Heroic Visualization
In today’s world, we are often presented with two extreme perspectives. On one hand, there is the idea that we can manifest our desires through the power of positive thinking, as described in the concept of the Law of Attraction. On the other hand, there is the belief that we lack free will and are instead manipulated like puppets, either by secretive organizations like the Illuminati and Freemasons or by large corporations such as Facebook and Google. What is the true nature of reality? However, the crucial question is: How can I live my best life within this reality?
Let’s start by understanding what the law of attraction is.
The Law of Attraction is a philosophical theory proposing that our thoughts, whether positive or negative, can attract corresponding experiences into our lives. This theory is rooted in the belief that humans and their thoughts are composed of pure energy. It suggests that similar types of energy are drawn to each other, meaning that by focusing our thoughts on positive outcomes, we can attract positive results in areas such as health, wealth, and personal relationships. To put it in simpler terms, if you aspire to become a millionaire, you should consistently focus your thoughts on achieving this goal. By doing so, you will become a millionaire soon.
Does the law of attraction work?
Let us understand the story
Lazy Harry and His Fairy
Lord Brad was an outstanding businessman who founded a wide variety of businesses. Harry, on the other hand, was the least productive employee at Brad’s company. Despite his poor performance, Brad did not terminate Harry’s employment because Harry is the son of David, a dearly departed friend and former employee of Brad.
One day, due to Harry’s negligence, a fire broke out in the rice mill. This incident pushed Brad to his limit, causing him to fire Harry from the company. Brad also stripped Harry of all his company-provided luxuries, such as his apartment and office scooter. Left with no idea of what to do next, Harry began aimlessly wandering towards the forest. Harry got tired and slept under the tree. Upon walking up, he saw a beautiful fairy stuck under a rock. Harry immediately saved the fairy. To return the favor, the fairy said that he will be given as many wishes as you want. Once he gets a wish, he will have to wait for one year to either get a new wish
Wish 1: Lord Brad has to marry his beautiful daughter Jenny to him
Larry married Jenny, but life didn’t turn out as wonderful as he had anticipated. Jenny, being the daughter of Brad, was very sophisticated. Larry, who had never interacted with women before, struggled to impress her and failed at every attempt. One day, Larry broke down in tears and asked Jenny what he needed to do to earn her love and respect. Jenny advised him to strive to become a responsible man like her father, instead of relying on her father’s money and spending his days eating and sleeping without working. Larry was happy and waited for a year to ask for another wish
Wish 2: Lord Brad has to grant me the authority to oversee all the companies.
Larry was appointed as the head of all the companies. He reveled in the respect and attention he received from all the employees. However, Larry’s happiness was short-lived. After a few months, the business started to falter. He faced immense pressure from competitors. His lack of experience led to poor decision-making, causing significant losses in one of the companies. One particularly disastrous decision involved the use of low-quality chemicals, which resulted in harm to many people. This news spread rapidly across social media, and Larry was on the brink of being arrested. His only hope for salvation was the “Emperor”, a secret society with the power to clear his name. However, the leader of the “Emperor” ridiculed Larry for his foolishness and expelled him. Enraged, Larry was determined to make the wish to become the leader of the “Emperor”.
Wish 3: Remove the wish 1 and wish 2 and give the patience to learn the required skills
The fairy was intrigued as to why Larry wished to become the leader of the Emperor. Larry clarified his desire, explaining that power, when not accompanied by the necessary knowledge and experience, can be a curse. It can lead to his own destruction as well as harm those around him. Understanding his perspective, the fairy agreed and granted Larry his wish. After this encounter, the fairy never saw the larry again.
The narrative suggests that people who receive a wish without possessing the necessary skills to manage it often end up worsening their lives. This is supported by data from the National Endowment for Financial Education, which states that 70% of lottery winners go bankrupt within a few years. https://www.nefe.org/news/2018/01/research-statistic-on-financial-windfalls-and-bankruptcy.aspx. This concept is not limited to individuals but extends to corporations as well. There are several instances where CEOs, such as Edward Lampert of Sears Holdings, Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers, have negatively impacted their companies due to their lack of appropriate skills.
