Do your believe our imagination has much to do with success?
Arnold Schwarzenegger won the title of Mr. Universe seven times. But he didn't keep his title by only pumping iron. As part of his workout routine, he would frequently go into the corner of the gym and visualize himself winning the title again.
Jack Nicklaus, the great professional golfer, explained his imaging technique. He said "First I 'see' the ball where I want it to finish - nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass. Then the scene quickly changes, and I 'see' the ball going there; its path, trajectory and shape, even its behavior on the landing. Then," says Nicklaus, "there's sort of a fade-out, and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images into reality."
I recall hearing the story of a prisoner of war who spent his years of solitary confinement playing golf - on the course of his mind. When he was released and returned to California, one of his first desires was to head for the nearest golfing facility. He was totally shocked at how his game had improved. Without question, his imagination had greatly enhanced his physical skills.
Today, practice "seeing" yourself winning.
What is Mental Imagery?
Mental imagery, also called visualization and mental rehearsal, is defined as
experience that resembles perceptual experience, but which occurs in the absence of the
appropriate stimuli for the relevant perception
(plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-imagery/). Whenever we imagine ourselves performing an action in the absence of physical practice, we are said to be using imagery. While most discussions of imagery focus on the visual mode, there exists other modes of experience such as auditory and kinesthetic that are just as important. However, for the purposes of this paper, only visual imagery will be discussed for it is the most relevant mode concerning athletic performance.
Claims
Although sports psychology is becoming more prevalent in todays society, there is a surprising lack of web sites that endorse and offer visual imagery skills for sports. The few advertisements that I found endorse tapes which claim to rapidly improve your athletic skill, concentration, and endurance. Visual imagery advocates purport that this technique increases energy and avoids injuries as well. Not only will visualization improve athletic performance but the ads also claim that it will enhance motivation and overall enjoyment of the sport (www.health-o-rama.org/superlearning/spec-s.htm). Peak Performance Sports looks to sell tapes that has the "latest methods in sports psychology", one of them being mental imagery, which will elevate your game to a new level. The tapes will increase confidence, focus and self-composure which will in turn, improve your athletic performance. These tapes can work for any type of athlete, whether they are professional, amateur, or of a junior status (www.peaksports.com/index.php3). Jacksonville has a sports counseling center which teaches imagery along with other sports psychology techniques. At this center, they allege to reduce performance anxiety, deal with mental trauma sustained during and after injury, and help you with recurrent past images of terrible performances that athletes cannot seem to forget, such as the double fault on match point or the missed catch for the winning touchdown
(www.benchmark123.com/intrinsic).
The Importance of Mental Imagery
Many sports such as golf, tennis and skating, not only require physical skills, but a strong mental
game as well. Most coaches preach the line that sports are 90% mental and only 10% physical. Especially in sports where hundredths of a second or tenths of an inch separate the champions from the mediocre athletes, an extra edge can be extremely crucial. Hence, numerous athletes are turning towards mental imagery to take their game to the next level. Different uses of imagery in sport include: mental practice of specific performance skills, improving confidence and positive thinking, problem solving, controlling arousal and anxiety, performance review and analysis, preparation for performance, and maintaining mental freshness during injury.
How to Implement Mental Imagery
There is no correct way to practice mental imagery. It is all left up to individual preferences and the present circumstances. It can be done on or off the field, very short (within a few seconds or minutes), of a long duration, sitting up, lying down, in complete silence, with a stereo, eyes closed or they can be open. A shorter version of imagery is best implemented during matchplay. For example, a tennis player may take a few seconds to visualize him or herself hitting the perfect serve in the place where he or she wants. Or a quarterback can go through a play in his mind just before calling the play. Longer, specific guided visualizations are usually designed for a quiet room prior to competition. In this case, the player should be in a relaxed and receptive state in order for the image to go deeply into the mind. It is recommended to do visualization two or three times per week. Another way that many athletes practice imagery is during bike rides, lifting weights, rowing, etc. Since one is exerting physical energy while doing mental rehearsal, it helps facilitate actual competition (Porter, 22-23). Some individuals are better at forming pictures in their heads than others. Or some people may excel in certain sensory experiences and not others. Advice on improving mental imagery skill can be found at www.shpm.com/articles/sports/tennis.html.
