Imagery - The Key to Unlocking Your Performance Potential (Part 3)

How does Imagery work?

in essence, images and feelings that you create in your mind activate your nervous system in the same way that it is activated when you are experiencing the actual event. It's almost like a mind-body rehearsal for the activity that is about to occur.

Try this simple exercise (see the illustration below). Take a string about 10 inches long and tie a small metal washer or fishing weight to one end of it. Grasp the other end of the string between the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand, with your elbow resting comfortably on the table. Center the hanging object just above the intersection of two lines that you have drawn on a piece of paper, as shown in the diagram. With your eyes open and focused on the object, imagine what the object would look like if it were to begin to swing from side-to-side, starting to move between the numbers 1 and 3 on the piece of paper (picture it happening in your mind’s eye).

Do not try to move the object on purpose but also, do not try to stop it from moving if movement does start to occur. Simply continue to vividly imagine what the object would look like if it began to gain momentum,increasing its movement more and more. Still in your mind’s eye,imagine the string and the object continuing to move even more – to the extent that it begins to reach out toward the edges of the diagram. Seethe object moving in your mind’s eye… and imagine what it would feel like if it responded the way you imagine it, according to the picture in your mind. Now go ahead and try it…

With practice and a relaxed ‘touch’, most individuals are able to experience movement of the pendulum. With mental training, this ability gets stronger and you can make the pendulum move in whatever direction you can imagine, simply by vividly focusing your mind on the images, and feelings of the action you wish to see occur. But why does the object move in this manner?

It is a scientific fact that your brain is constantly transmitting electrical impulses to your muscles when you execute any physical action…and even at rest. It is also a fact that the same kind of electrical impulses (although at a lower level of intensity) are also being transmitted down the nerves to your muscles when you think about executing such an action.

The images and thoughts you create in your mind during the exercise with the pendulum are transferred to the muscles of the hand, arm,torso, etc., but at a reduced intensity. Imagery is kind of like using an electrical dimmer switch in your brain (like the ones you might have in your house to adjust the intensity of a light) to turn down the voltage of the electrical signals that are being sent to your muscles. As strange as it may sound, simply by imagining the movement of the object in our example above, you create a set of mental impulses or commands in the brain that are transmitted down the nerves to the muscles that cause such a movement. Consider the significance of this fact for a moment…how thoughts that you formulate in your mind actually trigger very real physical responses in your body as a direct consequence of what you are thinking…Rule #3 of the Mental Road inaction!

What is Negative Imagery?

Negative imagery is the creation of thoughts and pictures in your mind that focus on images of disaster or failure. The more you try to avoid this negative image, the more energy and strength the negative image gains. The more you try not to think of it, the more it sticks in your consciousness and bounces around like an annoying tune that you cannot get out of your head.

Have you ever reminded yourself not to get nervous in the lead-up to a big event, only to become very nervous and not be able to relax? Or told yourself not to get upset or angry about something that may have happened, only to become more and more upset as you think about it.Or again, reminded yourself not to slice when preparing to drive from the tee on the golf course, only to execute a perfect slice… just the way you pictured it in your mind! The reason that this often occurs is that by thinking this way, you implant a set of images and feelings in your mind that serve as the dominant and persistent thought that directly affects your feelings, your behavior, and your performance… in a negative way. Rule #3 of the Mental Road states “You can’t NOT think about what’s on your Mind”. As the dominant mental program at that moment – the mental blueprint for your performance – the images of incorrect execution or behavior that you picture in your mind are translated into a sequence of physical actions that result in more easily achieving that very outcome. In such a situation, it’s almost impossible not to suffer a breakdown in performance… unless they can learn to replace the faulty program with a positive and productive one.

Types of Imagery

There are fundamentally two types of imagery that can be used to improve performance. These have often been referred to as psychological imagery and performance replay.

Psychological Imagery: This type of imagery typically involves the use of the imagination to control pre-event anxieties, frustrations, self-doubts and other mental variables that influence your readiness to perform like a virtuoso or a champion. It may also focus on generating controlled energy so that you are more alert, aware, and sensitive to the environment around you. Imagine many possible scenarios and events that can happen during the course of an artistic presentation or competitive performance: problems with the PA system or lights, different weather conditions, good and bad lies, good and bad shots, distractions, etc., and then “see” or “image” how you would correctly adjust and take advantage of any situation – always end up seeing and feeling the successful outcome in spite of the adverse conditions. This application of imagery may use some or all of the senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell) to recall and re-experience mood states that are associated with a performance delivered with personal excellence. This may involve an increase in confidence, a calming mindset, or any number of behavioral qualities that allow you to get out of your own way!  

But it’s important to realize that different qualities are needed for different individuals. Not everyone requires a calming influence before a game; some people need to energize to a more ‘activated’ level to get the most from themselves. The process to understand what level of arousal is best for each individual involves understanding your own personal Ideal Performance State. This isn’t a case of ‘one size fits all’!

Performance Imagery: This is the inner playback mechanism of the mind! This type of imagery allows you to replay in your mind the images and feelings associated with excellence in execution as you prepare to undertake some performance or play back in your mind’s eye some event in your past as though you had captured the successful event on video, with all the sights, sounds, and smells of the real situation. If your performance in the event was satisfactory,then you may simply review that performance giving yourself the implicit instruction that you want more of the same to occur.

If on the other hand you are dissatisfied with your performance, a mental replay of the event can provide you with the opportunity to discover exactly what is in need of improvement from a technical or execution point of view. Once you have settled on a possible reason for a poor performance, you can replay the scene or the event with the modifications you need to implement to change your mental images and your performance to the desired outcome.

Whenever you use Performance Imagery to direct your mindset toward personal excellence, you are in effect programming your mind and body for future performances that will more likely be delivered with excellence. It is a fact that excellence in performance can be modeled and if correctly model excellence, you will more consistently be able to perform with personal excellence…on command. The pendulum exercise helps us to understand how this might come about.

In the next Performance File, we will finish up our discussion of Imagery with an addendum to this series, in which we'll consider when Imagery can be effectively used and what pitfalls may exist in its use,as far as performance is concerned.

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