There are many successful strategies for setting realistic, achievable goals, as well as measuring your progress. But there’s one quirky technique that tends to be underutilized: visualization.
With this tactic, you’re basically using your imagination to “see” yourself as successful in very specific ways, says performance coach Barbara Cox, PhD. For example, if your goal is to deadlift a certain weight, speed through an obstacle course or lower your golf score, you can raise your chances of doing those well if you first imagine yourself doing them.
[persectpullquote align =“ full” cite =“”链接=“ color =” hex 0073bb“ class =” size =“”]”，换句话说，您已经脑海中了。现在，您只需要到达体内。” [/Perfect Pullquote]
“Many of my clients have improved their sports performance considerably through guided visualization,” says Cox. “If you can get into a relaxed brainwave state, called an alpha state, and create a vision of what you want to accomplish, you can ‘feel’ what it’s like to have it occur.”
她补充说，这种感觉通常是一种巨大的励志推动力，因为它消除了不确定性或怀疑的一些情感。换句话说，在您的脑海中，您已经达到了目标。现在，您只需要在您的体内到达那里即可。
Here are three steps toward using visualization to help you achieve better outcomes — no matter your goal:
1.具体取得结果
也许您想成为整个终点线的第一人，并站在获胜者平台的顶级。或者，也许您只想在当地的5K上越过终点线，您一直是观众，但从来都不是跑步者。励志演讲者和生活教练Jen Sincero的作者说，无论您想完成如何完成，尽可能具体的事情都是有帮助的。.”
“The more details you can envision, the better it will be, because that gives your brain something to work with,” she says. “Simply saying, ‘I want to be successful’ or ‘I want to be stronger’ is far too vague. You can’t pinpoint what that would feel like.”
But close your eyes and imagine putting a barbell on your shoulders for a 300-pound squat. Feel the roughness of the metal on your hands, the smell of the gym, the encouraging shouts of your squad. What would it feel like to crush that personal record?那是what feeling stronger would mean in your body.
2. EMPLOY DEEP BREATHING
There’s a reason breathing is such an area of focus for meditation and visualization. “Relaxed breathing pairs extremely well with visualization,” says Cox. “It allows you to expand on what you’re imagining, because you’re removing some of the stress within your body.”
When you breathe deeply, you cause a cascade of reactions within the brain — most notably, by reducing your level of cortisol, the hormone responsible for the stress-inducing “fight or flight” response. What rises instead are the “feel good” hormones like serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin, notes Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD, author of “Habits of a Happy Brain.”
When your brain is flooded with these chemicals, it establishes neural connections that help you hit your goals, she says, especially if you pair deep breath work with vivid visualizations. “Your brain is all about establishing a reward system,” says Breuning. “You’re creating a scenario where reaching your goals becomes a huge reward that’s filled with all these happy sensations.”
3. GET CREATIVE
如果您想要一个可视化的角色模型，请寻找游泳者迈克尔·菲尔普斯（Michael Phelps），他绝对知道站在那个顶级奥运会平台上的感觉 - 一遍又一遍地。
According to菲尔普斯的教练，鲍勃·鲍曼（Bob Bowman），这位运动员在现实生活中踏上那里很久之前就在他的脑海中登上领奖台。鲍曼（Bowman）指出，在比赛前几个月，菲尔普斯（Phelps）每天最多两个小时“精神上的排练” - 他看到自己获胜，他品尝了水，当他碰到泳池墙时，他看到了时钟。
READ MORE >安慰剂效果作为性能提升的力量
鲍曼补充说，菲尔普斯也从外面看自己，作为看台的观众，还想象所有可能阻止他脱离时间目标的障碍。这使他能够在练习时做好不可思议的准备 - 毕竟，他已经在“游泳池”中度过了几个小时，然后才能进入水中。
As Bowman says, “the brain cannot distinguish between something that’s vividly imagined and something that’s real.”
So, when you’re setting goals of any kind for the months ahead, set aside time to be completely still, quiet and focused. Even when you’re not moving a muscle, you can be working hard toward achieving your performance goals.
