Use all effective and proven methods you can to achieve a change in behaviour. Visualization helps to program the mind to act in a way contrary to your habitual behaviour.

In recent series of articles and videos I have explained a detailed process for using goal setting, including affirmations to modify a behaviour contrary to your type. This also includes tracking yourself daily to measure your progress.

I know this is hard work as I have been using myself as an example and some days I forget to track myself or just don’t feel like doing it. But slowly I am increasing my self-awareness and seeing progress.

When I speak about changing a behaviour relative to a tendency of our type, I am referring to a deeply engrained habitual behaviour that is not merely learned, but something we are born with. To understand this further look into the book CrazYZoo Know Thyself Made Easy by Fritz Glaus.

Visualization

To practice visualization, you must bring up an image of yourself or something that makes you instantly recall the change you want to have. You also need to associate a positive emotion with this image. To do that, think of a time or event when you felt the way you want to from achieving your behavioural change. This must be a pleasant emotion.

Example

My goal is to be more patient and diplomatic with people and my image is of this bird flying high above it all. It reminds me of the importance of being detached and calm. The image of the bird brings me back to where I was when I took the picture, on a quiet beach on a hot summer day. I felt free and relaxed and had plenty of patience at that moment.

Technique

Combining affirmation with visualization is very effective to affirm the new behavioural goal. This can be done throughout your day when you recall your affirmation and visualize your image at the same time. However, the best approach is to find time to relax and close your eyes to bring up your visualization image and feel the associated emotion. This should be done everyday, preferably three times a day.

Repetition

It takes awareness and conscious effort to change a habit, especially one that is deeply engrained. Repetition is the key and practicing affirmation and visualization will raise awareness and create a new way of thinking that will incite the desired change. The proof is in advertising. As we are repeatedly exposed to a message, we slowly begin to accept it and change our belief about the product or service. When we shop and come across the advertised product, we automatically have an awareness and greater acceptance of it than the brands we know less. There might be better products on the shelf but we have been conditioned to accept the brand name due to their repetitive messages.