You’ve surely heard the phrase, “Fake it ’til you make it.” This common refrain refers to acting as though you’re already living the life you want until you can reach your dreams. The idea behind this time-tested wisdom is that changing your mindset will help to build your confidence as you work toward your goals, making the process easier. Journaling is a very practical way to help you along in this visualization process, bringing real results. Check out the information below to discover how to journal as if you’re already living the life of your dreams so that you can move forward to making it a reality.
The Science Behind Visualization
There’s real scientific backing for the idea that you can fake it ’til you make it. The practice of visualization is one in which you dedicate time to imagining a particular action you desire. You picture yourself going through the steps of reaching your goal, participating in a specific activity, or obtaining a particular wish in detail. It’s helpful if you even imagine the smells, feelings, and surroundings that would be involved in this action. Doing so has been shown to actually use the same areas of the brain that would be active if you were completing the action for real. Visualizing a desired action repetitively trains your brain so that achieving it in real life should come more easily.
How Thoughts Affect Behaviors
Thoughts and behaviors are closely connected. Your feelings and thoughts frequently influence your actions. If you believe you are capable of performing a task or completing a goal, your likelihood of achieving success is increased. Visualization helps you to gain the confidence that you can reach the tasks you set out for yourself. As you begin to imagine the steps in your mind, you’re training your brain to record the actions as a real memory. Your brain will believe you’ve done this thing several times. The more you visualize the action you hope to achieve, the more confident you will become. You’ll start to believe you can make your vision a reality. Performing the steps to make it happen will be easier over time. Thus, what you desire will become much more accessible than it would have been without this visualization practice.
Journaling Tips for Manifestation
You already know that journaling is a powerful practice that can help you to gain perspective, clarify your thoughts, and set goals for your life. What you may not realize is that your journal can actually be a tool to help you manifest those thoughts and dreams into reality. You can translate the effects of visualization into your journal. Let’s look at a few.
Write down your ideas and contemplate on them for several minutes each day. When you have a daydream of how you’d like to be, take some time to reflect on it in your journal. These important things you’re thinking about will be more likely to become a reality when you take time to visualize them. Affirmations are another great thing to record in your journal. These are short, positive statements of what you want to achieve in life. Your affirmation should be written as if you already have the thing you desire, such as, “I am living a life of adventure and wonder.” Soon, with repetition, you’ll begin to internalize these thoughts and bring them to life. Quotes are also beneficial toward this end.
You truly can fake it ’til you make it. Journaling is a way to trick your brain into believing you’ve already achieved your goals. Give it a try to see how it can work for you.
