Can you manifest success?

I’m enjoying watching the Olympics, especially interviews with the winners. It can sometimes bring a tear to your eye watching these phenomenal people achieve great feats at the highest level. If you notice carefully, there is a running theme with the winners’ interviews.

They normally start by saying ‘I’ve visualised this moment over and over for years’.

You can see it in their faces – not only how hard they have worked, but the intensity which they believed they would achieve their goal.

Is this something we can all do? Visualise or manifest what we really want?

I believe we can, and I have done it many times.

When you visualise your goals you really must get involved with the details.

I listened to a podcast with Adam Peaty, back-to-back gold medal winner, who uses visualisation as a tool for his success.

He practices the mental rehearsal of winning and believes that if he is head-to-head on the last 25 metres, then no one can beat him. He does this every day during every training session.

Then, when it comes to the event, he enters his ‘flow state’ – a place of calm and control because in his mind he has already won.

Then he just goes out and completes the task.

It’s an amazing ability that has made Peaty unstoppable in the pool. Watch Aidan Walsh, and listen to the Irish boxer’s words in his interview after he was guaranteed at least a bronze medal.

He said, “I have been picturing this moment for years.”

You believe every single word of it.

I’m sure that the majority of athletes at the games practice this method, but those who hold onto the belief the longest are usually the winners.

Yes, you must have natural ability, work ethic and all the support around you to be the best… but if the athlete doesn’t believe and see themselves winning that medal do they stand a chance? And what about us mere mortals? Can we visualise and achieve what we want?

The first thing we have to do is chose our goal. What is it you want to achieve? Health, wealth, happiness?

When you know what you want then start to visualise it. Let’s take weight loss as an example. You may start to visualise what you will look like, and more importantly how you will feel, when you have hit your target weight.

What will you be wearing? where will you be standing? Who else is around? What compliments are they giving you? How do you feel in that moment? What colours do you see? What do you smell?

This may seem a little bit weird but these are questions you need to ask yourself to really get into your goal.

I would recommend that you practice this every day and here is one method: Either first thing in the morning or at night when your brain waves are more open to your thoughts, play some classical or inspiring music.

Sit down on a chair with your back upright, hands resting on your legs. Now close your eyes and begin to visualise you in your wish fulfilled.

Really go into the detail of it all; what do you see, feel, taste, smell and touch? Get all your emotions involved with your goal.

At first this can be a very hard practice, but with time you will easily visualise your goal and all the emotions attached to achieving it.

The trick is to hold onto that goal for as long as you can and take the action steps that will take you there.

Once you know where you are going, it’s a lot easier to get there.