Studies
During the 60's and 70's, the studies conducted on mental imagery were rather inconsistent due to different confounds such as lack of subjects and reliable controls. In addition, researchers used a variety of skills because they were not exactly sure what the subjects should do when they engage in mental practice. Hence, some were more likely than others to work with mental practice which varied the results . However, now there is sufficient reliable evidence that suggests imagery rehearsal can sometimes improve motor performance in a variety of sports. Feltz and Landers conducted a meta-analytic to examine 60 studies in which mental practice was compared to control conditions. Their analysis yielded 146 effect sizes with the overall average effect size of 48 positing that mental imagery practice "influences performance more than no practice," but consistently less effective than physical practice. On average, the effect sizes were larger with the studies which used cognitive tasks. Overall, the cognitive rehearsal conditions showed a better performance, about 1/2 of a standard deviation unit. (Paivio, 22-29)
In 1992, Anne Isaac conducted a study which examined the influence of mental practice on sports skills.
While most of the previous studies on this topic showed positive effects of mental rehearsal, they were not performed in actual field context using subjects who learned actual sport skills rather than just novel motor tasks. Isaac eliminated this problem in her experiment. She also tested the hypothesis of whether people who have better images and control over their images result in better performances. Isaac tested 78 subjects and classified them as novice or experienced trampolinist. Then she further divided the two groups into an experimental and control group. She also classified the subjects as either high or low imagers based on initial skill level. Both groups were trained in three skills over a six week period. In order to prevent confounds, the imagery group was unknown to the experimenter until afterward.
The experimental group physically practiced the skill for 2-1/2 minutes, which was then followed by 5 minutes of mental practice. Lastly, an additional 2-1/2 minutes of physical practice followed the mental practice. Meanwhile, the control group physically worked on the skill for 2-1/2 minutes, which was then followed by 5 minutes of a session trying a mental task of an abstract nature, such as math problems, puzzles, and deleting vowels. Then, 2-1/2 more minutes were spent physically working on the skill again. The outcome of the experiment was as followed: there existed a significant difference in the improvement of the high and low imagers. In both novice and experimental groups where the initial skill ability was similar, the high imagery groups showed significantly more improvement than the low imagery group. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the experimenter and control groups. Not surprisingly, the experimental group had significantly more improvement than the control group. This study posits that despite the level of skill (beginner or experienced) visual imagery proves effective. (Isaac, 192-198).
In a recent experiment conducted by Roure et al, they found six specific autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses that correlated with mental rehearsal, thereby improving sports performance. The subjects were placed into an imagery group and a control group. The task measured in each group was based on their ability to pass an opponent's serve to a given teammate, in the sport of volleyball. The experimenters measured the variations of the ANS during the motor skill and during the mental rehearsing sessions. The ANS parameters tested included: skin potential and resistance, skin temperature and heat clearance, instantaneous heart rate, and respiratory frequency. The results of the test revealed a strong correlation between the response in the actual physical tasks (both pre- and post-test volleyball) and during the mental imagery sessions. There existed a difference in the skills between the imagery and the control group, the former being the better.
In addition, no clear difference was present between the pre- and post- tests in the control group. This study showed that mental imagery induces a specific pattern of autonomic response. These include: decreased amplitude, shorter duration and negative skin potentials when compared to the control group. As a consequence of the ANS, the imagery group was associated with better performance. In light of this experiment, Roure suggested that metal imagery may help in the construction of schema which can be reproduced, without thinking, in actual practice (Roure, 99-108).
Not only does mental imagery seem to enhance athletic performance, but it has been shown to enhance intrinsic motivation as well. A study in 1995 tested who would spend more time practicing a golf putting task and who would result in having higher self efficacy. Thirty nine beginner golfers were grouped into an imagery or control group. For 3 sessions, both groups were taught how to hit golf balls. The imagery group practiced in an imagery training session designed for this specific golf skill. As a result, the imagery group spent significantly more time practicing the golf putting task than the control group. In addition, the subjects in the imagery group had more realistic self-expectation, set higher goals to achieve, and adhered more to their training programs outside the experimental setting (Martin, 54-69).
Since all of the studies mentioned have focused on adult subjects, I wanted to see if mental imagery had the same effect on children. I found a study which examined the effects of mental imagery on performance enhancement with 7-10 year old children. In this experiment, table tennis players were divided into three groups. The results indicated that the children who used mental imagery had significant improvement in the accuracy and quality of their shots compared with the control group. This study shows that mental imagery training for children can be beneficial. This could be a perfect opportunity to learn mental skills at an early age which can ultimately give them greater control over their own destiny. However, this is only one particular study, and more studies on children do need to be conducted (Orlick, 230-241).
