How to Use Visualisation to Be More Successful
Your brain is an adaptable organ, capable of forming new connections and pathways - a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity.
There are lots on mechanisms at play, but by visualising you're essentially priming your brain for success and making this a more comfortable pathway for your brain.
A study on basketball players found that mental imagery training helped players improve their free-throw performance.
Here's how to do it effectively:
1. Be Specific: Imagine your goal with clarity - what it looks, feels, and sounds like.
2. Engage Your Senses: Include sensory details to make the mental image vivid and believable.
3. Visualise Daily: Consistency strengthens neural pathways and keeps you focused on your goal.
4. Pair It With Action: Visualisation sets the mental stage, but taking tangible steps is what turns dreams into reality.
Visualisation is simply creating a mental image of a future event. Think of it as a mental rehearsal.
Just like a real rehearsal - the more you mentally rehearse, the better you get.
When you visualise an action or outcome, your brain activates similar neural patterns as if you were actually doing the activity. Studies using fMRI scans actually show that imagining practicing a skill (like playing the piano) activates the motor cortex just like actual practice does.
It can physically change your brain and improve its performance.
This is how it works ...
Neuroplasticity - When you visualise success, you reshape the physical structure of your brain, strengthening pathways associated with that outcome. This makes the brain more efficient at executing the behaviours tied to achieving your goal.
Neural Priming - By visualising, you essentially "practice" the desired behaviour or outcome, which primes your brain to respond appropriately when you're in a real situation. It creates mental readiness and alignment with the actions needed to succeed.
Mirror Neurons - These neurons activate both when you perform an action and when you observe or imagine it, reinforcing learning and confidence.
Positive Feedback Loop - Seeing yourself succeed fosters motivation and reduces performance anxiety, setting the stage for better results.
by Dr Tara Swart - Neuroscientist