Making Difficult Decisions Easier – #3 Make it Real

Using visualisation to help make decisions is hugely powerful. It’s a way to get up close and personal with any outcome of a decision. The ability to bring the result of saying yes or no to any decision will become part of your body’s emotional response system. It helps untwine any intricate emotional entanglements or complex multi-level options to the decision.

The use of visualisation is second nature to many. Although a few of my ADHD clients find this can be out of reach. There are some indications that ADHD and Aphantasia (the inability to see things in the mind’s eye) have some links.  If that’s you, it doesn’t mean you won’t benefit from a guided visualisation practice. What I encourage you to do is to take it a step further and engage all the senses in the process. Find a way to live and breathe the options to assist the final decision.

Here are some ways to enhance the visualisation process to make decisions.

Play a Movie

Not literally a movie on TV, but a movie in your mind’s eye. If your imagination is lively, this will be easy for you, and perhaps you naturally do this already. But let’s take it a step further. Play the scene of the movie in your mind, in other words, your options for this decision. With eyes closed, look around at this scene. What colours do you see, what smells are present? Can you taste anything? What can you touch? Does your skin react to the scene? Are there any sounds in the scene? The purpose is not to psychoanalyse these but to feel as though you are living this scene as the decision was already made. This should help you become more aware of which decision is the best way to go for now.

Create a Mood or Vision Board

For those more significant decisions, a mood board or vision board could be just what you need. For those tactile and visual learners like me, this is your secret weapon. Using imagery, place all the aspects of the decision on a board or even use a digital board on your computer or device. The imagery can then be viewed in relationship to the larger overall vision for your life and family. See how every aspect is connected and what this decision will influence. The visualisation process enables us to make it real without the consequences. It can also guide future choices; it is a powerful tool.

Visualising internally is a practical tool we use in coaching sessions. I guide clients to visualise the outcome and what success looks like before we venture into strategies. That one exercise can then be the motivator and the guide to how we proceed and find the steps to make the most significant impact on a challenge or opportunity.