goal is to see an injury rehabilitated, we can imaging the process through leading to our being stronger than ever. We can imagine running that mile or losing 10 LBS, having accomplished it and then visualizing the good feelings. Let's imagine the rewards that will come with our success.

This does sound like daydreaming and even though we're so busy, it may be just the thing we need to motivate ourselves. But then, didn't someone once say that daydreams can come true?

Here's to a Happy New Year!

June
www.Junefit.com
Source for Albert Einstein quote: Can J Diet Pract Res. 2005 Fall;66(3):193-6., Additional source Psychology Today November 16, 2002

Junefit ranks 2nd at Google for "fitness tips" search out of over millions of results!

Junefit is included in Google's top ranked women's health resources http://directory.google.com/Top/Health/Women's_Health/Resources/
June is Lifestyle Editor at www.healthnewsdigest.com/
Junefit, 2006 all rights reserved

www.HealthNewsDigest.com

© Copyright by HealthNewsDigest.com