How Visualisation Leads To Actualisation

How Visualization Leads to Actualization

Visualization, done right, can be extremely powerful in achieving any goal.  Allow me to use the following time frame as an example: As you think about your goals for the next 6 months, take into consideration the following…

Using your intellectual factor of imagination, see yourself already in possession of your goal.  Picture yourself with the healthy and fit body you desire, and literally feel what it is like to have it.  You cannot achieve anything in your “outer world” until you first see it in your “inner world.”

Is Visualization for Real?

In one of the most well known studies on Creative Visualization in sports, Russian scientists compared four groups of Olympic athletes in terms of their training schedules:

Group 1 had 100% physical training

Group 2 had 75% physical training with 25% mental training

Group 3 had 50% physical training with 50% mental training

Group 4 had 25% physical training with 75% mental training. 

The results showed that Group 4, with 75% of their time devoted to mental training, performed the best. The Soviets had discovered that mental images can act as a prelude to muscular impulses.

Creative Visualization is distinguished from normal daydreaming in that Creative Visualization is done in the first person and the present tense – as if the visualized scene were unfolding all around you; whereas normal daydreaming is done in the third person and the future tense.  Using affirmations that begin with “I am so happy and grateful now that…” is an excellent way to begin programming your subconscious mind to move towards your goal.         

Visualization is another tool that Olympic athletes use to get their minds in shape for competition.  In this technique, athletes mentally rehearse exactly what they have to do to win. Sports psychologists say that visualization boosts athletes’ confidence by forcing them to picture themselves winning.  It also helps them concentrate on their physical moves, rather than on distractions around them.

Tips for Success

1. Create an affirmation statement and visualize yourself with your goal achieved.

2. Put your affirmation statement in places where you’ll see it often, like your bathroom mirror, car or desk. alternatively, put it on a card and keep it in your pocket at all times.

3. Create a Vision Board – cut out pictures of your goal (i.e., fit bodies, athletes, etc.) and make a collage that you can view often.  Get emotionally involved when you look at it.

4.Try this one when you’re in the gym – Imagine you are completing your final 3 reps on your favourite weight-training machine. Those final 3 are a challenge but you succeed. Now here’s the key to progressive success. As soon as you complete those final 3 gruelling reps, close your eyes and visualise squeezing out an addition 2 reps with ease. And watch your strength go through the roof!