How Mental Imagery Works
The reason visual imagery works lies in the fact that when you imagine yourself perform to perfection and doing precisely what you want, you are in turn physiologically creating neural patterns in your brain, just as if you had physical performed the action. These patterns are similar to small tracks engraved in the brain cells which can ultimately
enable an athlete to perform physical feats by simply mentally practicing the move. Hence, mental imagery is intended to train our minds and create the neural patterns in our brain to teach our muscles to do exactly what we want them to do (Porter, 17).
Theories of Imagery Rehearsal Mechanisms
Sports psychologists have attempted to understand the exact mechanisms that cause mental imagery to work. Numerous theories exist, but sports psychology lacks a single theory which completely explains the effectiveness of mental imagery. The earliest theory was proposed by Carpenter in 1894 called the psychoneuromuscular theory. This theory maintains that imagery rehearsal duplicates the actual motor pattern that is being rehearsed. His view is that the motor patterns which are generated during imagery practice are the same as those used for physical practice.
Another prominent theory is the symbolic learning theory. This differs from the previous theory that instead of imagery working due to muscle activation, mental imagery works from the opportunity to practice the symbolic elements of a motor task. Therefore, it is assumed that the learning obtained from imagery relates to cognitive learning.
A third theory, called the arousal/activation theory, connotes that by practicing imagery, one will obtain a level of arousal that is optimal for the specific performance. The arousal functions as a way of "priming" the muscles which result in a lowering of the sensory threshold of the performer to facilitate performance.
Peter Lang came up with an information-processing model of imagery which presumes that an image is a functionally organized, definite set of propositions stored by the brain. It is not simply a stimulus in a persons head to which one responds. This image has two main types of statements: response propositions and stimulus propositions. The latter describes the content of the scenario to be imagined. Response propositions, on the other hand, describe the imager's response to that scenario. Lang further states that an image contains a motor program which holds instructions for the imager on how to respond to the image. Hence, the image is a template for overt responding. So modifying either overt behavior or vivid imagery will result in a change in the other (Suinn, 492-506).
Another popular theory is Suinn's visual motor behavior rehearsal (VMBR) model which posits that imagery should be a holistic process that includes a compete reintegration of experience. This includes visual, auditory, tactile, emotional, and kinesthetic cues. He has demonstrated that physiological responses can result from athlete's usage of mental imagery. Suinn's method is one of the few which has solid evidence to support its effectiveness.
A more recent model, which also places importance on psychophysiology, goes even further by including a specific meaning for an image. This model is know as Ahsen's Triple Code Model of imagery (ISM). According to Ahsen there are three fundamental parts to an image. The first part is that the image itself must be a centrally arousing sensation so it is more like the real world. It has all the attributions of a sensation, the only difference is that it is internal. This image provides the imager with so much realism that it can enable him or her to interact with the image as if it were the real world. Secondly, there exists a somatic response. Therefore, the very act of imaging results in psychophysiological changes in the body. Finally, the third part of the image is the actual meaning of the image. Every image has a significant meaning and that specific meaning can imply something different to each individual. Since every person has a unique background and upbringing, the actual internal image can be quite different for each individual, even though the set of imagery instructions are the same (Murphy, 153-172).
Conclusion
After reading through numerous studies, visual imagery seems somewhat promising and beneficial. Although it is not as beneficial as physical practice, visual imagery fairs better than no practice at all. Hence, a program with physical practice combined with mental training seems to be the best method. Virtually all of the studies show that mental training improves motor skills.
More recently a lot of studies go even further and prove that visual imagery can improve various skills related to sports in actual field contexts. Visual imagery seems to be beneficial to anyone who wants to improve at their sport. Whether you are a recreational athlete or a professional does not matter. The benefits of mental imagery have proved successful at any level. So if you are a professional looking to break into the top, or a club player who simply wishes to defeat his/her friend, I recommend incorporated mental imagery along with physical practice. Not only can mental imagery improve specific motor skills but it also seems to enhance motivation, mental toughness and confidence, all which will help elevate your level of play.
Source : http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/mentalimagery.html , by : Annie Plessinger
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In this article I will be covering a peak-performance strategy that top sports-people and professional communicators use all over the world. It is called mental rehearsal, which is widely known about, only the difference here is that we will incorporate several NLP distinctions into the process to maximize the positive effect of this mental conditioning.
Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP is the study of human excellence and by utilizing NLP you can be at your best when you need to be in a job interview.
Step 1 - Define how you want to perform in the interview
Describe to yourself in words the way you want to be. How would you look and sound to a neutral observer? e.g. I see myself in an interview room sitting by a desk. I look relaxed, and I am smiling, alert and energetic. I am paying close attention to the other people in the room. My posture is upright and I am making conversation easily and effortlessly. I exude confidence.
Step 2 - Mentally rehearse from the perspective of an observer
In your imagination visualize yourself at the interview comfortable and at ease meeting people, feeling relaxed and confident. Pretend that you are observing yourself from the other side of the room. The trick here is to imagine events unfolding in vivid 3D with rich colors. For many people, making the image large and close also helps to make it feel more realistic. Have fun playing with the image until it seems as real as watching T.V. or a movie screen.
Take care also to introduce sounds - maybe the scratching of a pen on paper, the squeak of a moving chair or the sound of your own voice exuding authority and confidence. NLP suggests you can make sounds come to life by turning up the volume as you imagine that you are listening to full, resonant sounds in the room so that it is as if you are really there. Introduce feeling as well - sense the atmosphere in the room, the temperature and mood, and soak up the aura of success that you exude in the imagined picture.
Then introduce different scenarios for different types of people you may encounter. Imagine talking to someone who is putting you under pressure! See yourself politely dealing with everything thrown at you. What will you do if you are left sitting there facing a wall of silence? See yourself acting decisively and without fear to move onto the next opportunity to create rapport. Picture yourself at ease whoever you talk to, it is especially important to consider worst-case scenarios and to visualize yourself handling each challenge with unstoppable confidence.
Step 3 - Mentally rehearse the interview from your own perspective
When you are pleased with the imagined performance you are producing, step inside the image of yourself and run through the scenarios again as if YOU are now doing it. See, feel and hear it as if it is really happening. This time, you are looking out into the world from your own eyes, so your arms are directly in front of you with people facing you, as you feel your clothes on your body. Allow it all to unfold in great detail - make it as real as possible by letting your imagination free to create a rich and colorful panoramic view of a successful day. Finally, pay special attention again to feelings, really spend time imagining yourself feeling exactly the way you want to feel, and then crank it up and double the intensity until it could not possibly get any better. Then, imagine it even better again!
Step 4 - Set up a peak performance signal
Ask yourself - what signal will you use as a reminder to use your ability to perform in this way? The signal can be something you see, feel or hear inside or outside yourself and it must happen at or close to the point of wanting to speak to someone. Other examples include seeing yourself surrounded by a group of strangers, hearing someone ask you your opinion, or the feeling that you want to be more outgoing even as you feel yourself getting more self-conscious right now - why not use self-consciousness to trigger better communication skills!
Imagine the stimulus (signal) happening and visualize yourself performing at your best in the interview.
Some final points. Like anything in life it takes time to get really good at using NLP techniques such as mental rehearsal. Using this visualization technique for twenty minutes a day will train your brain to perform new behaviours. The results will astound you.
Judge mental rehearsal by trying it out in the real world and decide for yourself how effective it can be. Use it to prepare for those crucial job interviews and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from knowing that you are performing at your very best. Eventually you will be able to use this approach in day-to-day situations on the spur of the moment by focusing on using the power of your imagination.
Source :http://www.whitedovebooks.co.uk/nlp/mental-rehearsal.htm
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Mental RehearsalThis is an excellent way top be in the right state of mind to handle a challenging situation. The higher the stakes, The more important it is that you use this.
Use this process in just about anything--coping with an upsetting person, public speaking, sports, creating a better relationship, e.t.c.
Robert A. yourell,LMFT
his is an excellent way to be in the right state of mind to handle a challenging situation. The higher the stakes, the more important it is that you use this.
Use this process for top performance in just about anything--coping with an upsetting person, public speaking, sports, creating a better relationship, etc.
Why do this style of mental rehearsal?
- It turns the challenging situation into a “trigger” for high quality performance.
- It turns off the anxiety and submission instincts that interfere with your performance.
- It turns on focus, confidence, and creativity.
- It perfects your skills with a “no-risk” perfection session any time you wish.
Researchers know a lot about why this works. Your brain areas that regulate the fight-or-flight response and dominance, and your ability to accellerate yor learning of motor skills with simple acts of imagination are the keys.
Step I: Set Up
- Pick the situation. in which you want to perform at your best.
