Visualization - What you see is what you get

Visualize Success 
During the times of running my own training business; we frequently employed this technique called Visualization; the creation or re-creation of an external experience in the "mind's eye." Sports psychologists and top coaches have used visualization to enhance performance for some time now. It is estimated that 90% of Olympic athletes use some form of visualization and 97% say that it helps. Most Olympic coaches include it in their training arsenal.

So... 

If it works for Olympians, why haven't most of us in the corporate , leadership, development roles, committed to bettering ourselves and others employed this yet?

Why does visualization work?

A properly visualized event is treated as if it happened for real in your conscious and sub conscious mind, our human brain is unable to differentiate between what is real or unreal.  

Essentially, you are seeing and doing the event a second time when you do it for real physically. Also, during a visualization event your muscles are stimulated as if during a "real event," conditioning yourself by virtue of the repetitive motion. The best part of visualization is that you choose the outcome, and the quality of the performance. Why not start with a winning outcome and great performance in your mind first!

Typically two types of visualization are utilized during our Trainings and Seminars in the past; even right now in my daily work


1. "Practice visualization" is rehearsing an event in the mind before attempting it. Visualizing a performance on a  workout, swim, run, a fight, a sales call, a meeting with your boss, an interview etc can have a positive impact on the results, especially if done well and repeatedly over time.

2. "Future-me visualization" is where we create a powerful image of a future event which is a major goal. A good example would be earning the gold medal, or launching a business or successfully landing your dream career. You create the event in your mind, complement it with full emotions, color, sounds, smell and tastes, all as vividly as possible. 

Then we reinforce this visual image through repeated internal visits. This creates a powerful anchor in our subconscious mind. The subconscious mind then goes to work to recruit the resources necessary to nurture the event to fruition through proper thought and action.

Proper visualization helps to reduce stress of the unknown and control emotional responses 

It builds confidence and helps you concentrate on the important tasks required rather than waste energy on non-productive states of mind resulting from uncertainty. because you have "been there" before. 

When you begin the practice of visualization, you will likely start with second person (external visualization). This is where you view yourself from a 3rd party perspective. As you gain experience you will shift to first person (internal visualization) POV. This is where your imagined event is happening from your perspective, as if you had a helmet cam on. 

Visualization is a valuable tool in the development of any sport or skill (shooting, jumping, diving and public speaking). A solid session can help hone and test a strategy.

I hope this is helpful and that you can put the information to use someday. As always, stay focused and have fun!

Keep Learning, Keep Growing
Jason