BOOST #12 | How to use visualisation to create success

<p>Welcome to this solo series called BOOST, the purpose is to give you little BOOST to your day, to further provide ways to create a thriving organisation.</p> <p> </p> <p>Michael Phelps famously credits visualisation to his success in the 200m butterfly at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He won gold and set a world record despite not being able to see for the last 75m while water filled up his leaky goggles. You may be thinking, yeah I get it for elite sports but what has that got to do with the workplace. Well you can use visualisation whether for personal or business, the effect is just the same.</p> <p> </p> <p>What is visualisation?</p> <p>In essence it is a mental rehearsal using all of your senses – see, feel, hear, taste and smell.</p> <p> </p> <p>Why is visualisation Important?</p> <p>Visualisation is important because it helps to prepare and to teach you how to respond to a situation before it happens. It also helps you achieve your goals by conditioning your brain to see, hear, and feel the success in your mind.</p> <p> </p> <p>How does it work?</p> <p>Visualisation will engage the reticular activating system (RAS)—a bundle of neurons that acts as your filtering system and helps you to determine what information is important vs. what is not important. The phrase ‘you get what you focus on’ is linked with the RAS, and the reason why goal setting works and is important, since you are setting your RAS to filter everything for the goal achievement.</p> <p> </p> <p>Three types of visualisation</p> <p>There are 3 main types of visualization in performance psychology: outcome visualization, process visualization and clarity visualisation. I use all 3 types with my coaching clients where appropriate.</p> <p> </p> <p>Clarity visualisation is when you look ahead to what you would like to see, hear and feel and then track back to find clarity of steps to get there.</p> <p>Outcome visualisation is when you imagine your end goal. For example, you see yourself winning and crossing the finishing line of a running race.</