“Anything you can imagine you can create.” Oprah Winfrey.
“If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.” Mohamed Ali
The mind is very powerful. Look at your life, everything you’re today has been created by your mind but you probably aren’t aware of it. It is important to understand the power you have as a co-creator of our life experiences. If we know about this power then we should all be intentional in the co-creation of the world we want to experience. As a leader, you can be the leader you want to be.
How is this possible? We know that the brain cannot differentiate between what is true and what is fiction. Hence, we can program or create experiences with the mind so that we can experience them in the physical world.
This article covers:
- What visualisation is
- Why visualisation works and types of visualisations
- Benefits of visualisation
- Visualisation in sports
- Steps to develop your visualisation.
Visualisation or Imagery
Visualisation is the secret weapon we all have but might not be using. It can be done by an Olympian, musician, actor, driver, CEO, student, nurse, or child.
“You could grow your business better just by visualising where you want to be” Thomas Rohler javelin (GER) Rio 2016 Gold Medallist.
Visualisation is the act of visualising something or someone or forcing a picture of it into your mind. It is the process of creating and recreating an experience in the mind’s eye. It is the formation of mental visual images.
“Visualisation is really about eternal cognition of how resources outside the mind can be used to boast the cognitive capabilities of the mind.” Stuart Card.
The word visualisation and imagery are used interchangeably by many. However, sports psychologist Jennifer Cumming of the University of Birmingham distinguishes between the two. She states that visualisation is seeing through the mind’s eyes yet imagery is using all the senses and emotions – your feeling, hearing, tasting, including all detail like muscles movement, breathing, and heart beating faster, the colour of the materials around, a team member or client’s smile, their facial expression, etc.
For this article, we will use both terms interchangeably but compound both definitions as stated by Dr. Cumming.
Visualisation is a well-developed method of performance improvement; supported by substantial scientific evidence and used by successful people across, a range of fields. It can be used to lead oneself and others towards success.
Why visualisation works
According to research, using brain imagery or visualisation works because of the neurons in our brains. The electrically excitable cells that transmit information, interpret imagery as equivalent to a real-life action. When we visualise an act, the brain generates an impulse that tells our neurons to perform the movement. This creates a new neural pathway, which are clusters of cells in our brain that work together to create memories or learned behaviours. The whole brain is used in the process as different connections are made. This is a way of priming our body to act in a way consistent with what was imagined.
The creation comes from combining past experiences. For example, in sports, it would be the stadium, running track, the sounds from the spectator seating, etc and in business, it could be the board room, the projector, the standing ovation, etc.
Types of Visualisations
There’re two types of visualisations. They each serve a different purpose but are better used together.
Outcome visualisation without, or a move with technique.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was a big believer in visualisation, from how he wanted to look like to his performance. He is known to have continued to use visualisation in politics and acting.
Former NBA great Jerry West when asked what accounted for this ability to make those shots. West explained that he had rehearsed making those same shots countless times in his mind. This connects us back to the power of the mind.
Other sports legends like Michael Jordan, Mohammed Ali, Tiger Woods, and Larry Bird have also confirmed using visualisation to improve their performance and achieve their personal best. Visualisation meditation was used by Dr. Joe Dispensa to heal his body after breaking 6 vertebrae during a triathlon. Just after three months, he was back to training yet he had been told that he would be in a full cast for a year and disabled for life. His mind healed his body.
Six steps to help you to start visualising
Visualisation is taught by many but is mastered by very few individuals. As a leader, you’re to imagine yourself completing a certain task from the beginning to the end with success.
Key Questions before start
- Who would you like to become?
- What type of leader would like to be?
- Who would you like to lead?
- Where would you like to be?
- What results would you like to achieve and experience?
- Start by deciding on the vision or goal or outcome. To do this, create a detailed mental image. You can use a vision board. The vision helps the mind to work out quickly how you would like a particular aspect of the activity or outcome to look.
- You need to make the vision or ideal goal clear and definitive.
- Then decide on the necessary means to achieve your goals like materials, money, men (labour), minutes, and method (5 Ms). What needs to be part of the process to make it happen?
- Take a comfortable position, so that your brain can easily go into the alfa and theta states. This is when the brain is more suggestible.
For some, it is better done with eyes closed.
- Move your mind to preparation mode (rehearsing or training)
Think of the action you will be taking and the outcome.
- Picture yourself acting and work from the beginning to the end.
You have to see yourself in action. Imagining yourself during the practice times and in real team meetings achieving that result.
You can do this in two ways
- See yourself performing the act for example giving constructive positive feedback to a colleague during the preparation of a pitch.
- Sit back and see yourself in action. Be the observer of yourself.
- See those around you and what they’re experiencing. Your ability to manipulate images allows you to improve the technique of the skill and the strategies required for example ability to communicate and influence a colleague or a client.
- Picture your completion and success and how you react and feel. This involves envisioning yourself achieving your goal. The image created should include as many senses as possible. They can be visual images or auditory like the sound of clapping from the audience kinesthetics to reveal how the body feels.
Other aspects to incorporate to make visualisation a success.
- Repetition is the mother of skill. The more scenarios you go through throughout the mental rehearsal, the more ready you become for the situation you would like to experience. When visualizing, bring images repeatedly. Just like anything, this rehearsal helps the mind and the body to perform the task required when the time comes.
- You can incorporate posture that supports what you’re imagining and add the magic of feelings. The real act of how you would feel.
- Add the specific affirmation to help your mind to prepare to get into the future (put everything in present tense – look at the affirmation suggested in the power of thought article in issue 5 by Stella Kikoyo), your body will save it and continuously do it, then you will be able to get into the mindset of your future self sooner than later.
- You can do visualisation everywhere on a train, at home, at work, and at any time although the best times are in the morning and evening as the brain is more suggestible as stated above.
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