In The 4 Hour Body, author Tim Ferriss reports that the most effective diet ever invented uses visual images. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison got 43 subjects to photograph all of their meals or snacks prior to eating.
The results were astonishing. Reports Ferriss: “The researchers concluded that photographs are more effective than written food diaries. This is saying something, as prior studies had confirmed their subjects who use food diaries lose THREE TIMES as much weight as those who don’t.
The photographs acted as an instantaneous intervention and forced people to consider their choices before the damage was done. In the words of one participant: “‘I was less likely to have a jumbo bag of M&Ms. It curbed my choices. It didn’t alter them completely, but who wants to take a photo of a jumbo bag of M&Ms?‘”
Whether it’s dieting or competing, the truth is that visual images work better than anything else because they give you an EXPERIENCE.
In the case of dieting, you experience yourself making a self-defeating choice.
And, it’s enough to put you off even your jumbo M&Ms.
In sport, visualization works the same way, only in the positive. It gives you a success EXPERIENCE.
Remember, you have a self-image in your mind – a detailed picture of yourself as an athlete.
It’s based on all your past experiences. Your victories, your skills, and your failures.
To improve your athletic self-image and perform with excellence, you need more than positive thinking. You need to EXPERIENCE success.
Now here’s the cool part…
These success experiences don’t even have to be real to make you believe.
If you imagine an experience in your mind – with EMOTION – as far as your brain is concerned, you have actually HAD this experience.
In other words…
You don’t need to win Wimbledon to believe you can. You can imagine winning it in your mind’s eye instead.
Going into the 2000 Olympics, diver Laura Wilkinson broke her leg and was in a cast for months. She could not dive.
Instead, several times a day, Wilkinson used visualization to climb the 10 meter platform and “walk” through the motions of her complex high dives.
When Wilkinson’s cast came off, she executed fabulous dives.
Thanks to the power of visualization, she lost very little training time and won the gold medal.
There are hundreds of similar studies and stories. Your mind does not know the difference between an experience you’ve had and an experience you’ve imagined.
That’s why you need to learn how to harness the power of visualization.
It will make your athletic dreams come true by activating your Great Jock Mind.
Lisa Brown
The Courage To Win