The vision and planning exercises in our courses and programs combine elements of three powerful tools to support you in finding your most creative and accurate self-expression.
First, Visualize
Visualization is a tool my grade school swim coach, Mr. Jim Griffin, taught his swimmers to literally see our success, hitting our goals before we ever hit the water. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of this performance enhancement method.
“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.”
–Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Second, Free Write
I’ve joined visualization with a tool my book writing coach taught me, which is proven to help overcome apathy and self-criticism. Can taking the trash out of your head help you deliver on your best results faster? It sure helped me! In fact, it’s used by successful writers and brainstormers everywhere.
You can use it to really open up and write from your heart.
Here are some simple, fun exercises to “up your game” in your most important areas. Share your results when you finish!
“On paper, I make time stand still and I impose my convictions on the whole world; they become the only reality.”
–Simone de Beauvoir, The Mandarins
Simone de Beauvoir
Third, Brainstorm
Brainstorming is an activity usually used in groups for best effect, though you can do it alone also, and free writing is one application of this.
Like free writing, we limit the time and accelerate the pace to overcome our tendency to assess and edit.
The idea is to generate as many ideas as possible in a limited amount of time, without editing or assessment.
During the activity, we encourage all ideas as good ideas, regardless or reality orientation or reasonableness.
Like free writing, each new brainstormed idea can trigger new ideas. In groups, this is a powerful phenomenon.
At the end of the exercise, the group will have a long list of ideas they can evaluate and modify for future use.
You will use a modified form of brainstorming as you share your work and ideas with others. You may find they will offer ideas and suggestions (if you are open to them), which can help you in finding new opportunities and approaches.
“The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.”
I am the creator of the Career Acceleration Academy.
I have more than 30 years experience in business and leadership, including degrees in psychology and business, working as a recruiter and team leader building and leading small and large, collocated and remote teams, in Silicon Valley and around the world.
![By Ferdinand Schmutzer - http://www.bhm.ch/de/news_04a.cfm?bid=4&jahr=2006 [dead link], archived copy (image), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34239518](https://dylancornelius.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Einstein_1921_by_F_Schmutzer_-_restoration-228x300.jpg)
_-_Jean_Paul_Sartre_and_Simone_De_Beauvoir_welcomed_by_Avraham_Shlonsky_and_Leah_Goldberg.jpg){kind=link}
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