We have all experienced that moment at some point. That moment when you bet everything on one card, that moment when you have the feeling that your life depends on it. The driving test, an audition, a match, a job interview, an opposition…
We can train, study or prepare for the event in question, but it will never be the same. That is, we will never be able to recreate the specific elements that involve the day of the test, such as the presence of the examiner or the classroom, or the unforeseen events that may happen (the heat, the noise, the rival comes out with another strategy than the one planned…) . In psychology we have a very useful technique in this type of situation: visualization Next we will see what it is about.
What is visualization?
The visualization consists of experiment, through imagination, any situation that could occur in real life It has traditionally been used in phobias, as a resource to carry out an exhibition that would not be feasible to do because the phobic stimulus itself was not available. For example, we cannot buy a plane ticket every time we have to resort to the exposure technique with a patient with a fear of flying, therefore, we prioritize the different situations based on the anxiety they would cause in the patient and we would proceed to experience them in imagination.
The case of Michael Jordan
They say that Michael Jordan would sit on the bench before games, and imagine the different possible situations that could hinder his goals (a block there, a block there…). In this way, he felt more prepared for these situations because they were not “unforeseen”, he had already prevented them, in fact, he had already trained for them and had already experienced them.
Well, this little “trick” from the legendary NBA shooting guard, together with the clinical experience of visualization, leaves us a clear path towards mental training, that is, an adaptation of the visualization technique to sport and personal development.
How to use it combining it with your imagination
We must differentiate between “imagine” and “visualize”, because although imagination is necessary for visualization, it is not sufficient. So that the visualization is carried out with all possible success, it has to meet certain conditions. First of all, we must design the scene that we are going to experience.
We will start with simple stimuli, like the color of the ball, and little by little, as we master each of the scenes, we will make them more sophisticated, getting to the point of designing the driving test, a job interview, or the first meters of a race. In this sophistication it will be advisable to incorporate more stimuli in addition to images. Sounds, smells, touch, balance or emotions can help us give realism to the scene, and help create that memory trace that is activated at the moment of truth.
Furthermore, it is always very useful to add the perception of stimuli in 360 degrees, especially at the moment of starting to imagine, the moment in which we are transported to visualization. The instructions of the examiner in the back seat, the feel of the ground on my feet, the clouds that hover over my soccer game… all of this gives the scene that natural realism that we are looking for.
Once we have designed the scene, it will be time to execute the visualization. It is advisable to start by checking our activation through breathing technique with the aim of limiting activation at a cognitive level (leaving the mind blank) and directing our attentional resources to the task at hand.
Once we have controlled our activation level, we will begin to activate the scene that we have designed in our imagination, in real time. This does not mean that we cannot “jump in time” if, for example, we want to prepare the moment of starting the car, overtaking and parking (it is another of the advantages of visualization compared to real training). We can help ourselves by creating auditory support, recording the description of the sequences with our own voice and playing it back at the time of viewing (if we do it with our eyes open we can use videos).
In addition to phobias and personal development, visualization is beginning to be used with people with cancer and, although its effectiveness in these matters has yet to be demonstrated, it is still indicative of the power of the technique, of which we have given a mere outline throughout this article. To carry it out in optimal conditions, we will require the guidance and instruction of an expert psychologist.