 In leading towards getting into drafting your Personal Mission Statement we need to understand the process which leads to it. In the last few weeks we spent more time to understand the thoughts which lead to the drafting of this most important document in your life. This exercise is more inwardly focused, in other words, to understand who you really are and what you really want to do with your life.
Let's look at this extremely useful finding…
Dr. Charles Garfield has done extensive research on peak performers, both in athletics and in business. He became fascinated with peak performance in his work with the NASA programme, watching the astronauts rehearse everything on earth, again and again in a simulated environment before they went to space. Although he had a doctorate in mathematics, he decided to go back and get another Ph.D. in the field of psychology and study the characteristics of peak performers.
One of the main things his research showed was that almost all of the world-class athletes and other peak performers are visualizers. They see it; they feel it; they experience it before they actually do it. They begin with the end in mind. You can do it in every area of your life. Before a performance, a sales presentation, a difficult confrontation, or the daily challenge of meeting a goal, see it clearly, vividly and relentlessly over and over again. Create an internal "comfort zone." Then, when you get into the situation, it isn't foreign. It doesn't scare you.
Your creative, visual right brain is one of your most important assets, both in creating your personal mission statement and in integrating it into your life. There is an entire body of literature and audio and video tapes that deals with this process of visualization and affirmation. Some of the more recent developments in this field include such things as subliminal programming, neurolinguistic programming, and new forms of relaxation and self-talk processes. These involve explanation, elaboration and different packaging of the fundamental principles of the first creation.
Dr. Stephen R Covey's review of the success literature brought in to contact with hundreds of books on this subject. Although some made extravagant claims and relied on anecdotal rather than scientific evidence, his research suggests that most of the material is fundamentally sound. The majority of it appears to have originally come out of the study of the religious literature [like the Bible, Quran etc] by many individuals.
In effective personal leadership, visualization and affirmation techniques emerge naturally out of a foundation of well thought through purposes and principles that become the centre of a person's life. They are extremely powerful in rescripting and reprogramming, into writing deeply committed to purposes and principles into one's heart and mind.
As per the study of Dr. Covey and in reality too I believe that central to all enduring religions in society are the same principles and practices clothed in different language - meditation, prayer, covenants, ordinances, scripture study, empathy, compassion, and many different forms of the use of both conscience and imagination.
But if these techniques become part of the Personality Ethic and are severed from a base of character and principles, they can be misused and abused in serving other centres, primarily the centre of self. [to get more understanding of the centres of life please refer titled article on same] . Affirmation and visualization are forms of programming, and we must be certain that we do not submit ourselves to any programming that is not in harmony with our basic centre or that comes from sources centred on money-making, self interest, or anything other than correct principles.
The imagination can be used to achieve the fleeting success that comes when a person is focused on material gain or on "what's in it for me." But I believe the higher use of imagination is in harmony with the use of conscience to transcend self and create a life of contribution based on unique purpose and on the principles that govern interdependent reality.
Almost all of the world-class athletes and other peak performers are visualizers. They see it; they feel it; they experience it before they actually do it. They begin with the end in mind. |
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