To clarify the response to the query, “Does the law of attraction work?” The answer is negative. It’s essential to gain knowledge, experience, and expertise. Success cannot be achieved merely by wishing for it. Even if you attain success through sheer luck, it may make life more miserable.
Let us move on to the next question, Do we not have free will and are we controlled like a puppet by some secret group?
Consider this scenario. You are the CEO of a major corporation like HBO, Facebook, or Google. The majority of your revenue doesn’t come from the users of your services, but rather from advertisers. You are expected to generate more revenue each year than the previous year. Failure to do so could result in negative consequences such as a stagnant stock price or potential layoffs. Your immediate strategy is to encourage users to spend more time using your product, thereby increasing the likelihood of generating more revenue. Consequently, you invest millions of dollars in product design to ensure users become addicted to your product. The fundamental motivation of every company is to increase revenue. In this pursuit, companies often aim to influence and control user habits to achieve their financial objectives.
It’s not just the large corporations that exert control over you. There are several other ways this happens:
- Under the guise of religion, individuals are often compelled to act in certain ways without being provided with any logical reasoning.
- Mainstream media and magazines often portray an unrealistic standard of beauty, which can lead to feelings of insecurity about our appearances.
- The industries of entertainment, video games, and social media are designed in such a way that they captivate our attention and keep us engaged in their platforms. This often results in us spending a significant amount of time immersed in these virtual worlds, which can lead to a disconnection from our real-life surroundings and interactions.
- Restaurants and snack companies often overstimulate our taste buds, which can lead to a decreased consumption of homemade food.
- Society often pressures people to strive for materialistic achievements like securing a stable job, owning a house, or a car, etc., to be accepted as a part of it.
- Manipulative individuals who are adept at using emotions to their advantage can also exert control.
- Even your job can limit your creativity to a certain extent.
Welcome to the reality
Changing the situation or society controlling us is close to impossible. Similar to how we have essential safeguards in place against theft, we must prioritize and allocate our time, energy, and resources toward what is important to us, rather than simply adhering to what others demand of us.
The question that’s worth a billion dollars is, “What truly matters to us?” This is a complex and personal question, often difficult to answer because our desires might not be for the right reason. Do we desire things because:
- Our neighbors, friends, or relatives possess them and we feel compelled to have the same.
- We want to prove our worth to those who have wronged us, such as an adversary, an ex-partner, or a colleague who has insulted us.
- We are influenced by higher authorities like our parents, religious beliefs, or societal norms that dictate what we should aspire to have?
- We want to show off people in social life and day-to-day life
The only truth that matters is what energizes and holds meaning for you. Set aside any fear, self-doubt, and societal expectations for now. There are
- Do you want to be a doctor to heal people or be an entertainer who makes people happy?
- Do you desire to spend money on the latest cool gadgets to find happiness, or would you prefer to cut back on expenses like coffee to achieve financial freedom more quickly?
- Do you want to work tirelessly to become extremely wealthy, or are you content with a less stressful job?
- Do you aspire to live abroad for a successful life, or would you prefer to stay in your local village to maintain close relationships?
- Do you envision yourself married with five kids, or do you prefer to remain single?
- Do you desire a six-pack body, or are you comfortable with carrying a bit of extra weight?
Once we identify what is important to us and set our goals, it might take some time to improve our skills or knowledge to reach these objectives. In the meantime, have faith in the process and concentrate on performing your daily tasks.
- To achieve fitness, you need to exercise and maintain a regular diet.
- To pass a challenging exam, you need to study consistently.
- To achieve financial independence, you need to educate yourself about personal finance, cut expenses down, and invest with discipline.
- To become a YouTube star, you need to regularly create and upload valuable content.
