Ah, traveling to the Golden Place. A veritable visual voyage. How lovely it is going to this beautiful, magical place where you can just relax and forget about your cares…
But before I get too lost in my own golden place I guess I’d better tell you how to create your own and why you would even want to. The “golden place” is a special place that exists in your imagination. It’s the most tranquil, beautiful place you can ever imagine visiting. And it’s all yours. You can go there alone and find peace and relaxation. Visualization of calm, relaxing scenes is extremely beneficial in reducing one’s stress level.
Figuring out what your own, most special, beautiful, calm and relaxing scene looks like can help you reduce your stress level at any given time. Find yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed? Simply shut your eyes and travel to your “golden place” for a minute or two. It doesn’t take long for your stress level to start to decrease. You can take your “golden place” with you all the time, everywhere you go. Hate flying?
Travel to your “golden place” just as you are ready to take off. You’ll feel better. Getting ready to deliver a presentation and you are feeling nervous? Bon voyage, mon frere. You’ll calm down immediately. To determine your golden place, follow these steps :
1. Sit down in a quiet stop. Shut your eyes, take a few nice, deep breaths and relax.
2. Imagine a picture of the most beautiful, peaceful nature scene you have ever seen. What does it look like. Note every detail. Is the sun shining and warm against your skin? Do you hear a mountain stream, or the ocean’s waves’? Can you feel a warm breeze on your face as you sit, quietly, by yourself, in your special golden place?
3. Now take an index card, or a small piece of paper and write down everything you can think of about your special spot. Carry this with you as a reminder that you have a special place to go when you are stressed out. Pretty soon you won’t need the reminder note anymore. You’ll have started to travel to your personal haven so often that it’s become a healthy habit! Enjoy the peace you feel there. It is all yours and no one can take it away from you.
Molly Luffy, MBA, owner of Work Ethic Wizard, dedicated to helping managers regain their sanity and employees survive and thrive in todays corporation. Author of Super-Charge Your Promotion Quotient: 225 Success Strategies for the New Professional. http://www.workethicwizard.com/default.cfm
