Flick Back / Flick Forward

Flick Back/ Flick Forward is a tool that enables you to use the positive emotion associated with some past achievement to prepare deliberately for a successful future result.

This is a technique that I learned whilst training to be a therapist. It originated from the Pacific Institute. I’ve adapted it for my own purposes.

The achievement or past success that you choose to use does not have to be in the same area of life as the future goal you will be visualising.

Step One: Compile your Positive Achievements List.

This was the tool I shared with you in my blog on 1st September. You simply make a list of all the things you’ve achieved that you’re really proud of having accomplished.

All the events in your past that you feel good at having done. Those moments when you can say to yourself ‘Didn’t I do well.’

(Click here to see the blog for more detail)

Step Two:

Read through your list and choose one event in your life that you’re really pleased with and makes you feel great.

Step Three:

Choose a situation or issue that you feel you’re not handling well and that you would like to change. Or a forthcoming event that you’re dreading and would like to go well.  

Step Four: Flick Back

Flick back in your mind, to the positive achievement you identified in Step 2.  Visualise this moment again. Go back to that time in your imagination. Relive this experience. Feel all the positive emotion & energy that you experienced then - how good and powerful you felt. Actually feel that positive emotion fill your body, as if it was happening now.

Step Five: Flick Up to Now

Transfer all that positive emotion into the Now. In this present moment, feel how good that is to be so powerful/ confident, right here, right now.

Step Six: Flick Forward to Future Situation

Put all that positive emotion, that you’ve flicked up from the successful event of the past into the image of the situation or future event you chose in Step 3, that you would like to change or achieve a good result. The situation in which you would like to have more confidence and courage.

Step Seven: Visualise a Positive Outcome

Using all that positive energy and emotion, you’ve brought forward, visualise yourself achieving the result that you want to happen.  See the environment and see yourself in it. See yourself being successful, assertive, confident. See yourself attracting what you want to happen in your life.

Step Eight: Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Do this process many times before you live out the event you’re imagining

Whenever you face something new which worries you, use this technique to prepare for a successful outcome through visualisation by using the power of past, positive emotion.

For example, if you are visualising a forthcoming interview, using all the positive emotion you have flicked forward, you can create a mind-set that envisages the job is yours and you are very clear why you deserve the outcome and what you will be able to offer to the job.

I use this powerful tool whenever I am projecting and worrying about an event in the future, such as running a course, anything that I am allowing to steal my confidence when projecting forward, so that I can alter my mind-set and visualise a good outcome.

This is how you can use the powerful emotion associated with a successful past achievement to deliberately prepare for a successful future result.