Have I got your attention?  The fact of the matter is that visualization is a powerful tool for creating our life experience which can influence our state of fitness, our job performance, our family life, our capacity to excel in sport, and even our ability to make money!  Sound too grandiose?  Read on to learn how visualization can call you to bring forth your peak performance in any of these and many other areas.

When should someone start visualizing?

I was first introduced to the concept of visualization well over 20 years ago when my tennis coach started giving me some ‘non-traditional’ pointers for excelling in the tournaments that I’d be playing in.  I recall at just 14 years of age, I’d be visualizing the perfect match the night before I’d be playing.  I’d see myself walking onto the court, I’d feel the wind, watch my body as I’d hit the perfect serve, play the perfect game, execute my passing shots and ultimately win the match.  The point of this is that anyone can start visualizing at any age – no matter how young or how old they are.  

What is visualization?  What is it not? and Who uses it?

The paragraph above should give you some sense of what visualization is and is not.  Its not some mystical trance reserved for the extremists that believe they can alter the world just by focusing their minds (that’s possibly a topic of discussion for a future article).  Its actually quite commonplace, and a practice used frequently by athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, businessmen/women, sales representatives, teachers and parents.  Some may not label what they are doing as ‘visualization’, but fundamentally its the same thing. 

Visualization is simply the process of focusing your mind to see, feel, hear and experience a particular outcome, before the event/outcome we are anticipating occurs. 

Why use visualization?

Consider it as a mental honing.  If I am going into a job interview, performance review, sales call, or starting in a baseball game, visualization creates an experience in which I can perform my best and acclimatize my mind and physical body to become accustomed to this experience.  The more I visualize a certain outcome, the better prepared I become to create that outcome.  Even when many elements of the potential experience are unknown (for example, as a child I had never been to many of the tournament locations – so imagining the physical local was a shot in the dark), there are still many known’s factors you can visualize.  For example, what will be my demeanor, what I should be prepared to speak on, what the form of my perfect swing will be… 

In addition to forming ‘memories’ in our psyche, visualization also has an immediate and direct response to one’s physiological state in the now.  Visualize yourself on the beach in the humid and hot resort village of Punta Cana and your skin temperature will rise and blood pressure will drop.  Visualize yourself celebrating after winning the U.S. Open and your heart rate will increase, your endorphins (associated with joy) will increase, and your mood will change.  The body’s physiological response to an ‘imagined’ stimulus is nearly as strong as the real thing! 

Simply put, use visualization (and use it frequently) to experience success, thus bringing that experience more so into your life.

How should I visualize?

Whether you are visualizing a home run or a gentle conversation with your teenager, visualization is best performed in a distraction free environment which lacks excess noise, visual stimuli, and preferably is in a warm and comfortable setting.  For best results, begin by close your eyes (experienced practitioners can even visualize a completely different situation with their eyes open!). 

For those if you that are more visually inclined, this process should be quite easy.  Simply imagine the scene occurring for which you’d like to create.  Start with the physical location.  See the scene you would like to create in your mind’s eye.  See the interactions you’d like to have once you’ve established yourself in that setting.  Build the perfect scenario.  Repeat this process until you’ve become completely comfortable with the scene you’ve created.  Don’t just imagine it – feel it in your gut!

For those of you that struggle to see a ‘mental picture’, don’t fret.  Some are simply more visually inclined than others.  Here’s a few suggestions.  Begin by imagining with your dominant sense.  Feel the warmth of the sun, or begin by hearing the sounds of nature.  Let this be the starting points to create the scene.  If you still struggle to see the event, begin with a memory.  Recall a similar memory (with a potentially different outcome), and see it as clearly as possible.  Now begin altering that memory.  Change it such that its no longer in the past, but that it is in the future, and build the new scene in your mind. 

As you can see above, there’s nothing mystical or magic with the process.  Its actually quite simple.  And the results – powerful enough that this process is widely acclaimed in the world of sports, self improvement, healing, and psychotherapy. 

What else should I know?

Some people ask – how is this different than writing a vision statement?  The vision statement is a written depiction of a vision for life in the future.  It draw upon the same set of skills but the purpose is vastly different.  The purpose of visualization is to provide peak performance in a specific situation, or to change one’s physiological state in the moment.  The purpose of the vision statement is to provide clarity, focus and direction in life such that opportunities in life become visible and a clear course of action can be laid out. 

There are a myriad of books and articles on the beneficial effects of visualization related to healing and recovering from illness (I enjoy the many interesting articles on spontaneous healings from what were thought to be incurable conditions).  Visualizations in these cases tend to be focused on the inner workings of the body.  Children often visualize Pac Man or their favorite superhero fighting back cancer cells!  Again, anyone can do this.   

For those that are more audio inclined, there are many ‘guided visualizations’ in which a lecturer will walk you through the process of imagining a specific situation to ascertain a certain result.  These can be just as powerful and relaxing as a self guided visualization – however are restricted to being focused on the topic you choose (which could serve benefit in many situations).   My suggestion – simply start.  Ask yourself – In what situations could I improve performance and how could I potentially benefit from adding in visualization?  How will this fit into the rest of my strategy for achieving these specific goals?

Be Well

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