Is there a hindrance in achieving our goals?
The unfortunate reality is that we are living in an autopilot.
Here are a few examples:
- When we feel bored or stressed, we automatically binge-watch entire TV series or scroll through social media for hours.
- The smell of junk food triggers us to eat until we are overly full.
- A minor disagreement can escalate into a major fight due to our automatic reactions.
The positive aspect is that, in contrast to previous centuries, slavery no longer exists and no one physically coerces us with a cane to repeat the same actions. The pressure we face now is psychological. How should we tackle it?
Unless there is a significant life event such as getting married, having a baby, or experiencing a change in job or location, the following day is often predictable. We typically deal with the same boss, the same spouse, the same traffic, the same distraction, and the same habits, etc. This predictability allows us to navigate our lives with ease through preplanning.
The First step is understanding and acknowledging the habit as explained above. Take a few days to understand what is your habits.
The Second step is breaking the old habits and forming new habits. The James Clear blog describes the habit loop, a neurological feedback loop consisting of a cue, craving, response, and reward, which forms automatic habits. This loop can be transformed into a practical framework called the Four Laws of Behavior Change to create good habits and eliminate bad ones. To create a good habit, make the cue obvious, the craving attractive, the response easy, and the reward satisfying. To break a bad habit, make the cue invisible, the craving unattractive, the response difficult, and the reward unsatisfying. You can read it in this book.
The third and most important step is to practice until it is natural not to do it. The third step is the hardest as this is when reality kicks in. Temptation and distraction are more lucrative than meaningful work. Is there a way to solve it?
Yes. This is where the concept of heroic visualization comes into play. The difference between the visualization described in the law of attraction and heroic visualization lies in their focus. Regular visualization primarily concentrates on the result or output. On the other hand, heroic visualization emphasizes the daily efforts required to achieve our goals.
How to Implement Heroic Visualization
- Identify the daily tasks you wish to accomplish:
- For fitness goals, you may decide to exercise at the gym.
- To pass a challenging exam, you may decide to study for several hours.
- To achieve financial independence, you might decide to learn to cook instead of eating out.
- To become a YouTube star, you may decide to research and spend a few hours creating videos.
2. Identify potential obstacles that could prevent you from completing these tasks:
- You might feel too sleepy or exhausted to go to the gym.
- While studying, you might get distracted by social media or friends.
- Cooking at home might require cleaning dishes and chopping vegetables.
- Negative YouTube comments or slow subscriber growth could be demotivating.
3. Do the hero visualization
- Sit comfortably, ensuring your posture is relaxed. Close your eyes to eliminate any distractions.
- Try to recreate the specific situation you’re dealing with in your mind.
- Engage all your senses — sight, sound, smell, and touch — to make the visualization as vivid as possible.
- Identify the emotions that arise as you immerse yourself in this situation. It could be fear, hatred, or any other negative feelings. Also, pay attention to any physical discomfort or pain that you might experience in your body as a result of these emotions.
- Last but not least, visualize yourself successfully overcoming these challenges. Picture yourself handling the situation with confidence and ease, and imagine the sense of relief and accomplishment you’ll feel once you’ve overcome these obstacles.
Hero Visualization on the above example
- Visualize feeling tired but still managing to get up and go to the gym.
- Imagine feeling the urge to scroll through social media, but limiting yourself to a few minutes before returning to your studies.
- Picture yourself disliking the task of cleaning dishes, but putting on some music and starting the task anyway.
- Envision feeling disappointed by lack of recognition on YouTube, but maintaining your belief in future success and continuing to create videos.
By practicing heroic visualization and consistently performing your daily tasks, you can rewire your brain’s neurons and break free from autopilot mode. Remember, it’s okay to fail sometimes — we’re all human and prone to making mistakes.
This is your life and. Live it wisely.
If you find this post relatable, check out similar posts https://medium.com/@prabu_/list/understanding-the-heroes-abfe7f1a200d
