I remember a conversation with a collegiate athlete who played for the University of Kansas. He was explaining how there was a certain blocking technique he could not figure out no matter how hard he tried. At practice he was getting yelled at for his failure to make the crucial block. After much frustration, he realized he couldn’t even picture himself doing the technique. Often the holdback for an athlete is not so much skill or ability, but rather not being able to visualize himself or herself performing a certain skill at a high level. This is where visualization becomes a crucial aspect for athletic excellence. You have to be able to see it first in your mind. Visualization and guided visualization are crucial in order to function at elite levels. You can see this taking place when observing olympic athletes. You can tell by their body language that they are mentally rehearsing a race or a jump or a throw. Being able to see yourself performing the task perfectly is an often overlooked and missed aspect involving athletics, especially at an elite level. If you want to be the best at your sport or even significantly improve your game, you have to be able to visualize it in your mind. Visualization is a game changer!
If visualization is such a crucial aspect for athletic success, why don’t people do it? Let’s face it, we all know how to picture something in our mind. Yet the tool goes unused. One reason is that the athlete may not fully understand the importance of the process. Maybe it seems like a waste of time. However, when it comes to our minds, our brains cannot discern the difference between what is imagined and what is real. Visualizing a technique in operation is no different than actually performing the technique. There is no difference except for one. When you imagine yourself doing something, there is no limitation whatsoever. You can see yourself doing the technique or the activity and you can see yourself doing it perfectly, if that’s what you want and trust me, it is what you want. Another reason for our failure to use visualization involves focus. Plainly put, it is sometimes difficult to focus. We are surrounded by endless distractions and things clamoring for our time and energy. We may feel like we don’t have time for it or that it is not worth our time. Focusing on things for an extended period is not easy. It may seem to make more sense to go out and physically practice. Yet, if you cannot even see yourself doing something, it is highly unlikely you will be able to do it and your practice will be more of the same. It is the cart before the horse. Your body is always guided by your mind. That does not mean you have to think through every move. Rather you have to already know how to do the move and that starts in your mind. Focus is a skill you can develop, but first you must have a willingness to develop it. This means you have to take the time to picture it. You have to make the mental image whereby you can see yourself doing what you want to do. This is the essence of visualization.
Now that we have appealed to your curiosity, how exactly does visualization work in terms of steps and practices? The place to begin is by relaxing your mind. Haven’t you noticed that when you are in a distracted or frenetic state it is difficult to focus? Yet, when you are calm your tendency is to think better. You relax your mind by finding a quiet, isolated place and doing some breath-work, i.e. deep breathing exercises where you work to clear your mind of distractions. Once you are relaxed to a certain extent, the next step is to determine what it is you are going to work on. What is your specific goal? What skill are you interested in developing? What outcome aligns with what you are after? The more specific and precise you are the better. Anyone functioning at a high level knows there are a multitude of details involved in every technique. When my son played football as a safety for the University of Utah, they would spend hours on things like how to turn your hips in order to backpedal then run when defending receivers or how to tackle properly to reduce the impact to your own body. Athleticism got him there, but continued success depended upon mastering specific techniques. Once you have become very clear about what you want to envision, next you have to engage all of your senses. Make your image as vivid as possible including your emotions. In other words, see it as if it was actually happening. What do you hear? What can you smell? How do you feel? The more detailed you are, the better it works. Remember, your mind does not register a difference. Finally, see yourself performing flawlessly. Make yourself see it! It will be difficult at first, but you have to stay with it. The reward will be a mind that has already done the technique and therefore is able to replicate it in the game. Naturally this is not something you only do once. You have to stay with it. Build it by faithful repetition. See it, see it, see it.
Visualization works in every category of life. The exact same principles are in play. It is not a question of whether or not it works. The question is, will you take the time to do it? This is why many professional athletes participate in guided visualization. Guided visualization simply means someone is walking you through the process. But, the end result is the same. In order to have success at any level in sports, it is required that you put in the time. How many hours have you already spent practicing, lifting weights, doing drills etc.? You already know you have to put in the time. It is not a question of effort, it is a question concerning where you will focus your energy. And, there is no greater place to begin than in your mind. Have you ever heard the famous story of the prisoner of war who basically survived his ordeal by picturing himself playing a round of golf every day? His name was Major James Nesmeth. He was a prisoner of war for seven years during the Vietnam war. He visualized himself playing a perfect round of golf every single day. When he was finally released, he went from shooting in the 90’s to consistently shooting in the mid 70’s. If you have ever played golf, you know how dramatic that change actually is. Some golfers play for decades and never score that well. He credited his dramatic change to vivid mental practice picturing every shot, every swing, every hole in meticulous detail, yet never physically played a single hole in seven years. That is the power of visualization and you can do it as well. Visualization is a game changer!
Inspiration on Demand!