Visualization
“Visualization was the key to my success.”
– Jack Nicklaus, winner of 6 Masters & a record 18 Majors. Sports Illustrated’s ‘Greatest Golfer of the Century’
See It Before You Believe It
You know the old saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it”? If you’ve ever said that to yourself, you probably meant that you didn’t believe something was ever going to happen and that you’d need to see it first. Unfortunately, high performance doesn’t quite work that way. In fact, anybody who ever achieved anything of significance “saw” it in their mind first (imagined it) and then believed it was possible to bring into reality.
Examples include: Roger Bannister breaking the 4-minute mile; Neil Armstrong landing on the moon; Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone; and the Wright Brothers succeeding at manned flight. In every case, these people clearly saw in their mind what was possible before anyone else believed it. They had a mental picture of what they were going to do long before they actually did it. Imagining it enhanced their belief that it was possible to do. This process of creating an ideal image in your mind to improve the chances of it actually happening is called visualization (or visual imagery).
What is Visualization?
It’s a picture in our mind; the picture being like a movie and our mind like a screen. You can learn to control what you put on the screen. It is something that should be done along with physical practicing (you can’t perform consistently well without actually going out and physically practicing), but you also need to visualize clearly in order to perform consistently well.
The research over 70 years is clear – visual imagery practiced consistently will help you to perform your physical skills better.
When Would I Practice Visualizing?
The most common time is when trying to improve skills or sequences that occur during performances (visualizing strengthens the neural pathways – nerves fire almost exactly the same as if you were really physically doing the activity). Next, you might visualize to practice physical skills or sequences you’ve recently learned. Visualization also can be used to control nervousness (the more times you see the ideal happening, the more confident you will feel – also, practicing remaining calm makes it more likely you’ll make that choice when you start to get stressed). Finally, athletes often use visualization to help remember skills or sequences during periods of injury (visualizing makes it easier to return to high levels of performance after recovering).
18 Holes in Mind
Major James Nesmeth had a dream of improving his golf game, and he developed a unique method of achieving his goal. Until he devised this method, he was just your average weekend golfer, shooting in the mid to low nineties. Then, for seven years, he completely quit the game. He never touched a club. He never set foot on a fairway.
Ironically, it was during this seven-year break from the game that Major Nesmeth came up with his amazingly effective technique for improving his game – a technique we can all learn from. In fact, the first time he set foot on a golf course after his hiatus from the game, he shot an astonishing 74! He had cut 20 strokes off his average without having swung a golf club in seven years! Unbelievable. Not only that, but his physical condition had actually deteriorated during those seven years. What was Major Nesmeth’s secret? Visualization. You see, Major Nesmeth had spent those seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. During those seven years, he was imprisoned in a cage that was approximately four and a half feet high by five feet long.
During almost the entire time he was imprisoned, he saw no one, talked to no one and experienced no physical activity. During the first few months he did virtually nothing but hope and pray for his release. Then he realized he had to find some way to occupy his mind or he would lose his sanity and probably his life. That’s when he decided to practice visualizing. In his mind, he selected his hometown golf course and started playing golf. Every day, he played at least one full 18 hole round in his mind. He experienced everything to the last detail. He saw himself dressed in his golf clothes. He smelled the fragrance of the trees and the freshly trimmed grass. He experienced different weather conditions – windy spring days, overcast winter days, and sunny summer mornings. In his imagination, every detail of the tee, the individual blades of grass, the trees, the singing birds, the scampering squirrels, and the lay of the course became totally clear.
He felt the grip of the club in his hands. He instructed himself as he practiced smoothing out his down-swing and the follow-through on his shot. Then he watched the ball arc down the exact center of the fairway, bounce a couple of times and roll to the exact spot he had selected, all in his mind. In the real world, he was in no hurry. He had no place to go. So in his mind, he took every step on his way to the ball, just as if he were physically on the course. It took him just as long in imaginary time to play 18 holes as it would have taken in reality. Not a detail was omitted. Not once did he ever miss a shot. He never hooked or sliced. He never missed a putt. He did what most people wished they could do – he played eighteen holes of golf seven days a week, four hours a day. Seven years. Twenty strokes off. True story (or at least we think so!). However, does this mean you should stop physically practicing and lock yourself in a cage. Obviously not! Instead, start adding visualization to your daily practice, even if just 5-10 min a day.
How Do I Visualize?
