dreaming versus visualization

I've been dreaming a lot, sitting on this beach down at Bondi in Australia. January is a great time to dream. I used to dream a lot as a kid too. But I think there is a strong difference between dreaming about something and visualizing something.

 

Visualizing is the act or process of putting ideas into visual form. It's multi-dimensional, and is based on reality. The goal? To gain a deeper understanding of a concept that might be in our head, and bring it out into visual form.

 

We use the word "visualizing" a lot. It can be rather esoteric. But it really is about putting something into visual form. But what does that mean? Drawing our ideas? Not necessarily. I think that visualizing can be a mental drawing: we see it in our minds, and it becomes tangible to grasp.

 

So what's the difference between dreaming and visualization?

 

If you just dream about something, all you will ever receive is more dreaming. It doesn't necessarily mean that it will come to life. So many artists just dream about what they want out of their lives and careers. They want to be stars. They want to be on radio. They want fame, success. Well we all know that these notions aren't REAL as words in themselves. Artistry is about the journey, and about doing. Thoughts are powerful. You  think, it can become real. But thoughts too, if not visualized, can stay as thoughts, as dreams. Visualizing means that you are taking your dreams and forming a plan. If you have an idea, if you spend more time seeing it in your mind, mulling over the various forms of the idea and it's outcomes, writing a little, drawing even, but definitely "seeing it" in your mind, that idea has more chance of coming to fruition.

 

I suggest that the next time you sit there day-dreaming, why don't you plot out a course of action that might work. Yeah, a little bit of dreaming helps to build on your imagination, but seeing it in your mind and seeing it coming true, will make it true.

 

I sat drawing in the sand today and I felt excited about my projects. Aren't you?