Chapter 7
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Effective
people have a clear idea of where they are going and how to get there.
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A
value driven set of actions that stem from within the person and that the
person is committed to.
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Most people
need to discover what this is for them---a “Vision Quest.”
The Vision Quest
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A
search for your direction in life (destiny?) a sense of what you are moving
towards in life and allies that may help you along your path.
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The authors
suggest an alternative term, a “wishing quest.”
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Wishstorming
– brainstorming about what you would wish
for if you had unlimited wishes
How to “Wishstorm”
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Be specific in what you imagine, i.e. the make, model, color,
upholstery etc. of your car, not just a new car.
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What would you do if you had six days to live? What activities would
you seek out, where would you like to visit, who would you go and see, what
would you say? How would your
strategy change if you had six months instead?
Ground Hog Day
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What
would you do if you were immortal and could live forever?
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The
goal of these exercises is a sense of “clarity” understanding
your goals and what the real purpose behind those goals might be.
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What
will this goal get for me? What needs are really being met?
Six Steps for Securing Goals
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State
the goal in positive terms in a way you can achieve yourself, regardless of
others.
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Be
sure you know when you have been successful.
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Describe
your goals as specifically as possible.
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Be
sure your goals are compatible with each other.
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Conflicts:
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Approach-Approach
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Avoidance-Avoidance
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Approach-Avoidance
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Double
Approach-Avoidance
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Assess
what you already have and what you are going to need to reach your goals.
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Make a
Plan.
Self-Regulation
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1.
Establish short term goals.
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2. Reward
yourself with something concrete when you attain a short term goal.
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3.
Establish your own standard for success.
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4.
Realistically appraise your abilities and form goals based on strengths.
Visualization
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Our
earliest memories are in images, not in words. We can communicate with our unconscious
by using imagery, as that is the language of the unconscious.
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Visualizations
can alter your emotions, behavior and even physiology.
Sports Performance
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Richardson
(1969) tested three groups of boys in free throws.
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1
practiced shooting, 1 group did nothing, 3rd group visualized
shooting and making free throws.
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What
do you think happened?
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Group
1 improved 24%
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Group
2 showed no change
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Group
3 (visualization group) improved 23%
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In another experiment a group of soldiers went on a march of 25
miles. Various subgroups were told
different information about how far they had marched. Stress hormones were measured and
demonstrated that they reflected how far the soldiers thought they had marched,
not how far they had actually marched. Their bodies responded to imagined
stress, not the actual distance they had marched.
Healing
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Dr.
Carl Simonton uses the creation of vivid mental imagery to fight diseases like
cancer.
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Visualization
is a powerful technique to affect the body as well as the mind.
The Process of Visualization
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Master
voluntary relaxation skills.
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Use
positive imagery (Garbage in, garbage out)
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Visualization
is more than images.
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We all
use different representational systems for storing our experiences: auditory,
visual, kinesthetic, gustatory, olfactory. Connect your dominant sense with a
visual image related to it.
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Use
participant and observer imagery.
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One
involves the sensation of doing and actually stimulating the muscles, the other
involves imaging yourself at a distance like watching yourself in a movie and
can serve as more of a motivator.
Recommended sequence for
visualization
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Decide
on your goal, the actions and attitudes you want to adopt.
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Find a
model who can do what you want to do.
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Get
into a comfortable position.
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Make
sure your environment is relatively quiet and distraction free.
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Use a relaxation technique to establish a receptive mental state.
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Begin to imagine or sense your model doing the the desired goal or
behaviors.
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Study the model and vividly sense and picture them in your imagination.
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Substitute yourself for the model.
See yourself doing the desired goal and allow yourself to feel
motivated.
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Step
into this image and see, hear, and feel what you would feel if you were doing
the desired actions.
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Practice
15 minutes per day and 2 to 3 times daily, if possible.
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Be
patient with the results.
Meditation
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There
is much literature documenting the benefits of meditaiton:
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Pain
relief
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Lower
blood pressure
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Healing
in general
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The
goal of meditation is the ability to maintain focused awareness in the present
moment.
Mindful Meditation
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Non-judging:
suspend coming to conclusions about things and just observe their presence.
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Patience
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Beginner’s Mind: see things with fresh eyes, like a
child.
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Trust:
trust your own internal sense.
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Non-striving:
do the technique but don’t try to hard.
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Acceptance:
a willingness to see things as they are and act accordingly with minimum
distortions.
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Letting
go
The Practice of Meditation
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Focused
Concentration
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Mantra
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Mindfulness
– basically being aware of your in the
moment experiences