Visualization is much clearer and more controllable when people are calm (no tightness, anger or nervousness). To help you learn to control your muscle tension, it’s good to practice a relaxation sequence that teaches your body to relax whenever you need (use the ideas in the 3-Core section). Some people struggle when first trying to visualize, but everyone can do it quite well. Try visualizing as you read the sentence below. Be sure to visualize looking out of your own eyes (1st person) instead of as an observer watching yourself. First person visualizing allows the images to be very similar to what you’d actually see if you were doing it, and, it enables you to actually FEEL what it’s like (kinesthetic response). Read this paragraph and visualize actually doing what it describes:
“You are in your bedroom where you live. You are sitting on your bed. Stand up and walk over to the door. Reach out and open the door. Notice which hand you used. See the type of handle on the door and imagine feeling the breeze created by the door passing in front of your face. Go through the door and walk to the kitchen. See what is on the walls as you go. Imagine you are bare foot and feel the floor surface(s) as you walk. Turn on the kitchen light and walk over to the fridge. Open the door and see that the fridge is empty except for a jar of dill pickles. You are hungry and thirsty. Take the jar out and feel how heavy and cold the jar is. Twist off the top and hear the ‘pop’ sound. Take a pickle out. It’s cold and slimy. Take a big bite. Hear the crunch sound and taste the pickle. Now pick up the jar with both hands and take a big drink of the cold pickle juice.”
Most people have never done what this sentence describes! However, you probably imagined doing it just fine! The point is, even if you’ve never performed well in front of a large audience, for example, you CAN imagine doing so. Visualizing being successful will then make it easier for you to actually perform successfully in front of large audiences!
Visualization Practice Ideas
Use the descriptions below to improve the quality of your mental images. It should be easiest to imagine familiar objects and short trips you take often. Visualizing far away or imaginary locations can be more challenging if you’ve never been to them. Many people imagine beautiful locations while they try to calm themselves down. Lastly, visualize performing your sport or activity. Because of the changing nature of sport, it is easier to create sequences that are most likely to happen and then visualize them being done successfully. Many athletes imagine themselves performing well in front of large crowds and dealing with all the adversity that would actually occur. This helps them to feel more comfortable when they are actually in that competitive situation.
1) Objects: Visualize these to increase your control over images. Directions: look at the object, then close your eyes and try to see the shape and color clearly:
a) your shoes;
b) a ball;
c) tooth paste container;
d) a car;
e) any other object that seems interesting;
2) Trips: Visualize to improve your ability to see details. Directions: Imagine yourself going somewhere and pay attention to what is there (things, colors and smells)
a) walk from your bedroom to your kitchen;
b) drive from home to work or school;
c) take a walk around the outside of your house;
d) run one lap around the track (actually time yourself);
e) imagine anything involving you moving somewhere;
3) Locations: These are usually used to relax or motivate. Directions: Imagine yourself being somewhere and then try to actually make your body experience it (scenery, temperature, sounds, and smells)
a) lying on a warm sandy beach with a cool ocean breeze
b) sitting in the middle of an open field full of flowers
c) sitting in an outside hot tub with snow falling all around you
d) hiking through a valley surrounded by enormous mountains
e) any place that might relax you
4) Performance: The following are examples of how to practice visualizing performances. Athletes routinely do this to increase success during competition. Directions: Imagine a situation that you want to improve and then make it go well for you (if it starts to go bad, say STOP!, rewind the tape and play it until you see yourself do it properly). Reading a description is easier than closing your eyes and just imagining it, but eventually you’ll want to practice visualizing without reading a script. Here are some examples of how to do performance visualization:
a) Tennis: Imagine you are the server. Hit the serve out wide, the return comes back cross-court short, you approach with topspin down the line, the pass goes cross-court, and you volley down the line to win the point.
b) Golf: Imagine you are on the 18th hole tee, Par 5. Be sure to visualize the exact pre-shot and post-shot routine that you use when actually on the course. With your driver, you hit the ball straight down the fairway 300 yards. Your second shot is a 2 iron that you hit to within 20 yards of the green. Your third shot is a wedge that you chip within 6 feet of the hole. You putt in for a birdie.
c) Basketball: Imagine you are in a close game with only seconds to play. The ball comes to you and you shoot an 18-foot jumper that goes in. You were fouled on the play and the score is now tied with no time left. You go to the foul line confidently, go through your pre-shot routine, visualize a perfect shot and then make it to win the game.
“I study pitchers. I visualize pitches. That gives me a better chance every time I step into the box. That doesn’t mean I’m going to get a hit every game, but that’s one of the reasons I’ve come a long way as a hitter.”
– Mark McGwire (Hit 70 home runs to beat Roger Maris’ record of 61)