We are all managers of our own bodies, but also of our inner self, our minds. And the intention is that we manage our inner self in such a way that it makes us more resilient in stressful situations. We have to make sure that we are in control of what we feel inside to be able to control our emotions and feelings.

How can we do that?

One way to do that is visualisation. Visualisation is creating mental images. If you do this on a regular basis, your body and mind will feel calmer and happier. You can then evoke this image in stressful situations. Doing this exercise once will not help you much. Repetition is the message here!

Tips for a good visualisation

• Sit in a comfortable, upright position in a quiet place and close your eyes. If necessary, put on soothing, instrumental music.
• Pay attention to a calm, abdominal breathing during the visualisation.
• Think of a great moment in your life, a moment of pure happiness.
• Relive this moment with all your senses and feel the power of this happy moment. Enjoy to the fullest!
• Take an imaginary picture of this image and look very carefully from left to right, from top to bottom.
• Try to relive the moment with all your senses.
• In stressed situations, this image will make you calmer and more resilient.

When I need to manage my inner self, I often do that with an existing image. The one you see above, is definitely one that I have used. Here I am, on my bare feet, alongside my husband, on a beach in Saint-Tropez where we just had lunch in a beach restaurant. It was a fabulous day of our holiday in April 2019 (more on that day in Saint-Tropez in this post!). And whenever I think about this image, whenever I visualize it, I immediately become calmer, the muscles in my face soften, I get an instant smile on my face and the things I worried about are just a little less severe. It makes me put things into perspective… Mind, it won’t solve my problem! But I does give me energy to tackle it and to be more resourceful to solve it.

As I already mentioned, practice makes perfect. When you regularly practice this visualisation, it becomes a habit and you’ll notice that, when you have a stressful moment, it will be easier to see that imaginary picture and chances are that you’ll feel calmer in an instant.

Why don’t you give it a go? What won’t hurt you won’t harm you… Good luck!

Love, Kathleen