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Benefits of Visualising Winning Whether you call it guided imagery or mental rehearsal or meditation, visualisation is one of the key training tools you have at your disposal. And a powerful one at that! Your mind has infinite creative power and using this power to produce mental images or a mental intention of what you want to happen or what you want to feel can make the difference between winning and losing. In an arena where the advantage is measured in milliseconds, visualising yourself winning may just give you the edge to set you apart from the competition. Top performing athletes all around the world have been using this technique of mental imagery or meditation for years and with great results. They have used it to ‘intend’ the result of a race or simply to feel more relaxed or more confident within themselves when competing. By using all or any of the senses - visual, auditory or kinaesthetic - you can make the visualisation as real as you can. Play and replay it in your mind as vividly coloured and bright, as loud and as intense as you can. This is an exercise in creating reality so go at it full throttle. Getting to feel the emotions associated with your desired outcome is one of the most intense and most amazing experiences you can imagine. It is the TURBO booster that will get you to your desired end goal. Einstein once said that ‘imagination is everything. It is the preview to life’s coming attractions’. This is your time to imagine exactly what you want and immerse yourself fully in this image. Meditate with it over and over again, do laps around your mind with it, do reps, just as you would in a ‘real’ training session. It really is just as important. As a basic guide to your visualisation session or meditation, you can follow this step by step visualisation techniques:
Sit in a comfortable place where you know you will not be interrupted and where your back is fully supported and your feet sit comfortably and firmly on the ground Relax your body from your toes to the top of your head and take three long, slow breaths Close your eyes and choose to create a vivid and convincing image. This can be one you've previously experienced, or one you simply desire. Just focus on one image
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If you become distracted at any time or find you are thinking about something else, simply acknowledge the distraction and let it go. It has not interfered with your process Focus on your breathing if you lose the image and slowly return to it Make sure you keep a positive attitude throughout and build on the good feelings you are experiencing as a result of the image Imagine the sights, sounds, tastes, feelings and even the smells of what you are visualising Create in as much detail as possible. What are you wearing, the colours and textures, who is with you, what are you hearing, how are you feeling? If your imagery session is not going the way you want it to, simply open your eyes and start over from the top Always end an imagery session with a positive image and relish in the positive feelings you are experiencing. Really breathe it in, you’re well on your way to getting just what you’ve imagined! Get into the habit of incorporating visualisation into your training and prepare for success. Still not convinced and you think ‘REAL’ training is the only thing that will get you where you want to be? Time for, for a little bit of a secret: the mind does not differentiate between actual training and imaged training. Between actually winning and imagining that you’ve won. It can produce the same feelings, your muscles fire at the same time as when you physically do it and you get the same rush of chemicals through your body whether you’re ‘really’ achieving or you are imagining that you are. With all of this in mind remember, ‘Excellence is not an act, it’s a habit!’ - Aristotle. Train your mind in visualisation just as you’d train your body and muscles. Practice and get into the habit of seeing yourself achieve. Feel yourself achieve. And you will achieve. Mental focus and discipline are just as important as the right diet and rigorous exercise. Maybe even more so. A mind focused on the goal and prepared in seeing the goal achieved is a confident mind, a competitive mind. A mind with the edge of a winner!
And something to remember…
1 hour of visualisation = 7 hours of physical exertion!
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Therefore consider the benefits of training smart and also remember to visualise effectively, if you are not sure how to effectively visualise or get the same results by using the method your mind prefers (if you are not a visual person) the do what the elite are doing‌ And imagine doing this as you sleep? 6 hours sleep and visualising as you do this = 42 hours of physical/ mental training as you sleep! Check out this and other amazing techniques available with any of the Athlete’s Secret Weapon Programs.
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About Stuart | Australia's #1 for Sport Hypnosis “You are what you choose to believe you can be” • • • • • •
Professional Clinical Hypnotherapist Australia’s No. 1 for Sports Hypnotherapy Published author of ‘The Dear Diary Process’ book Creator of the ‘Meta 4 Kids’ program Co-creator of the FitMind program Presenter and speaker
As a professionally trained hypnotherapist, I specialise in elite athletes and sporting teams. Incredibly the same way athletes work allows me to integrate my abilities and awesome processes into business performance, working with people to maximise performance and attitude. My sporting clients include Olympians, National, Commonwealth and 25 World Champions and… add to this a collection of professional golfers, footballers from every code, surfers, netballers and motorsport drivers and teams. Within the walls of my professional offices in Brisbane, Australia many lives have been transformed forever by releasing their potential. Once we remove blockages, doubts, fears, beliefs and old habits that are restricting them, life becomes awesome.
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Please visit http://athletessecretweapon.com/
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