Power through adversity by thinking a mental picture of exactly how you wish to look, feel, eat, act and think.

Your Goal Picture is your mental picture of exactly how you wish to look, feel, eat, act and think. It is a complete picture of who you want to be. It may contain many overlapping images, feelings, and thoughts. It may even be series pictures, like a movie.

There will be times when you feel weak and unmotivated. You will want to quit. At these times, bring your goal picture to mind and it will help you remember what you are trying to accomplish and why. Sometimes that’s all you need to outlast temptation.

The Goal Picture also works at the subconscious level to change the subconscious image you have of yourself. We often resist change because we see ourselves only a certain way. Our old image locks us into position. Your Goal Picture allows you to become the person you want to be.

Steps to Creating Your Goal Picture

Here are the steps to building your goal picture:

1.      Think about who and what you want to be.

2.      Be honest with your goals. Don’t set yourself up for failure.

3.      Think about how you wish to look, feel, eat, act and think.

4.      If you have a hard time coming up with a picture, think about people you admire and what you like about them.

5.      Picture your existing body then picture the new body you want.

6.      Picture exactly how you wish to look down to the smallest detail. Add this to your Goal Picture.

7.      Picture exactly how you wish to feel. Add this to your Goal Picture.

8.      Picture what you wish to eat and in what quantities. Add this to your Goal Picture.

9.      Picture exactly how you wish to act in specific situations. Add this to your Goal Picture.

10.  Picture exactly how you wish to think in specific situations. Add this to your Goal Picture.

11.   Make the changes real in your imagination. Begin to experience yourself as you want to be. Experience the changes you have made.

12.  Make as many pictures as you need.

Keep building your Goal Picture in your mind until you can quickly call it up without too much effort.

You don’t have to follow every step’. Some of the steps may not make sense to you. Feel free to include only what you think will motivate you when you need to be motivated.

Pack your Goal Picture with vibrant symbols overflowing with personal meaning. When you look at or think about your Goal Picture, you want its meaning instantly clear to you. Don’t worry what other people will think. If your motivation to exercise is best symbolized by an old pair of track shoes you wore in high school, then pick that as your symbol for exercise. All the motivation and health you felt at that time will be accessible via the track shoes symbol. Picking a different, more conventional symbol would drain it of all its power. That’s the idea for all your Goal Picture symbols: make them deeply meaningful to you.

My Goal Picture is quite simple because I am not a very good visualizer:

I picture Superman looking up at a blazing sun and a full moon set against a green background. Green means good health to me because it symbolizes the vibrancy of nature. Superman symbolizes strength and goodness. The sun symbolizes vast power and endless energy. The moon symbolizes the loved ones and relationships I’ll lose if I don’t succeed. And the long distance between Superman and the sun reminds me of how far I have to go and that I want to live a long time. When I need more strength, I transform the sun into a roaring bear standing tall on its hind legs, claws extended. I imagine myself infused with the same power and energy a bear must feel in full roar.

In my mind these are the images that motivate me. They may seem laughably silly to you, but that’s OK. You need to come up with images that are personally meaningful to you. It doesn’t matter what they are.

Let your Goal Picture change as your life changes. A Goal Picture is never complete. Change it as your find new issues that need handling. Let your Goal Picture vary in your mind. Don’t force it to be static.

Create a Goal Picture Collage

If you aren’t the kind of person who visualizes pictures easily, you may want to create a collage of your Goal Picture. Cut pictures out from magazines that represent all symbols in your Goal Picture and paste them into a collage. As you search for pictures, take some time and think about what they represent and what they mean to you.

This is a fun project and makes visualizing your Goal Picture a lot easier. Think about hanging up your collage in your workout area for extra motivation.

How to Apply Your Goal Picture

Bring your Goal Picture to mind whenever you feel like you need support and motivation. This could be when you are eating too much, when you want to quit on your exercise, or for any other reason.

Mentally visit each symbol in the picture. Think about what each symbol means to you. Let your thoughts and feelings fill you with renewed strength and purpose. Sometimes your spirit just runs out of gumption and you need to get a refill. That’s what your Goal Picture does for you. Visualizing your Goal Picture pumps you up when you need help the most.

Experiencing the Goal Picture Meditation

Your Goal Picture can be used as part of an interesting experience called the Goal Picture Meditation.  This is a 15 minute guided meditation that helps you make your Goal Picture more real to you. The meditation progressively relaxes your whole mind and body.

After you’re completely, relaxed you’re taken on a trip through your Goal Picture. This trip helps you experience and connect to your Goal Picture, which makes it more real and meaningful.

This is a wonderful experience. You’ll need about 15 minutes and before you start, you should be in a comfortable space, wearing comfortable clothes.

The meditation is available as an audio file on our website at http://YourDesignerDiet.com.