The Key to Visualization

Stephan Nedoroscik sits down, eyes closed before his Olympic final. It may seem odd to outlookers that a world-class Olympian would be sleeping before their event, but he and many other professional athletes, Nobel prize winners, and specialists all employ the same technique, whether they’re moments before a life-changing speech or a world final. This is called the art of visualization and is something that continues to benefit people all across the globe. In fact, it may just be the first big step in achieving your goals and cracking down on some of those pre-performance nerves you can’t seem to get away from.

Visualization is based on the act of imagining yourself doing something specific like achieving a goal or completing a successful performance in the future (e.g., having a perfect dance routine, scoring an amazing game-winning soccer goal, presenting a flawless speech, etc.). The more realistic you do this the higher level of visualization (visual imagery) you will achieve and the more time you spend on it, the easier and more accurate it will be. It’s the same thing as exercising a muscle in your body to strengthen it but here you are strengthening the visual cortex of your brain.

Spending purposeful time visualizing for as little as 10 minutes every day helps prepare both your mind and body for what you're about to do. In fact, research shows that “when athletes combine visualization with physical practice, their performance improves by as much as 45%”. When surveyed a whopping 90% of Olympians reported to have used some form of visualization in their training. Mental and physical preparation go hand in hand and belief is a huge part of this mental side, in turn creating what we perceive as accomplishments /success. 

If you don’t believe you can do something you probably won’t be able to, which is why having belief or self-confidence in oneself in different fields of life can be such a game changer and are often traits found in really successful individuals. Quenza, “by regularly visualizing our success, we reinforce our belief in our abilities to achieve our goals.”. Not only that, but visualization has been proven to activate some of the same areas of your brain that would be when physically experiencing something, this decreases stress when the real moment comes and has allowed many individuals to build motivation and self-confidence.

Visualization can be used in many aspects of daily life whether it be before a big job interview or test. It can be done by taking only 5 minutes of your time to focus and imagine yourself succeeding. While visualizing ask yourself, what does it feel like, what am I hearing, smelling or even saying at this moment? Replaying what you will do over and over again using the 5 senses through visualization makes your goals feel both more straightforward and within reach. Doing this before bed, early in the morning, or even right before your big moment can be especially helpful but any free space of time can be used for visualization with similar benefits. Besides creating strong visual imagery, vision boards, goal pictures, affirmations, meditation, and regular journaling can all be ways to work visualization into your daily routine.

In conclusion, visualization when used effectively can be a fundamental tool in reaching your goals, increasing your self-confidence, and tricking your brain to make success both easier and more straightforward. When you use visualization you are practicing mindfulness and implementing a good and beneficial habit. While it may not work for everyone, thousands of athletes, entrepreneurs, and public figures have found that visualization works for them. I even bet Stephan Nedoroscik has been using visualization plenty leading into his semi-final on Dancing with the Stars.

Works Cited

Ali, Mohamed. “The Science of Visualization: Can Imagining Your Goals Make You More Likely To Accomplish Them?” Neurovine, https://www.neurovine.ai/blog/the-science-of-visualization-can- imagining-your-goals-make-you-more-likely-to-accomplish-them. Accessed 17 November 2024.

guide, step. “The Art of Visualization.” Student Athlete Scholars, 26 March 2024, https://studentathletescholars.org/2024/03/26/the-art-of-visualization/. Accessed 17 November 2024.

Moe, Kristine. “5 Visualization Techniques to Help You Reach Your Goals.” BetterUp, 4 June 2021, https://www.betterup.com/blog/visualization. Accessed 17 November 2024.

Pennock, Fontane. “Harness the Power Within: With Effective Visualization Exercises.” Quenza, 9 August 2024, https://quenza.com/blog/visualization-exercises/. Accessed 17 November 2024.

“Team USA pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik used visualization to help win an Olympic bronze medal.” CNBC, 30 July 2024, https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/30/team-usas-stephen- nedoroscik-visualized-his-way-to-a-bronze-medal.html. Accessed 17 November 2024.

“Visualization - Imagining – and Achieving – Your Goals.” Mind Tools, https://www.mindtools.com/a5ycdws/visualization. Accessed 17 November 2024.