You may have heard people say,
"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it."
Well, there's some truth in that,
because just imagining your success in your mind
beforehand can actually help you achieve it for real.
From winning Olympic gold, to passing your driving test.
A technique practiced by some of world's greatest Olympians
could help you tackle the challenges in your own life.
And the good news is, it's surprisingly easy to do.
In fact, you're probably doing it
without even knowing it.
This is Visualization.
You'd be hard-pushed to find an Olympian
who doesn't use visualization in some way or another.
Sprinters, divers, skiers, tennis players, archers,
figure skaters.
Creating a psychological image of an upcoming competition
is pretty much universal for world-class athletes.
I visualize...
WRESTLING USA
...my motion, my movement.
Utilizing and executing my game-plan.
I try to visualize that perfect match.
For me to compete at a world level,
the image of how I will compete is very important to me.
I use visualization training to picture how I will compete
in the environment of the race.
Now, it probably won't come as a surprise to you
that world-class athletes picture their competitions
beforehand in their heads.
But what may surprise you
is just how detailed these images are.
I visualize the race down to the details...
TRAITHLON JPN
...like drinking plenty of water if it's a hot race,
and I also imagine myself at the finish,
celebrating the win.
I do vivid visualization training,
actually moving my body, like holding
up a clenched fist as if to say, "I did it."
But it’s about more than just seeing your success
before you achieve it.
You can train your mind to feel it,
hear it, even smell it.
In fact, that's why many people use the terms visualization
and imagery interchangeably.
Lots of athletes and coaches use the term visualization...
UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
...and imagery pretty much as the same thing.
But as a sports psychologist,
I’d like to distinguish between the two.
So, for me, visualization is
all about seeing through the mind’s eyes,
but imagery takes it up a notch,
so, it’s as if you’re watching regular television
and then take it up to high definition
because you add in so much more information
because you’re using all your senses.
So, your hearing, your emotions,
what you’re tasting
and even importantly for sport,
what you’re feeling in terms of your muscles moving,
your heart beating faster, your breathing rate going up.
And so, imagery is a much richer,
multisensory experience.
Let's see what's going on in your brain when you do this.
HOW DOES THIS WORK?
When you imagine something, your brain is taking bits
from lots of your memories and putting them together,
kind of like building blocks.
You've probably never actually been on the starting blocks
at the 100-meter final.
But you can still picture it because your brain is taking
lots of things you have seen or experienced in the past
and combining them together into a new image.
You’ve seen what a stadium looks like,
you’ve heard the sound of an excited crowd before,
you may even have felt a running track
with your fingers.
Combining all these memories together, your mind is able
to visualize and create that image.
There are a lot of complex neurological processes
taking place that allow you to do this,
many of which are happening in the part of your brain
which deals with what you can see, but also the areas
which physically control your muscles
and are in charge of balance, movement and coordination.
CEREBRUM OCCIPITAL LOBE - CEREBELLUM
So, when you're daydreaming
about playing soccer after work,
you may not realize it, but your brain is
actually already training for the game.
When you image, similar parts of the brain are being
activated, than when you’re actually doing something.
So, let’s say you’re throwing a ball,
that would involve an arm movement.
And when you imagine yourself throwing that ball,
the parts of the brain involve with planning and executing
an arm action would then become involved.
And so, what scientists think is that the neural pathways are
being practiced and rehearsed through imagery
that allows you, then, to be able to better do
those actions in real life.
When I'm doing this,
I picture myself jumping onto my bike,
I close my eyes and think,
"Let's make this a good race today."
The items that I'm going to use,
I don't exactly bring them to life,
but I touch them, close my eyes,
and this may sound strange, but I take the time
to thank them for being with me.
Just thinking about an action fires a signal from our brain
to our muscles.
Our muscles don’t necessarily do the thing we're imagining,
but the neurological pathway from the brain to the muscles
is still strengthened, just like how you train
your body through exercise,
you are training your brain through visualization.
So, how do you get started with imaging to become
a visualization master like Ai Ueda
or Jordan Burroughs or Thomas Rohler?
The funny thing is, you're doing it already.
I'm very much sure that people from out of sports
can learn a lot from sports.
Not just in terms of values, also in terms of mind set,
in terms of visualization.
And they can perform challenges,
they can go out, say--
They can just grow their business better
by visualizing of where they wanna be.
What is your goal?
We’re already using imagery in our everyday lives.
When we experience daydreaming,
spontaneous things that come into our head
when we hear a song on the radio.
Lost a pair of keys and we’re trying to find it.
That’s the way we typically experience imagery.
What’s the difference for athletes is that
they’ve already realized that this is an important skill
and that they're using it the same way
they use any physical skill.
But as an everyday person you can still benefit
in all the same ways that an athlete would.
So, if you're already doing it, how can you optimize it?
How can you improve your visualization technique?
How can you hack this skill you already have
and turn it into something that can really help you
in your everyday life?
Well, the first step is to learn
the layering technique.
One of the techniques that we’ve really developed
to help people use imagery, is building imagery in layers.
So, let's say we take someone who hasn’t done imagery before.
One of the first things that we’ll do
is get them to image something that comes easily to mind.
So, let's say, you know, going out for a run
through a local park.
Take a few moments just to bring that image to mind
based on your memory of having done that recently
and as you image it, just trying to be aware of
some of the details. So, what are you seeing,
what are you feeling, what are you hearing?
And at that point, we kinda pause the exercise
and say, “Okay, so, what did you find easy
or difficult to image?”
And so, for most people they find it easier to see
something through their imagery rather than feeling it.
So, that’s our first layer.
And so, we’ll revisit that same image again
but this time only focus on what they’re seeing.
So, for example, themselves going down this path,
what the weather conditions are like.
Maybe some details of the environment around them.
And then once they get comfortable with that,
we work out what’s the next easiest thing for them to image
and so, for a lot of people
it could be something that's very tactile.
And then we build from there
a third, a fourth, a fifth layer,
until we get a real multisensory image
that includes sight, sound, taste, smell, and emotions
and that kind of kinesthetic feel
of how your body is working through that image.”
How much of athletics and success is mental...
and how much is physical? I think that...
your mind is extremely powerful.
There’s only so much you can do.
If I put weight on a bar,
there’s only so much that I can lift,
but you could really take your mind
into a deep, deep place.
And I do as much mental training
and mental conditioning as I do physical conditioning.
There are a lot of people out there
that are good athletes.
A lot that are strong, explosive, fast,
but very few of those people are able to make it
to the highest level.
And so, I think a lot of it is mental
and it's something that can be taught.
Something that can be established, manifested
within someone and then also developed
over a long period of time.
Mentally preparing and training your brain is the key
to help you up your game.
And that goes beyond the sports field
in all areas of life.
Having an Olympic state of mind could help you
unlock your full potential.