Have you ever found yourself imagining a conversation before it happens?
Perhaps you're anticipating something difficult. You picture what the other person might say, how you'll respond, and how the whole thing might unfold.
You might even notice your heart beating a little faster, your shoulders tightening, or that familiar feeling of unease in your stomach.
The conversation hasn't happened.
But in some ways, you've already begun experiencing it.
Now, consider something different.
Imagine sitting somewhere peaceful. Perhaps beside a lake, listening to the water gently moving against the shore. The air is warm, there's nowhere you need to be, and you can simply enjoy the moment.
As you picture this, you might notice your breathing slowing or some of the tension in your body beginning to ease.
Again, nothing around you has actually changed.
But your experience of the moment might have.
Your brain responds to more than what's happening around you
Our brains don't respond only to what we see, hear and experience in the outside world.
They also respond to what we imagine.
Research into mental imagery has shown that imagining an experience can activate some of the same brain networks involved in actually experiencing it.
This doesn't mean the brain can't distinguish imagination from reality. It generally can.
But it does mean that our thoughts and mental images can influence our emotions, physical sensations and expectations.
And that's something we can work with.
We practise things in our minds all the time
Athletes have used mental rehearsal for years.
A skier might imagine moving through a course.
A musician might mentally practise a difficult passage.
Someone preparing for a presentation might picture themselves speaking calmly and confidently.
Mental rehearsal doesn't replace actual practice, of course. But it can complement it.
And this isn't limited to sports or performance.
Think about the ways we sometimes rehearse experiences we don't want.
We imagine ourselves losing our patience.
Being embarrassed.
Feeling overwhelmed.
Giving in to an old habit.
Without intending to, we can become very familiar with imagining the very responses we're hoping to change.
What if we gave ourselves opportunities to rehearse something different?
Practising a new response
Let's say you tend to feel overwhelmed when someone makes an unexpected request of you.
Your usual response might be to say yes immediately, even when you don't really have the time or energy.
Later, you feel resentful or exhausted.
Now imagine taking a few moments, when you're feeling relatively calm, to picture that same situation unfolding differently.
You hear the request.
You notice the familiar urge to agree.
But this time, you imagine yourself pausing.
Taking a breath.
And responding with something like, "Let me check what I have on my plate, and I'll get back to you."
You might picture yourself feeling a little uncomfortable—and still being okay.
You're not guaranteeing that the next real-life situation will unfold exactly this way.
You're simply giving your mind an opportunity to become more familiar with another possibility.
And sometimes, that familiarity can make a new response feel a little more accessible when the moment arrives.
This is one of the things I love about hypnosis
In hypnotherapy, we use focused attention, imagery and suggestion to help people explore and rehearse different experiences and responses.
For example:
Someone who tends to turn automatically to food when stressed might imagine recognizing the feeling of stress earlier, pausing, and choosing how they want to respond.
Someone who struggles to settle at bedtime might practise imagining the sensations of letting go of the day's demands.
Someone working on confidence might mentally experience approaching a familiar challenge with greater steadiness.
It's not magic, and imagining something doesn't automatically make it happen.
But hypnosis can offer a structured way to practise new possibilities, particularly when old responses have become deeply familiar.
And importantly, you don't have to be good at visualizing to benefit from this kind of practice.
Some people see vivid pictures in their minds. Others experience imagery more as a sense, a feeling, a sound, or simply knowing what something would be like.
There's no single right way to imagine.
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A Gentle Reflection
This week, think of one ordinary situation in which you'd like to respond a little differently.
Not a huge life transformation.
Just one small moment.
Perhaps you'd like to pause before automatically saying yes.
Respond more calmly when something doesn't go according to plan.
Take a moment to notice what you need before reaching for a familiar comfort.
Or approach bedtime with a little less anticipation of another restless night.
When you have a quiet moment, imagine yourself moving through that situation in a way that feels supportive and realistic.
What might you notice?
What could you say to yourself?
How might your body feel?
What would that small change look like?
Spend a minute or two exploring the possibility.
You don't need to force anything or get it exactly right.
You're simply practising a different experience.
And perhaps that's one of the most interesting things about imagination.
It doesn't just allow us to picture what might happen. It can also help us prepare for how we'd like to respond.
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Until next time, remember that change doesn't always begin with doing something differently. Sometimes it begins with allowing ourselves to imagine that something different is possible.
Warmly, Shelley