The power of Visualization in sports and anything we have to perform for in life is unbelievable.
Mental practice can get you closer to literally anything you want for your life.
In an article for Psychology Today, AJ Adams explains, “Natan Sharansky, a computer specialist who spent 9 years in prison in the USSR after being accused of spying for the US has a lot of experience with mental practices. While in solitary confinement, he played himself in mental chess, saying: ‘I might as well use the opportunity to become the world champion!’ Remarkably, in 1996, Sharansky beat world champion chess player Garry Kasparov!”
Even more remarkably, as John O’Sullivan explains in his interview with us, technology today is allowing us to see into the brain in ways we never have before. In fact, the advancements in this type of technology have come further in the last five years, alone, than it has in decades.
FMRIs, for example, which refers to Functional magnetic resonance imaging, measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow.
The Power Of Visualization in Sports and Life
A study that examined the brain patterns of weightlifters found that the patterns activated when they lifted hundreds of pounds were similarly activated when they only imagined lifting.
And while you could argue that the act of just thinking through the lift could improve performance because technique could improve, the brain is even more powerful than that.
Guang Yue, an exercise psychologist from Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, compared “people who went to the gym with people who carried out virtual workouts in their heads.” The people who went to the gym saw a 30% increase in muscle, not surprisingly. Yet, remarkably, the group that conducted mental exercises of weight training saw a 13.5% increase in muscle strength!
As you’ll see in the video below, Alex Honnold trained his brain to not experience fear. This remarkable accomplishment enabled him to climb a 3,000-foot vertical cliff without ropes.
Truly incredible!
If athletes and high performers are able to accomplish such incredible things, with the help of visualization, there’s no reason why everyone can’t harness the power of the brain to achieve the life they want.
And you can do this in four basic steps:
- Imagine the future as if you’ve already achieved your goal
- Hold a mental picture of it in your mind, as if you are living it in that moment
- Imagine it in as great of detail as possible, engaging all of your senses
- Practice it at night, just before sleep, eliminating any doubts as they arise
Conclusion: Performance Visualization for our Children
Visualization and mental imagery have been scientifically proven to have a powerful impact on our ability to achieve our goals. Athletes use it every day to accomplish remarkable things in their sport. Professional athletes recognize that it gives them an edge in life… and it can do the same for you!
Simply follow these four steps:
- Imagine the future as if you’ve already achieved your goal
- Hold a mental picture of it in your mind, as if you are living it in that moment
- Imagine it in as great of detail as possible, engaging all of your senses
- Practice it at night, just before sleep, eliminating any doubts as they arise
Have you used visualization in your own life? Try it for 30 days in a row and see what transpires in your life!
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