Maintaining Momentum: Every Day Counts

Welcome to Day 7 of Living a Purposeful Life,

A challenge here on Insight Timer intended to help you live a life that is in alignment with your values,

Your goals,

And your priorities.

Let's jump in to today's session.

Welcome everyone.

Thank you for joining me today.

My name is Ben Nemton,

And throughout my journey,

I've come to understand that one of the most effective tools for realizing dreams is the consistent practice of visualization.

Today we'll chat about how this simple practice combined with daily actions and a bit of discipline can transform your aspirations into realities.

You see,

Having dreams is like having a destination,

But without a map,

Without visualizing the route,

It's easy to get lost or sidetracked.

Visualization is about mentally practicing what you want to do in real life.

It's straightforward.

Picture your goals in your head to help you achieve them in the real world.

It seems simple and almost too good to be true,

But when you practice visualization,

You're not just daydreaming or indulging in just fantasy.

You're actively engaging your brain in a way that can have tangible impacts on your neural pathways and,

Subsequently,

Your behavior.

It literally trains your brain,

Which is wild.

And here's why visualization is effective.

First,

Let's look at the science.

At the foundation of this is a concept called neuroplasticity.

It's the brain's incredible ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections.

So when you consistently visualize a particular outcome or behavior,

You're essentially training your brain and strengthening the neural pathways associated with that vision.

Additionally,

There's a fascinating component of our brain known as mirror neurons.

These neurons fire both when we perform an action and when we witness that action.

For instance,

When we see someone eating an apple,

The same neurons light up as if we were eating the apple ourselves.

Visualization harnesses this concept.

By vividly imagining an action,

You stimulate these mirror neurons and the brain responds as if you're genuinely carrying out that action.

And there's another part of the brain,

The RAS,

Or the reticular activating system,

That also plays a crucial role in this process.

It's responsible for filtering the vast amount of information we receive daily and deciding what gets attention.

When you consistently focus on a particular goal or vision,

You essentially tell your RAS that this is important.

As a result,

It becomes more attuned to resources,

Information,

And opportunities related to that vision that you might have previously overlooked.

Beyond just the structural changes in the brain,

Visualization affects our emotional state.

So let's look at the impact visualization has on our emotions.

Well,

It boosts motivation.

You see,

The human mind is powerfully influenced by what it sees and feels.

When you visualize a successful outcome,

You're not just daydreaming,

You're allowing your mind to experience the thrill of that success.

Imagine running a marathon.

By visualizing the moment when you cross the finish line,

Hearing the cheers,

Feeling the sweat on your brow,

The metal around your neck,

You're allowing yourself to live a mini version of that success.

This stimulated experience can ignite a passion and drive you in that mere words or plans might not.

In a nutshell,

Visualization is far more than mere imagination.

It's a strategic tool that when used right,

Can convert aspirations into realities,

Doubts into determinations.

It grants you a mental advantage,

Allowing you to chart the course of your success long before it unfolds in the real world.

So what I would like to do now is invite you to actively participate in a visualization exercise with me and to give this transformative power a shot.

Even if you've never done it before,

Just open your mind and let's just try it together.

Now to do this exercise,

You should have one of your goals in mind,

Something that maybe you've been procrastinating or something that you've always wanted to do.

This could be a big goal,

A small goal,

It doesn't really matter,

But choose something that you'd really love to achieve,

Something that is meaningful to you.

Now if a goal or a dream doesn't come to mind,

Just pause this recording and start it again once you've chosen a goal.

Now once we have finished this visualization,

I will talk about cultivating habits of consistency to create momentum and make sure that you actually achieve this goal.

But first,

Let's do the visualization.

So let's begin.

First I want you to sit down in a relaxed position.

Sit up straight,

Extend your back,

Get comfortable,

Relax your shoulders.

You can rest your hands on your knees or in your lap,

Whatever is comfortable for you.

Now slowly soften your gaze and try to focus on your breath as you gently close your eyes.

Take a deep breath in through your nose,

Breathe in,

And exhale through your mouth.

Now again,

Breathe in and breathe out,

Breathe in and breathe out.

Feel the cool air filling your lungs as you breathe in and feel the warm air leaving your mouth as you exhale.

Try and let go of any thoughts,

Any obligations or worries you have about the future or about your day and just focus on this moment and listening to your breath.

If you're having any intrusive thoughts,

Just stop to acknowledge those thoughts for a second and then let them pass through your mind as you breathe out.

It's normal for the thoughts to come,

But just as easily as they come,

Just try and let them go.

Just try to focus on your breath and be in this moment.

Now with every exhale,

Just let go of any tension you've built up in your mind and in your body.

With every breath,

You slowly become more relaxed.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Just letting go of the worry and the obligation,

Just be in the moment and breathe in and breathe out.

Now as you start to feel more relaxed,

I want you to picture yourself sitting in a big movie theater.

It's dark and quiet and quite relaxing in this theater and on the screen,

I want you to picture yourself accomplishing one of your biggest goals.

Now I'm going to give you a few seconds to imagine yourself on screen accomplishing this goal and seeing it come to life on the theater screen.

So just picture yourself accomplishing this goal and looking at it on the screen and see yourself at the moment of achievement,

Whatever it is,

Whether it's crossing the finish line or completing a big project or helping someone else,

Who's there with you?

