Eric Heiden was a phenomenal athlete. As a speed skater, he won five gold medals and set four Olympic records in the 1980 Winter Olympics. He trained relentlessly, was focused and disciplined. But, there's something he did nearly everyday that you can do too if you want to improve performance in your life.
He mentally rehearsed every race nearly every day. He closed his eyes and experienced the race: the sounds, the feeling of wind on his face, his competitors, his coaches. Every detail went into his mental practice. He saw himself winning.
Eric, now an orthopedic surgeon, does the same thing in his medical practice. He visualizes surgical techniques prior to entering the O.R. He's convinced that this technique improved his skating performance and has improved his performance as a surgeon (play the video below to see Eric talk about this idea).
You can use this idea of mental rehearsal or visualization in your life too. The key is choosing something that you can clearly "see" your self doing and then taking the time to practice it in your mind. Research to support this idea comes mostly from sports performance - improving free throw shooting in basketball, for example - and experts disagree on how much improvement you can expect. But, practicing, mentally and physically, will no doubt improve your performance over not practicing at all.
Think about how you can apply visualization in your life and then do it. Just pick one thing and start seeing your self succeeding.
Ready?
Make today count.
Doug Kelsey
ref: Grouios G, Mousikou K, Hatzinikolaou K, Semoglou K, Kabitsis C: The effect of a simulated mental practice technique on free throw shooting accuracy of highly skilled basketball players.J Hum Movem Studies 1997, 33: 119-138
Eric Heiden was a phenomenal athlete. As a speed skater, he won five gold medals and set four Olympic records in the 1980 Winter Olympics. He trained relentlessly, was focused and disciplined. But, there's something he did nearly everyday that you can do too if you want to improve performance in your life.
He mentally rehearsed every race nearly every day. He closed his eyes and experienced the race: the sounds, the feeling of wind on his face, his competitors, his coaches. Every detail went into his mental practice. He saw himself winning.
Eric, now an orthopedic surgeon, does the same thing in his medical practice. He visualizes surgical techniques prior to entering the O.R. He's convinced that this technique improved his skating performance and has improved his performance as a surgeon (play the video below to see Eric talk about this idea).
You can use this idea of mental rehearsal or visualization in your life too. The key is choosing something that you can clearly "see" your self doing and then taking the time to practice it in your mind. Research to support this idea comes mostly from sports performance - improving free throw shooting in basketball, for example - and experts disagree on how much improvement you can expect. But, practicing, mentally and physically, will no doubt improve your performance over not practicing at all.
Think about how you can apply visualization in your life and then do it. Just pick one thing and start seeing your self succeeding.
Ready?
Make today count.
Doug Kelsey
ref: Grouios G, Mousikou K, Hatzinikolaou K, Semoglou K, Kabitsis C: The effect of a simulated mental practice technique on free throw shooting accuracy of highly skilled basketball players.J Hum Movem Studies 1997, 33: 119-138