Previously, I challenged you to accentuate the positive, with one of the ways to do that being describing what you’d like to see happen. But sometimes that’s a challenge if you haven’t done that before. And it all starts with your imagination.

Every invention began in someone’s imagination. Someone wondered “what if…?” and started the process of creating something no one had created before simply by imagining. We can do the same thing with our lives. What do you want? More energy? Balance? Time for yourself? Imagine it and give it energy. Even if you’re concerned that you’ll never get it or think the likelihood of getting it is low, try it and see how it goes.

“Instead of imagining the best [outcome], many people are in fear and imagine all the things that can go wrong.” – Rhonda Byrne

Thoughts have energy just like words. And your imagination is your thoughts with pizazz. Too often we use our imaginations to give life to our fears. But I’d like to give you three steps to using your imagination to give life to your dreams and creating a better life:

1. Picture it. When he was starting out as a comic, Jim Carrey shares in a 2014 commencement address that he made a practice of imagining himself being successful every day. That practice, along with his tenacity, set the energy for his realizing his dreams. That practice is not something that only Jim Carrey can do. Whatever you want, sit for five minutes and imagine what it would be like if you had it. What images do you see? What colors come up? What sounds do you hear? If blocks or challenges come up, set them aside and continue.

2. Feel it. Now that you’ve pictured it, what feelings come up during your imaginings? Did you feel peaceful? Happy? Strong? Pay attention to the feelings that come up and hold onto them. The sights you picture are important, but feelings can energize those thoughts in a way that pictures alone cannot do.

“It’s not what you know, but how you feel about what you know, that motivates you.” – Unknown

3. Create it. Now that you’ve imagined it, set out to create it. Keep in mind the pictures you imagined and keep the feelings you imagined in your heart. Then plan small, realistic steps you can take to make it happen, keeping focused on what you imagined. It may not be everything you imagined—in fact, the outcome could surprise you because it could turn out to be even more than what you imagined. But you will have created something that shortly before had only been in your mind. And your life will be enriched because of it.

What can you imagine today to make your life more what you want it to be? Try it and see.

“The world is but a canvas to our imagination.” – Henry David Thoreau