The power of visualizing

The power of visualizing your goals, any goal

by Raquel Torres

“When you visualize, then you materialize.” Denis Waitley

If you want to increase the likelihood of achieving your dreams, visualization is where it all begins. Just as affirmations are beneficial for motivation, focus, and effective goal setting, so is visualization or use of mental images.

What is visualization?

It is the use of imagination through mental images to create visions of what we want in our lives and how to make it happen. Visualization, along with focus and emotions, becomes a powerful and creative tool that helps us achieve what we want in life. This, when used correctly, can generate self-improvement, aid in maintaining good health, help improve performance in sports and assist in achieving your goals in life.

In sports, professional athletes often use mental imagery to enhance their skills by imagining accomplishment in a specific feat, such as hitting or shooting a ball, skiing, swimming, or running a race, among others.

Some benefits of visualization:

The idea behind visualizing your goals is that when you “see” your goal, the more likely you are to achieve it. Visualizing creates an internal motivation to fight for your goals and dreams. When you visualize, your brain learns to recognize what resources it will need to help you achieve your goals. Consistent visualization practice promotes positive thinking, and helps keep you on track for long-term success.

From experience, the more I practice this, the better prepared mentally and more relaxed I am before any event in life or during the week of a race (race week), this increases the chances of enjoying the whole process. It is a very good habit to do the visualization exercise first thing in the morning, I also do it during training, or before going to bed. We can apply this technique to anything in our life, big dreams, goals, interviews, speeches, personal life experiences, any life challenge or skill that we want to improve or learn. Before any big event or activity, it is very important that you put the entire movie in your mind several times. Dreaming is free and legal.

Here some visualization examples for a sporting event or triathlon you can visualize details such as:

• The race briefing, the expo, the atmosphere with good energy.
• Setting your alarm, the night before.
• Your early morning wake-up routine.
• How does your breakfast taste, delicious.
• On the way to the place of the race or event, listen to your favorite music.
• Imagine your team’s checklist, completing each and every one of the pending tasks.
• The weather as it looks and feels (cold / hot / wind / rain).
• Organizing your gear or work tools.
• You see a lot of smiles and nervous people, but you stay calm.

For best results, start visualizing 2 weeks or a few days before the big day, imagine your event for about 5 minutes or more.

The intention of visualization is to prepare your mind and body for reality in advance, when the day comes your mind and body will definitely feel familiar and function much better.

“Make sure you visualize what you really want, not what someone else wants for you.” ― Jerry Gillies

Image: Yoga- Calm & Strong by Chantal Lopez Torres

visualization-techniques Image – Yoga meditation in park, healthy female in peace, soul and mind zen balance concept. Selective focus and shallow DOF. Toned picture

Raquel Torres is a Triathlon Coach and Professional Triathlete. Raquel also writes blogs for several magazines and her team Athletic Mentors. Since May 2021 she contributes as a columnist with CNY Latino Newspaper. She shares true life stories with her experiences, also tips and tactics that helps anyone to be their best version. To read about her, head over to cnylatinonewspaper.com and search for her by her name. You can also send questions or comments about her column to the following email: raquel@athleticmentors.com.