Think Often About Your Perfect Life

Photo by Markus Tinner

Everyone has a vision of the life they desire. When people try to articulate this vision, they typically will end up using one of the following models:

• Specific needs — "I need to double my salary", "I want an additional three hours of free time". These are immediate desires driven by current frustrations.
  "What do I want/need now?"
• Projecting great moments of the past onto the future — Remember that amazing vacation you had a decade ago? Or that first moment of intimacy when you felt like you finally found that person? You yearn to recreate those perfect moments and feel those emotions from before.
  "What would I want to experience again?"
• Total complex visualization — This vision encompasses multiple aspects of life. It includes your behavior, daily routine, appearance, relationships, and more
  "What kind of life do I want?"

I believe that the latter type — complex visualization — can be used as a very helpful technique in your life.

How do I use this?

Imagine your ideal life where everything you wish for is fulfilled (Note: Add "if you want it" for every upcoming point. I'm not deciding your desires for you, but merely giving you some ideas):

• You are wealthy and financially independent
• You are fit and healthy
• Your friends and community admire you
• You have a loving partner who deeply cares about you
• You have lovely little kids who jump at you with hugs every time you come home
• You have a beautiful house at your favorite place, or a cozy shack near a stunning lake
• Every day you continue to master a craft of your choice and succeed in it
• You meet with your friends regularly and often have profound conversations with them

Some of the mentioned points probably resonated with you more than the others. Focus on them and try to visualize in detail a short episode of that ideal life. Go really deep for those things you care about. Let's say it's you finishing your work during the evening, and then your partner comes in with a plate of really tasty food. What exactly are you working on? How does your room look? How do you look? What does your partner say to you, and what kind of expression do they have? What is the weather outside?

After finishing with details of the episode, you can incorporate multiple sensory elements. This makes the vision more vivid and powerful. Maybe the evening sun gently warms your face while you close your eyes? Or that platter of food smells just perfect.

Make this episode burn into your mind. Think about it regularly, especially when you feel sad or unmotivated. Think about every small detail that is important to you. Does it feel better?

Why does it work?

The power of this practice is simple. Our lack of motivation often stems from having too narrow an outlook on life. In our worst days, we are focused on that one exact bad event that just happened, nothing else matters. And on the days when we feel like we can change the world — we are the world, we see the bigger picture, we think globally. Remembering and reliving that moment of your perfect life is a way to zoom out of your slumber, get a broader view of life again, and remember what you are struggling for. There is always more to life than your problem — it's not the end of the world. "I want that kind of life. I won't give up".

And the best thing? You can always manifest it. Your brain is always at your service (I hope). All you need is several seconds.

Final Words

This technique is not a panacea. When you feel sad, going for a walk or socializing with your friends would most likely provide better comfort. But these activities take time and energy, while using our imagination takes mere moments. And those moments may be just enough of a push to actually go out for a walk or call your friends.

Consider the compounding effect if this practice helps you overcome laziness or lack of inspiration even half the time. Just think of how many additional hours and days this could give us! And how much more we could achieve in that time.

Sure, this vision is a dream about an ideal. Maybe an unattainable one. Most likely an unattainable one, because this is the definition of an ideal. It is something we constantly strive for yet never really getting there. But we become better every time we fall short. We learn. And we make another attempt.

And in our darkest moments, this dream may be the light that will save us from something truly terrible.

Wouldn't that be spectacular?