- Think: what results do you want? What kind of performance equals excellence?
- Remember: it’s important to bring the best out in others, to be honor your team, and to let your growing confidence and truth speak louder than your struggle.
Step II: Get the Right State
- Ask yourself, "What would be the best way I could possibly feel, to be at my best in this situation?"
- Ask yourself, "What words or phrases express the ways I want to feel in the situation?"
- Ask yourself, "When have I ever felt anything like that, or like some part of that?"
Step III: Amplify the state
- Start getting that ideal feeling by thinking of the past experiences and words and phrases.
- Amplify the feelings just like adjusting a television: brightness, volume, intensity, whatever.
- When you have gotten as much of the feeling as you can this time around, go to the next step.
Step IV: The Rehearsal
- Imagine the situation as if you were watching yourself in a movie.
- Imagine that you are fully in that ideal feeling, as shown by your face, posture, movement, and voice.
- If you don't like how the fantasy goes, rewind it a bit and adjust it until you like what you see.
Special tip: if the fantasy seems to have a mind of its own, you have probably found some deeper resistance to change. If so STOP right there and really focus your highest intentions on changing it at that point to be positive. Don’t get stuck in anger or being a victim, for example. If you run into too much trouble, coaching or counseling might be your best bet.
Step V: The Special Ending: This is really important!
This part of the process turns off the anxiety your primitive brain areas produce in the situation. This is critical to changing your physical reaction and making room for your creative, focused confidence.
This process isn’t intended to build unrealistic expectations, or to use magic. It is designed to improve your readiness for the real situation.
Choice 1, Understanding: This ending is good when you are dealing with someone who upsets, angers or hurts you. In your imagination, have them express a perfect understanding of your highest, positive motives and intentions. In other words, they show that they really understand why you are doing what you are doing, and they explain it to you really well. Push past your anger and let go of your usual ways of picuring this.
Choice 2, Winning: If performance is the number one priority, as with sports, sales, testimony, etc., imagine the perfect outcome. Really get into the details of it. For example, see yourself at your best, then getting the trophy.
Guidelines
Mental rehearsal is an art. You increase its value by advancing your skills, and aligning your motives. Get coaching or training from an expert. Be honest and accurate about the benefits, and about what your past patterns tell you that you need.
- Do this once a day, or whenever the issue is on your mind, like at a stoplight. If you're too busy, do it just before bedtime.
- If you go to sleep easily, do it sitting up.
- To stay on track, refer to this sheet as you go.
- Don't just try it once, keep the faith and keep at it for a month. See you how you feel!
- Keep refining your idea of excellent performance, and keep expanding your sense of the idea states for these situations. You may be surprised at how much you can learn about what these two things really mean.
Source : http://www.psychinnovations.com/mrehears.htm
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Is Imagined Practice More Helpful Than Actual Practice?
In the photo above, Tasha Butts is executing one of the toughest shots in the sport of basketball, and mentally rehearsing such a performance beforehand can be very helpful. Butts is a guard on the University of Tennessee's basketball team. Sunday night, in the last second of Tennessee's post-season tournament game against Baylor, Butts was sent to the free throw line with a chance to win the game. There was a lot of pressure on her to perform. If she failed, her team might well have been eliminated from the tournament. Such pressure makes free throw shooting at the end of a basketball game very difficult. Butts succeeded and Tennessee defeated Baylor.
How should we prepare for difficult performances in athletics, the workplace, or other situations? Research has found that a combination of "imagined practice" and actual practice often results in better performances than those achieved with preparation that relies solely on actual practice. In addition to athletics, studies have shown that imagined practice improves performance in diverse contexts that include communication, education and clinical and counseling psychology.1
A Managerial Example: Visualizing Supportive Communication
Here's an example of how a manager could use mental rehearsal to improve her management skills: Morgan was scheduled to meet with Whitney, one of her staff members, at 2:00 to discuss the performance review she gave him. She expected the discussion to be difficult, because Whitney has consistently demonstrated a self-serving bias in how he perceives his performance. Last year when they met to discuss his performance review, Whitney raised some concerns about the scores that he received, and he put Morgan on the defensive. She started to argue with him. Arguing with Whitney was counterproductive, because it caused negative feelings and lingering conflict. This time, Morgan wanted to use her effective listening skills. Mental rehearsal before the meeting can help.
