You may daydream about sitting in the C-suite, rocking a six-pack or stealing a kiss from a crush, but have you ever tried daydreaming with a purpose? In sport psychology, we call this mental imagery, or intentionally putting the right pictures in our minds prior to performance to help us feel ready and comfortable.
[See: Mantras That Get 11 Diet and Fitness Pros Through Their Toughest Moments.]
Apparently, everybody’s doing it. Recent surveys indicate that between 90 and 95 percent of North American Olympic athletes report using imagery in their sports. Consider this statistic in a different context: If 95 percent of the world’s best golfers reported drinking a certain protein shake or using a particular brand of club, chances are, the majority of all junior and recreational players would soon be seen gulping that same shake or swinging that same club.
So many successful athletes use mental imagery because it works: The strategy can be used to practice skills, gain confidence for competing, correct mistakes and overcome obstacles. That’s because, miraculously, the same neural pathways in the brain are activated when you physically execute a skill as when you mentally rehearse that same skill. In other words, your brain can barely tell the difference between you going out onto the baseball field to swing a bat 10 times and you stepping off the field, closing your eyes and imagining swinging 10 times. So, it will respond almost identically to both. To the brain, both modalities of practice are nearly equally beneficial.
Don’t believe me? Consider common research in which people are tested on their free throw skills and then randomly broken up into three groups. Group one practices free throws each day for 20 minutes, group two spends 20 minutes each day imagining shooting free throws and group three does nothing. Twenty days later, group one improves 24 percent, group two improves 23 percent and group three doesn’t improve at all. This type of research has been replicated with darts, piano playing, archery and even muscle development.
Ultimately, the goal of using imagery prior to competition is for an athlete to walk into his or her competitive environment and be able to say, “Wow, I feel like I’ve been here before.” Consider how powerful an advantage a player has when she has mentally rehearsed what she’ll actually experience on game day.
[See: 12 Psychological Tricks to Get You Through a Workout or Race.]
But imagery isn’t as simple as closing your eyes and imagining hoisting up the trophy or scoring the game-winning goal. It means rehearsing situations that more commonly occur, so that when they arise, you’ll be prepared and ready. For example, try mentally practicing:
1. Competing while feeling lousy.
Depending on the sport, most of us aren’t often feeling physically flawless going into competition day. It’s guaranteed we’ll be scratched, scraped, sore, strained or sprained in some part of our bodies, which diverts our attention away from the task of performance and onto dealing with the discomfort. If you’re experiencing injury, don’t hope it away. Assume it will be present and take time to mentally rehearse how you’ll want to cope with it. For instance, imagine the feeling of staying composed and focused before your competition lift even with the presence of that lingering shoulder pain. Once the image has been programmed repeatedly, you can more easily recruit it during competition if needed.
2. Dealing with a bad call.
In some sports like junior tennis, line calls are made by the opponent, who happens to be prepubescent, winning-focused and prone to making calls in his favor. Ask any junior tennis player in certain regions about bad calls, and he’s bound to report he gets “hooked” nearly every match. Whether a bad call is made by an opponent, a poorly positioned umpire or an incompetent referee, the typical reaction is resentment and subsequent rushed, sloppy play. Wouldn’t it be prudent to prepare for this frustration to improve your game, not to mention your showmanship? Imagine a healthier reaction; one that exudes calmness and control, and rehearse it routinely. Then, the response will be programmed in your brain and retrievable when needed.
3. Coping with faulty equipment.
Strings break, wooden bats splinter, shoelaces untie, helmets come unstrapped and even Michael Phelps’ goggles break. But he remains a record-breaking Olympian because, along with his coach Bob Bowman, Phelps has extensively trained himself to visualize and plan for both good and bad outcomes. Do you recall when he won a race in Beijing with water-logged goggles? Thanks to mental imagery, it didn’t throw him off course.
[See: 8 Health Challenges Facing Olympic Athletes.]
4. Handling external distractions.
Crowd noise, coaches watching your every move and trash-talking opponents can seriously disrupt your game. But while many athletes claim to invest energy in avoiding or distracting themselves from it as if it doesn’t exist, that’s usually unhelpful since, well, it very much exists. Instead of trying to pretend it doesn’t, change how you respond to these distractions through imagery. Mentally rehearse what it looks and feels like to steady your breathing and gently remind yourself to keep your attention grounded on the task at hand.
More from U.S. News
Here’s How Many Calories 6 Summer Olympic Sports Burn
The Best Olympic Sport for Your Body Type
9 Sports Injuries That Sideline Kids
How to Daydream Your Way to Better Athletic Performance originally appeared on usnews.com
