The Mind Completes The Picture
You have within you the resources you need to achieve what you want — you just have to believe it. As lateral thinking specialist Edward de Bono said, ‘You’re a genius, the only trouble is you don’t realise it.’
Consider this: in front of you is a 20-foot wooden plank resting on the floor. Can you picture yourself walking along it? Easy.
Now imagine the same plank of wood suspended between two supports 100 feet in the air. What do you picture now when you think of walking along it? Unless you are a circus performer, you see yourself falling. Your fears are real because the mind completes the picture.
Positive or negative, the mind completes whatever picture we put into it — so learn to use positive pictures. This is the power of mental rehearsal or visualisation to build confidence. You can use it for any kind of performance preparation. Visualisation is routine training in the sports world, but it works just as well in business.
The mind programs itself through pictures. French psychologist Emile Coué discovered that when the words and the pictures we use pull in opposite directions, the pictures always dominate. This led him to his famous law: when the will and the imagination are in conflict, the imagination always wins.
The point is, if we’ve been telling ourselves ‘I’m a great negotiator’, ‘I’m a good manager’, ‘I’m a great communicator’, ‘I’m a winner’, but seeing the opposite — the opposite is what we get.
FOCUS ON THE OUTCOME
Focus is a quick form of mental preparation. To use it, simply lock your mind on to the picture of the outcome you want. Call it up like a CD-ROM image.
Do it before you give a business presentation, before you pick up the phone, before you meet a customer, before you attend a social event, before you write a proposal, before you chair a meeting, before an interview or counselling session. Learn to lock your mind on the desired outcome. Imagine that you are one minute after the successful completion of whatever it is you want to achieve. How do you feel? What do you see?
The mind completes the picture. The more powerful the mental rehearsal, the greater the confidence you will experience.
© Leadership Development Ltd. www.ldl.co.uk .
LDL specialise in high-impact leadership and sales development
that lasts. Programmes are available as open courses, tailored in-company training, short seminars and one to one coaching. Elearning is increasingly used to provide post programme follow-up.
We offer this article on a copyright acknowledgment basis. You may reprint or repost this material as long as LDL’s name and contact information is included: learning@ldl.co.uk, +44(0)20 7381 6233, www.ldl.co.uk
LDL operate on an international level and have considerable experience in designing and delivering learning programmes across a number of countries and cultures.
LDL also deliver exhilarating and informative conference keynote speeches. |
|
|
|
 |
Effective public speaking is the no 1 skill for leaders to position themselves ahead of the crowd. LDL’s Dynamic Presentation Skills can help you deliver stunning, memorable presentations that move people to act. |
| |
|
|
| |
For further information complete our enquiry form or call our team of learning advisers on +44 (0)20 7381 6233. |
 |
|
Effective public speaking is the no 1 skill for leaders to position themselves ahead of the crowd. LDL’s Dynamic Presentation Skills can help you deliver stunning, memorable presentations that move people to act. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
