When was the last time you heard that if you want to get what you want, then all you have to do is visualize and say your daily affirmations? I hear this every day on podcasts and on the odd YouTube video that plays in the background while I work.
Call me naive but I got sucked into believing that the missing ingredient for me was visualizing my life with my goals achieved plus a sprinkle of affirmation statements. I believed that by doing that every day, I would somehow become hyper-productive and get what I wanted.
Call me naive but I got sucked into believing that the missing ingredient for me was visualizing my life with my goals achieved plus a sprinkle of affirmation statements.
I hate to break it to you, but that's just not how it works.
The key ingredient is action.
If you're lazy or hesitant, no number of visualizations or affirmations will help you. It is only when you use them in conjunction with massive action and hard work that exponential growth will follow.
If you're lazy or hesitant, no number of visualizations or affirmations will help you. It is only when you use them in conjunction with massive action and hard work that exponential growth will follow.
The way to break through a hump of unproductivity is by absolute willpower. Just like anything you've developed in life, none of it comes easy. But the only way you figure it out is by taking consistent action; even when you don’t feel like doing it. Eventually, taking action becomes second-nature and you forget the journey and struggle you had to endure.
Visualizing life with your goals achieved is great in helping you internalize your goals. Writing daily affirmations adds a layer to that internalization because you physically write it out.
But your thoughts won't become reality if you are not doing what it takes in the physical world to get you there. Real-world action causes real-world results. Visualization and affirmations do not cause the results; they will just help you get there faster and give you the clarity needed to stay the course. It's like adding fuel to a fire to make it burn stronger.
But your thoughts won't become reality if you are not doing what it takes in the physical world to get you there. Real-world action causes real-world results.
So I'll leave you with this quote by James Clear.
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
- James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
David Wong is the co-founder of JD Leads Online, a full-stack B2B LinkedIn marketing agency offering end-to-end marketing to sales solutions. He is also the host & producer of The Self Mastery Show, a Top 100 Self Improvement podcast on iTunes.
Photo by Jakob Owens
