Feel it

Have you ever seen the sparkle in someone’s eyes when they are talking about their Vision and what they really, really want? I love that moment! It means to me that they have really connected to the actual feeling of having their Vision. And when we can move from thoughts to feelings, we begin internalizing our Vision and open up the possibilities for making it happen in this world!

I have worked with thousands of people around the world on creating “Vision Statements” for their lives. When people are writing out their Visions on paper (a very powerful process in itself and a key best practice for making it real), I really encourage them to connect with how it actually feels to have this Vision. Most Vision Statements are focused on the “doing” and “having” what we want, but I’ve learned that those things actually come sooner when we are connected with the “feeling” of it. Feeling our Vision is what makes it real. And when it becomes real for us, it starts to become real for other people. I have seen time and time again that when people are declaring their Visions with that sparkle in their eye, they generate such excitement and inspiration that their Vision becomes contagious!

Studies show that when we think positive thoughts (i.e. imagine our Vision for our lives), we produce positive emotions (i.e. feeling of happiness for having what we want), which broadens our sense of possibility and opens our mind up to more options (essential for making Vision happen). I know for myself, when I’m feeling good, open and intentional about what I want to create in my life, more doors, possibilities and opportunities reveal themselves. Plus, I find that people often mirror our positive energy and are more amendable to supporting us when we are coming from those feelings.

We inherently think of the future when we think of Vision. But what if we could connect to those feelings of having our Vision now and bring that to our lives today? If we are feeling how we want to ideally feel, isn’t THAT essentially Living our Vision in the present moment? Wouldn’t it be easier to do and have all the aspects of our Vision, if we started from the positive feelings we want to be experiencing? I suggest you try this experiment out for yourself:

Close your eyes and ask yourself “If I could have anything in the world, be doing exactly what I want most and I could be feeling any way, what would that be?” Imagine yourself Living THAT Vision. Pick three or four of those feelings (or as Danielle LaPorte would say: find “your Core Desired Feelings”) and really connect with them, in your body and in your bones. For example, if feeling abundant is one of them, really try to connect with the feeling of having more than enough, being full of generosity, free to spend your money on what you want, etc. (or whatever “abundance” means to you).Then acknowledge that YOU NOW KNOW WHAT THIS FEELS LIKE. You are internalizing this possibility. And then experiment throughout your days with returning to this feeling (whenever you remember), noticing what feelings you are generating throughout the day. Notice if this intention “to feel how you want to feel” changes anything. For me, the hardest part is to keep reminding myself to check in with my feelings. I created a reminder for myself by wearing a ring (which I tend to play with often) to symbolize the feelings I want to create in the Vision for my life: Vitality, Inspiration, Love and Abundance (I also created an acronym to remember them: V.I.L.A).

And when I am feeling a little stuck on how to generate positive thoughts and feelings in a particular situation, I turn my focus to what I could possibly be grateful for (even in that situation), which tends to move my internal emotional thermometer closer to positive feelings. Gratitude is a proven path toward improving one’s well-being and returns us to positive feelings. And then the possibilities open up again and I feel back on track towards actually Living My Vision as a daily practice, instead of waiting to feel a certain way, sometime in the distant future, when certain things happen. This way, I can feel the way I want to feel now.

And that feels good!

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