At 1:50, Morgan stopped what she was working on and spent a few minutes mentally rehearsing possible exchanges between Whitney and herself. She visualized Whitney raising objections about his performance review and imagined herself listening carefully, paraphrasing back to Whitney what she understood his concerns to be and probing for additional information. She also visualized herself tactfully explaining that she had a different perception of his performance, and clarifying for Whitney what her expectations were for her staff members. Morgan imagined that her efforts to listen to Whitney, even though she couldn't always agree with him, helped to keep him from becoming argumentative and baiting her into a quarrel. She visualized herself summing up their conversation at the end, and discussing the steps Whitney can take to improve his performance. Finally, she imagined herself standing up, smiling and very professionally shaking Whitney's hand as their meeting came to a close.
When Whitney walked in at 2:00, Morgan felt confident and prepared. As they began to go over the performance review and Whitney raised some objections, Morgan tactfully listened and responded in much the same way she did during her mental rehearsal. As expected, showing Whitney that she was listening to him helped contain the level of tension between them. Even though Whitney walked away thinking that his scores should have been more favorable, he wasn't angry like he was last year after going through the process with Morgan. Mental rehearsal improved Morgan's performance!
What Mental Rehearsal Is and Why It Works
Mental rehearsal involves imagined, mental practice of performing a task as opposed to actual practice. That is, when engaging in mental rehearsal, one imagines performing without having to actually do anything. (Insert your favorite consultant or management professor joke here.)
As the saying goes, "Practice makes perfect." Yes, practice can cause improvement, but "perfect practice" can lead to better results than practice full of failures. Because mental practice is perfect practice, it is also a confidence-booster. Experiencing success increases confidence, even if that experience is imagined.
Basketball fans recognize the old cliché that goes something like, "Free throw shooting is 90% mental, 10% physical." It's true that a major determinant of a free throw shooter's success is his or her mental activity before taking a shot and through the process of shooting (I'm not sure about those percentages though). Focus and concentration are very helpful. Accordingly, mental practice seems to assist mental preparation for the process of shooting a free throw.
A limitation, of course, is that one also has to have a certain degree of knowledge and skill for performing the activity in order to be successful. My 7-year-old can't make a free throw no matter how much time he spends mentally practicing, because he still lacks the strength to do so. Mental practice should supplement other forms of skill development, not replace them. For instance, role playing effective listening skills and getting feedback on performances helps to develop those skills in ways that mental rehearsal cannot. Nonetheless, mental practice assists the skill learning process and provides the extra edge for those who have reached sufficient levels of skill development.
We experience stress when we perceive threats or opportunities that we fear we cannot handle effectively, and mental rehearsal helps us cope with stress. First, as I mentioned, mental practice improves self-confidence, so we can reduce our stress by visualizing ourselves successfully dealing with our challenges. Second, relaxation is often a part of mental rehearsal exercises, and relaxation helps reduce stress.
The following procedure integrates the relaxation and the preparation features. Free throw shooters usually get just a few seconds to visualize successful performance, but they still find visualization helpful. More elaborate mental rehearsal, like the following, is even more useful.
- Find a time and place where you won't be interrupted.
- Recline or lie down, and close your eyes.
- Relax, concentrate, and focus. Take deep breaths and exhale slowly. As you exhale, imagine that stress is leaving your body. Start at your feet ... feel all the stress leave your feet ... then your legs ... then your chest ... all the way to the top of your head ... feel all the stress leave your body. Free your mind of distractions and allow your mind to focus on the relaxation process.
- Once relaxed, focus on the specific challenging task.
- Mentally tell yourself that you are confident and that you have the ability to perform this task successfully. Repeatedly tell yourself, with confidence, that you will be successful.
- Imagine what you will see just before you begin the task. Visualize yourself as an active participant, not as a passive observer. For example, to mentally rehearse putting a golf ball, imagine that you are standing on the green rather than watching yourself from the gallery.
- Remaining relaxed and focused, mentally rehearse successful performance of this task. Imagine going through the process and seeing successful results.
- Repeat step 7 several times.
- Finally, open your eyes and smile. You have successfully performed in your mind, which is great preparation for actual performance. You should now be confident that you will perform successfully in the real situation. Remember to praise yourself for being successful. Self-reinforcement is another a key to self-motivation.
In Summary ...
The mental rehearsal techniques that many of us have learned to help us perform in sports, on a stage or in some other context can also help us perform challenging tasks in the workplace. By reducing stress and boosting confidence, mental rehearsal can help us succeed!
