Instead of rehearsing failure, do this


Hello Reader,

What if something that sounds a little “New Age” actually points to a much more grounded biblical principle?

I’m talking about visualization.

There’s a well-known basketball study often attributed to Dr. Blasiotto at the University of Chicago.

One group physically practiced free throws every day.

Another group didn’t practice at all—but spent time visualizing themselves successfully shooting free throws.

A third group did neither.

The results?

The physical-practice group reportedly improved by 24%.

The visualization group improved by 23%.

And the group that did nothing saw no improvement (surprise, surprise).

In other words, what people repeatedly pictured themselves doing seemed to affect how they eventually performed.

And while Christians should be careful with the word “visualization,” the basic idea that our thoughts influence our actions shouldn’t feel foreign to us.

Proverbs 4:26 (BSB) says:

"Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure."

Scripture repeatedly calls us to consider where we’re going, what we’re dwelling on, and how we’re choosing to walk.

But there’s an important distinction here.

I’m not talking about manifestation.

Manifestation says that if you think, believe, or “align your energy” strongly enough, you can somehow bring the outcome you want into existence.

That isn’t what Scripture teaches.

Because God’s will is above ours.

What I recommend instead is something I call faith-rooted positive visualization.

It looks more like this:

You seek God’s will.

You picture what faithful obedience would actually look like in your life.

Maybe that means seeing yourself finally having the conversation you’ve been avoiding.

Getting out of bed and spending time with God before the day gets away from you.

Preparing the meal you know will help you feel better.

Following through on the commitment you’ve been praying about.

Then—you actually go do it.

You’re not trying to force an outcome into existence through the power of your thoughts.

You’re using your thoughts to prepare yourself to faithfully act on what God is already calling you to do.

That’s a very different thing.

And it’s why I created The 5-Minute Faithful Follow-Through Protocol.

It’s a simple workbook designed to help you practice this in a Christ-centered, God-honoring way—without drifting into manifestation thinking.

You can get it free right here.

And if you want to go deeper into how I think about faith-rooted positive visualization, I unpacked it in the latest session of The Rebellious Remedy as well.

But start with the workbook.

Five minutes.

One faithful next step.

And then go live it out.

Rooted in Christ,

Jonathon Ennis

Founder

P.S. You can watch the latest session of The Rebellious Remedy here (or listen to the podcast).

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