I must confess that I have been struggling to sit down and write this week. I have been in a low mood, and motivation was not high on my list of things to do. But I always see situations like this as an opportunity to reflect, and sometimes it does us a world of good to take a step back and give thought to where we are.

So, in my state of self-analysis, I realised that I had stopped doing segment intending. The concept of segment intending has been made known by Esther Hicks and has its roots in CBT and DBT. How it works is before you start anything new, you prep your mind in a positive way for that experience. This also helps you focus on the present and frees you from worrying about the future or the past.

Segment intending is just about being aware of yourself in your surroundings and what’s coming next. It’s a redefining by you of the intentions that you hold in this second.

Once you become aware of this, you can then start to take actions that will help you to realign, or pre-pave your energy for the next portion of your day.

The process then, is simply the process of resetting, and taking the time to set a clear intention for what you want to experience (https://thejoywithin.org/authors/abraham-hicks/how-to-use-segment-intending-with-the-law-of-attraction)

Social cognition research has found that mental imagery of future events increases the likelihood that those events will occur (Johnson & Sherman, 1990).

Some examples would be ‘now I will go for the most relaxing and divine shower’. Another example might be ‘I will have the most awesome drive to work and listen to some of my most favourite music’. Or ‘now I am going to sit down and write an inspirational piece and feel good about it.

I love doing this as it really does help to shift my mindset and contributes significantly to having a great day. Try it, and you will soon see what a difference this simple mind and mood hack can make.

Mental imagery of future events (also known as mental stimulation, goal visualisation, and imagined future) is a technique that helps people “envision possibilities and develop plans for bringing those possibilities about” (Taylor et al., 1998, p. 429). I use this before each gym training session and imagine myself pushing beyond my previous limits and having the best training session ever.

Goal visualisation has been shown to promote goal-directed behaviour by increasing one’s expectation for success, enhancing motivation and emotional involvement, and initiating planning and problem-solving actions.

So, before you start a new segment, please take a few seconds to prep your mind and visualise yourself making the most out of that particular situation, regardless of what it is. You may be pleasantly surprised. Imagine that!

References

• Johnson, M. K., & Sherman, S. J. (1990). Constructing and reconstructing the past and the future in the present. In E. T. Higgins & R. M. Sorrentino (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behaviour (Vol. 2, pp. 482-526). Guilford Press.
• Taylor, S. E., Pham, L. B., Rivkin, I. D., & Armor, D. A. (1998). Harnessing the imagination: Mental simulation, self-regulation, and coping. American psychologist, 53(4), 429.