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Visualization exercises to help you become better at visualizing your goals and dreams
Charlie, a reader of this website, writes:
I have a problem. A lot of self help programs and even everyday stuff calls for visualization skills. They seem to assume that we all are able to form perfect detailed pictures in our mind. Ones they say that are so real it should make it seem like you are actually there. Thats the problem. I have trouble forming and maintaining that quality of pictures. Do you know anything or any resources that would help me improve my basic skills of visualization? That would be great if you did.
Dear Charlie,
Thank you for your email. I completely understand where you are coming from. 99% of the time my visualizations are pretty fuzzy too. The good news is that there are definitely ways to improve your visualization. Here are some simple visualization exercises and techniques that I recommend you explore...
Black triangle
Get some white card, and cut it into squares that are about 12 inches by 12 inches. Get some black paper and cut some shapes like a triangle, a diamond, or a star, and stick it on the white card square. So you have a big white square, with a big black triangle stuck on it. Now just stare at it, at eye level, and after staring at it for thirty seconds, close your eyes and try and imagine it just as you saw it. You can open your eyes and check it again, then close your eyes and imagine it again. And just repeat that process until you find that you can hold that image in your mind for longer periods of time. If you can do it for 10, 20, 40 seconds you are doing great. Once you have tried this with your card, you can do the same thing with anything else, like a figurine, the view from your window, a person in a picture etc.
Geometric Shapes
A really great exercise I used to practice a lot is imagining three dimensional geometric shapes. Start of with something like a pyramid, Imagine it revolving in your mind, imagine seeing it from above and below. Imagine putting your head in it. Now try something like a brilliant blue pyramid with an orange sphere rotating inside the pyramid. Just see what you can see. If you can see anything at all, be pleased with that and practice it over again next time.
Fantastic Theta
The easiest way to visualise is when your brain is producing predominantly Theta brain waves. The theta state is familliar as a state of reverie. If you think of when you wake up in the morning, if you lie in bed for a while and are still sleepy, you can lightly doze and dream vivid dreams, and imagery plays easily in your mind.... that's a theta state. You can achieve this state by practicing meditation, doing relaxation exercises, or via self-hypnosis or biofeedback. But I think the easiest way to get into theta mind states is by using mind machines or audio CDs with binaural beats on it such as those produced by HemiSynch.
Image Streaming Super Highway
Another brilliant way to unlock your imagery is by imagestreaming. Imagestreaming gets you comfortable and well practiced in dealing with visual cues in your mind's eye.
Eyes-Open Visualization
Another super visualization exercise is to simply look around you and imagine picking things up in front of you. For instance, I am sitting at my desk, and I am reaching my hand out to the desk and imagining a pink cup. It's a large cup, like you get in coffee bars, with a matching pink saucer. I hold my hand as though I am picking it up by the handle, and imagine feeling the cool hardness of the ceramic, the weight as I lift it up and how it pulls down on my fingers. I move my hand as though bringing the cup up to my lips and "see" how the cups looks as it moves and tilts towards me. Somehow visualizing things with your eyes open is easier because you can kind of place it in context of the 'real' things around you. Play with this as you go about your day. It's kind of like conscious day dreaming.
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Final Visualization Tips
Give those things a go and see how you get on. It's true that some people are very visual. I don't know what your dominant sense is but we all have the power to visualise. If you can remember what color your front door is that is sufficient for visualization (because you have to 'see it', however briefly, to be able to remember it). Relax, you don't have a problem. You can improve your visualization. You start with basic outlines and then gradually learn to build up and enrich the picture by adding more details. Sometimes it helps to write down a description before hand, which is rich in sensory details (not just visual but feelings, sensations, tastes, temperatures, smells, sounds etc) and then read it and visualize along with the reading of it. Your intention should be sufficient to achieve your results.
Other visualization exercises that are suggested are:
- 'Seeing' through closed eyelids
- Drawing, sketching and doodling more
- Making visual mind-maps
- Recording your dreams
- Using more visual words and phrases in your language
- Pretending / Imagining / Remembering instead of that big scary word 'visualizing'
- Using visualization software and drawing packages like 3D Poser, 3DMax etc
I've got to dash, Mrs Walnut is waiting for me to go shopping with her. I hope these brief suggestions help you improve your visualization skills. Please feel free to write back with your results or further questions.
Warmest Regards,
Wily Walnut
Learn how to accelerate your visualization technique and take your visualizing skills to the next level...
