See it before you do it.

I have always seen myself as a dreamer. As a child, I spent long hours watching movies and reading books, and then eventually imagining my own stories. I played with my Hot Wheels cars all day, and each time, I created a different story and characters for them. It was fascinating for me to be able to exercise my creativity and imagination, and give birth to so many ideas. My journey continued as I integrated more and more imagination in my life.

Then, the opinions started pouring in. “It’s not a good habit,” they insisted. They labeled me a daydreamer, scolding me for my constant mind-wandering. According to them, it was just a temporary escape from reality. But, I’ve always been a rebellious soul, and I wasn’t about to let others dictate what brought me joy.

Fast forward to today; it has been 16-17 years. I am an adult now, and I still have not stopped dreaming. I just dream differently now. Let me tell you how.

I see all of us as creators; creators of all our lives, our experiences, our memories. We are nothing short of artists who paint beautiful paintings on their canvases. And if I know anything about Art, it is that it does not happen without Imagination. 

We all paint on the canvas of our lives, whether we realize it or not. We have the power to create a beautiful masterpiece filled with endless possibilities or a chaotic mess of confusion. I doubt anyone desires the latter, and I certainly didn’t. So, I made a seemingly small change that had a profound impact.

I transitioned from Daydreaming, to Visualizing. 

My imagination was a gift, but I’d been using it all wrong. Daydreaming was a way for me to escape reality, and my idealized dreams had no connection to my real life. This made me feel frustrated and lost.

That was my signal for change. It began with accepting my current reality, which I had been ignoring before. I examined different aspects of it—relationships, family, work, personal—and made a note of their current status. Then, I delved into the “Why” behind what I desired to achieve in each area before my time was up.

Now my thoughts and my imagination had something to focus on. My desired future in all the aspects mentioned above. I created a very detailed mental picture of what my life was going to look like down the line. I kept feeding energy to it. And just like that, my dreams became my goals. 

The next step was straightforward. I asked myself, “What do I need to achieve in the next year to get closer to my long-term goals?” These became my short-term goals, like building blocks for my big picture. I made sure to be very specific and clear in my answers. This helped me create detailed short-term goals and mental images for each year, month, and important events. I essentially created a “Bridge” between my current reality and my desired future. 

Arnold Shwarzneggar, the Terminator himself, says it best, “Visualize your goals and your subconscious will work toward making those mental pictures come true.” 

And I cannot agree more with him. I have had so many incredible and impactful experiences because of these changes I made in my perspective. Let me share one of them with you.

I had a dream. I love watching TED Talks, and for years, I’d wanted to be on stage, sharing my passion with a large audience. Strangely, I had never visualized it. That was until I began changing my perspective. It was in 2022 when I started to picture myself in a particular auditorium, in front of students, wearing smart rimless glasses, a cool blazer over jeans, and a white t-shirt. And I’d talk passionately about my work. Like I said, I made this visualization as detailed and specific as possible.

It’s October 2023 right now, and I converted my visualization to reality this year. Twice! In January this year, I found myself at the exact Auditorium, invited as a Chief Guest, wearing the exact attire that I just described, and talking about my work. So cool right? Wait until you hear the next one.

My job revolves around leading listening circles and workshops for school students. Each year, there’s a Student Leadership Conference, and one of my dreams had been to host my own session there. The closest I’d come was co-facilitating with someone else. This year, I decided to leverage my visualization skills to make it happen. However, I made a mistake.

I kept picturing myself on a stage addressing an audience, which wasn’t how my workshops typically went. I did this for months, ingraining the mental image. Then, a call came. I couldn’t secure a spot for my session, but they invited me as a speaker to discuss my work. I’d be standing on a stage, talking to around a hundred students. Exactly like my mental image! This experience solidified my belief in the power of visualization.

Visualization for me isn’t a replacement for action; it’s a tool to focus my efforts. My long-term dream is to establish a school where young minds can explore and develop a curious and compassionate approach to life. I’ve broken this vision into specific short-term goals, ensuring that everything I do each day takes me a step closer. I invest time, energy, and effort consciously.

As I see my vision coming to life in my mind’s eye, I’m filled with the certainty that I’ll soon witness it materialize. Stay tuned for the exciting updates on my journey. Until then, remember: visualization combined with action can lead to incredible realities!

Love, Ninad.