What do positive thinking and superb planning have in common? Imagination.

It is the ability to travel to the future with our minds. We design our tomorrow by believing and working towards our goals and our imagined future.

Read on to learn how imagination can make our dream lives a reality.

Mental Time Travel

Our brains are wired to hold memory plus imagination. These two components work together to make a future where we thrive.

Memories teach us about our failures and triumphs. So, we can apply past lessons to create our future.

Imagination visualizes our better future using our experience. These two aspects about ourselves provide direction for us to maximize our chances for success ahead.

Using the Power of Imagination

“Imagination is not only for escaping reality; it’s for creating it”.

Whatever we want to achieve, we need to imagine it first.

We cannot have a goal or a dream without creating one. But this imagined dream must be clear so we can make it real. We must vividly visualize our dream life to have the confidence and motivation to fulfill a concrete aim.

Constructive Future Thinking

When dreaming of our future life, we should imagine better conditions, such as happier relationships and financial security. Doing so reminds us of what happiness means to us, and gives us a vivid goal to pursue.

Daydreams

This is where daydreaming comes in. It allows our mind to go wherever it wants and envision the perfect scenario we are willing to work toward. This is how we ignite motivation.

If you haven’t been doing much daydreaming lately, here’s how to jumpstart that imagination:

Read books and watch movies or videos outside your usual preferences

· Engage in creative activities such as painting or writing your own stories or poems

· Invent something like a new recipe for a cookie or a simple work-around to a kitchen solution

· Travel to places, even nearby, that offer something different

· Cloud-watch, bird-watch, people-watch to stimulate the imagination with story creation or pattern recognition

The Habit of Imagination

Always use imagination to look forward to positive things. Practice these four visualization habits:

· Savor anticipation. Enjoy thinking about what has not happened yet.

· Transform negative thinking into a future-oriented, positive outlook.

· Imagine an ideal future and think of ways how to get there.

· Combine all the above habits to concretize a vivid dream life. Believe that life to be your reality in the future.

A future-oriented mindset recognizes that imagination can shape your future life. Visualizing positive end-goals tends to make us choose actions toward achieving them. Envisioning otherwise pushes us toward undesirable paths.

So harness your power of imagination. Our future is only as bright as what we project in our minds.

Photo Credit: Apollinaariy