Kevin, a reader of this website, writes...
Wily, thank you for your great web posting on how to improve ones visualization skills: (http://www.wilywalnut.com/Visualize-how-to-improve-your-visualization-skills.html ).
At times, I feel that my visualization skills are very strong, I can see things in rich detail in my mind. Whenever I bring my reality back to the environment I'm in I no longer see what I was vividly imagining in my minds eye unless I return to imagining it in my mind (lose focus of everything around me).
Is it possible to practice visualization to the point where, with my eyes open, I can see an object such as an apple, as though it were really floating/sitting in front of me? At times I feel that I can reach glimpses of this when I stare at a blank surface, but I'm not sure whether this is something that I can continue to develop with practice, or if it's just not possible, and it's simply me quickly losing focus, seeing it in my mind, and thinking that I'm visualizing it.
Please let me know what you think.
Here is my reply:
Becoming a Visualization Master
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for your email and for your great question.
It's terrific that you have developed powerful inner visualization skills.
Yes, it is possible to develop your visualization skills to the point where you can imagine an apple and 'see' it floating right there in front of you.
Crazy people do this all the time! :-))
Nikola Tesla could do eyes-open visualization so well that he could test his designs for machines before actually building prototypes. He would visualize the machine in front of him and set it running and observe what happened!
It's true that Nikola Tesla may have been slightly austistic. So his brain may have been more naturally adept at such visualization.
However, I believe that it is possible for supposedly normal people like you and me to become masters at visualization with eyes open or closed.
Daydream Masters
We already do such eyes-open visualization. It's called daydreaming.
If you think about it, when you are daydreaming, you are lost in the visual images you are seeing in your mind's eye and you don't question their realness in the moment.
Let's say you are in class or a boring business meeting. It's hot and stuffy and your mind starts to drift. You drift off into a sexual fantasy: a naughty liason with an attractive partner or three!
During that daydream, you completely believe in the reality of it. We know this by the physiological changes your body will go through.
The Art of Visualization
The art of visualization is to develop the same kind of naturalness to your visualization as you have when you are daydreaming. Don't sweat it. Just let it happen. Don't force it. If it's fuzzy to begin with, just relax with that and go with it, until it slips into the deeper flow of daydream visualizations.
There are things that you can do to increase your sense of control with this eyes-open visualization practice.
Energy Templating
If you have ever done any Chi Kung practice, you will have developed a sense and feel for chi energy. To experience this you could try taking about 10 long, deep breaths, imagining energy growing in your body. Then rub your hands together really briskly until the palms feel hot. Then hold your hands about 6-8 inches apart, palms facing, and just move them really slowly back and forth towards each other. You should feel a sort of magnetic pulling and repulsion. If you can get that feeling, hold your hands as though they were holding a small soccerball. Breathe and imagine energy building in your hands. Look at that energy ball in your hands and slowly circle your hands around it, moving them side to side. Feel the energy ball and imagine it there in your hands.
This will help you when it comes to practising things like visualizing an apple in front of you.
Etheric Forming
Esoteric experts, like Stuart Wilde, talk about manipulating etheric energy. They say you can create forms out of that etheric energy. In their systems of belief, matter is the end result of idea. First the idea in the mental level, this is passed down into the energy level, and is eventually manifest in the physical level.
When you read about phantom limb phenomena, you get a real sense of these energy templates. Imagine your body has an energy version, a template of how you should look. If a physical arm gets amputated, the energy arm still exists. In experiments with kirlian photography, leaves have been cut in half and then photographed and in the photograph you can still see the 'aura' or energy field of the whole leaf.
What does this have to do with visualization? I think it helps you form an idea of something being there which isn't physically there.
Image Streaming Genius
Image streaming is the process of describing aloud in multi-sensory detail the moment-by-moment contents of your stream of consciousness. Basically you describe what's on your mind right now.
In the genius IQ building course at http://www.genius-intelligence.com one of the advanced stages of training is to do image streaming with the eyes open. This is said to cause massive quantum leaps in intelligence. So, Kevin, it's interesting that you have mastered inner visualization and are ready to go to the next level of mastery. You are clearly very intelligent and have the opportunity to make huge progress with your visualization and the results you get with it.
I hope these few suggestions have been helpful to you. May I wish you great success with your visualization practices. Thank you again for the super question.
Please keep me updated with your visualization progress. And if you have any other questions I can assist you with, please ask away.
Warmest Regards,
Wily
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