nick usborne's blog

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The power of negative visualization.

You probably think I mean positive visualization. I don’t.

I’m writing this for two reasons.

One...I get weary of all the positive hype on the net. Positive thinking and visualization can be a wonderful thing. But too often it is used as if it were a magic wand of some kind. Or a crutch.

Two...there is some value to be had from negative visualization, however untrendy it may be.

Let me introduce you to the Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece, and then Rome.

One of their practices was to work with negative visualization. They would visualize how they might feel if a loved one died, or they became ill, or a natural or un-natural disaster destroyed their home.

Sound gruesome?

It wasn’t.

Their intention was to imagine being without something in order to increase their appreciation of what they did have.

Like us, they might take their good health for granted. Or a loved one for granted.

It’s only when you lose something, or someone, that you really appreciate their value.

If, like me, you have ever lost someone close to you, you know exactly how this feels.

It is only after their death that you realize how much you loved them, and how much you wished you could have some of that time together back. If you could live that time again, you would see them more often, talk with them more often and make better use of your time together.

But you don’t have to wait for a catastrophe to take place. You can simply visualize the loss of something or someone you value. Then start living your life differently.

The Stoics were a smart bunch.

You can do the same with your business. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, or haven’t yet achieved, think about what you do have, and have achieved. Imagine the loss of a client, the loss of sales, the loss of a colleague or peer.

Do that and you’ll come to appreciate what you have a little bit more.

Live your life, and work, with more appreciation of what you do have, and you’ll find a lot more joy in your day.

And, as counter-intuitive as the process may seem, negative visualization will not only make you better appreciate what you already have, but will also help you reach out for future successes of genuine value.

 

 

If the workers of the world really could unite, what would they do?

I know, this is decidedly off-topic for this blog. Just something I was thinking about in the shower this morning.

So...the workers.

If I look back thirty years, I remember a time when most workers gathered together in unions, to create a balance of power between employers and employees.

They fought for a fair wage and decent working conditions.

Their task wasn’t easy, because they not only faced fierce opposition, but also had to organize themselves locally through phone calls, printed sheets of paper and word of mouth. But still, they had their meetings and organized demonstrations and, when they felt it necessary, strikes.

Among them, perhaps there were some dreamers. And among those dreamers, maybe some imagined a day when technology would allow workers to communicate with one another instantaneously, across the country, and even across the world. The stuff of science fiction.

They perhaps imagined what might be possible if everyone could connect with one another, worldwide.

An end to war, injustice, famine, child slavery, torture, poverty and more.

A worldwide union of workers - that’s you and me - could finally provide a meaningful balance of power between governments and the people. We would have the power to right the most egregious wrongs.

And today we have that power. We have the web, and we have social media. We can connect with one another, worldwide. We could force change.

What do we actually do with this power?

For the most part, we play games, go shopping and talk about the weather.

Our fathers and their fathers before them must be turning in their graves and crying in shame.