How does it feel?

Do you feel joy,

Pride,

Relief?

Rest on every last detail of that triumphant moment where all your hard work pays off.

Savor that moment and feel it deep within you.

Take a second to appreciate what it feels like to have come this far and just breathe in and breathe out,

Breathe in and breathe out,

Breathe in and out.

Next I want you to take a mental snapshot of this scene and the feelings you feel with it.

You can come back to this scene again and again and again at any time to remember what you're working towards.

Now as we move back toward the day,

I want you to remember that you don't need to feel overwhelmed when you think of this big goal.

Focus on the next step in completing it and live in the present moment and breathe in and breathe out,

Breathe in and out.

Now whenever you're ready,

Slowly open your eyes and as we wrap up this visualization,

I want you to really imprint that scene and those feelings in your mind.

You can come back to this scene whenever you want simply by just pulling up that movie screen or replaying this visualization to bring it back.

The more you can come back to this image or video you saw of you accomplishing your goal,

You'll see how things will start to shift.

It's easy to allow obligations in life to overtake the things that we personally want to achieve and so it's important that we remind ourselves where we're going.

This is what visualization does,

Exactly that.

Once we have the clear vision,

We then have to make strides in the right direction and that's what I'm going to focus on in this last piece.

So let's talk about habits and consistency.

In our daily grind,

Staying on track isn't easy.

We're impatient,

We want things now but think about how trees grow.

Before we even see them sprout,

They're busy laying down roots.

That's discipline right there,

Doing the groundwork even when no one's watching and we have to do the groundwork and stay consistent if we want to achieve our goals.

So here are a few ideas on how to stop procrastinating and create some consistency.

The two-minute rule.

This is a simple hack to build momentum.

Think about one of your goals or pull up your to-do list.

Now choose one thing that you want to work towards and instead of planning to complete it,

Just commit two minutes to working towards that goal.

It's that simple.

It's an easy start.

Just set a timer,

Begin and do it for two minutes.

What happens next might surprise you.

Those two minutes,

Devoid of the pressure of completion,

Often morph into substantial progress.

So carve out just two minutes of dedicated time each day and follow the two-minute rule.

Habit stacking.

Cultivating new habits can be challenging.

But what if you could piggyback on an already established habit?

Say you have a nightly ritual of reading before bed.

Now you want to incorporate meditation into your routine.

Start with a two-minute meditation right before your reading time.

Or say you currently have a habit of having a shower in the morning or brushing your teeth.

I hope it's brushing your teeth.

If not,

You can start there.

If you want to incorporate another habit into your routine,

For example,

Exercise,

Just do five minutes of exercise before you jump in the shower.

I often do this like five to seven minutes of push-ups or sit-ups or pull-ups or jump squats right before I jump in the shower.

This gives me a serotonin and dopamine hit and I feel accomplished about my day because I've already exercised.

As days turn into weeks,

This combo becomes your new norm.

Your pre-existing habit is now a powerful trigger for your new one.

Progress tracking.

We all love seeing progress and there's something deeply satisfying about ticking off a task or marking a day on the calendar.

This isn't just a feel-good factor though,

It's a psychological boost.

Tracking can be a powerful motivator for building and maintaining habits.

They can create a sense of momentum which can make it easier to continue.

The idea is that you don't need motivation to keep your habits going because you already have the momentum.

Just use a calendar on your wall or a habit tracking app or some other app on your phone to visualize your streaks.

These become not just a record but also motivation.

Your aim is to maintain the streak and it's affirmation of your consistency.

Accountability buddy.

This is a big one.

The road to our dreams,

Though personal,

Does not have to be solitary.

Sharing your journey can be incredibly uplifting but it also solves a huge inherent problem with dreams and that is there are no deadlines when it comes to our personal goals.

We have deadlines for everything else in our life.

We've got work deadlines,

Life deadlines but with these personal goals we don't which is why we need to create accountability around these types of goals.

So find someone,

A friend,

A family member or a colleague who either shares your vision or at least understands it and ask them to be your accountability buddy and then check in with them.

Share your milestones and more importantly your roadblocks.

Ask for help but by checking in with them down the line and vice versa for them checking in on you,

It will drive you towards that goal and sometimes just verbalizing challenges can present solutions.

Their perspective,

Encouragement and even the occasional tough love can re-energize your journey and when you share your goals you feel accountable to that person you shared them with and you're 77% more likely to achieve your goal if you send regular updates to an accountability buddy.

So I believe accountability is a huge missing piece when it comes to achieving our goals.

So communicate your goals to someone that's going to support you and it will move you towards them and just like that we've mapped out a way forward.

Visualization is your compass and consistency is your fuel and in the hustle and bustle of everyday life there will be distractions,

They are inevitable but a clear mental picture combined with daily efforts can steer you right.

Remember the dreams lighting up your mind deserve your attention not just in thought but in action too.

You have dreams,

Ideas and talents that only you can bring to life and you have a responsibility to share them with the world.

These things make you who you are and when you share them with others it brings you purpose and it makes you feel more alive but you also inspire other people to follow their dreams.

So that's it for now,

Come back to this recording anytime you need a bit of a boost towards your goal.

Thanks for listening,

I'm Ben Nemton,

We'll see you soon.