Your brain pays more attention to what you do than it does to what you feel or think or think about doing. As a result, the best way to change your mental model is to repeatedly take the actions that reinforce who you want to be or what you want to accomplish.
But there is a mental activity that can significantly increase your chances of succeeding, and that’s visualization. There’s also a mental activity that can significantly decrease your chances of succeeding, and that, too, is visualization. Do it the right way, and visualization can be one of the most useful tool in your change toolkit. Do it the wrong way, and you’ll find yourself stuck on the hamster wheel.
The main distinctions between visualization methods are:
- perspective: first person vs. third person
- focus of attention: the process vs. the outcome
- realism: specific (realistic) sensory details vs. vague or few details
Visualizing from the first-person perspective means seeing from behind your own eyes, as if you are having the experience, as opposed to watching yourself have the experience, which is third person perspective.
Visualizing the process means imagining yourself taking the actual steps necessary to achieve something, as opposed to imagining yourself achieving it or having achieved it.
Visualizing the specific sensory details you will (or are likely to) encounter as you take action makes it more likely your brain will respond appropriately when you are in that situation. Your brain uses external environmental stimuli as cues; providing it with that kind of information triggers the responses you want it to have.
So don’t watch yourself crossing the finish line, being lauded on stage, or in any happily-ever-after scenario filled with hazy or unrealistic details. This type of magical thinking substitutes a fantasy of success for actual progress. Instead of getting your brain on board to assist you, it has the opposite effect of causing your brain to believe you’re already there, so there’s nothing you need to do to get there.
Much of the research on process-oriented visualization has been done with both novice and successful athletes. I came across an article about it several years ago. The research measured three groups of people performing a specific strength training exercise: one group performed a number of repetitions using weights or a machine; one group visualized themselves performing the same number of repetitions without actually doing them; the control group did nothing.
Everyone was tested before and after the experiment. Afterward the group that had physically performed the exercise had the greatest improvement, while the control group had no improvement. Those results were expected. The result that surprised me was that the group that used visualization had a statistically significant improvement.
I was engaged in a strength training program at that time, and my trainer had just told me she thought I should add a new exercise to my routine. After watching her, I tried using the piece of equipment she suggested but, pathetically, could manage only a single rep. So I decided to give visualization a whirl. I sat in a chair at home and positioned myself as I would have at the gym. I closed my eyes and without moving a muscle mentally completed two or three sets of repetitions, in real time.
I “practiced” at home for a while, and when I tried doing the exercise at the gym again I was able to complete 10 reps with ease. I was amazed. (I continued both exercising at the gym and visualizing at home and progressed rapidly.)
The research that’s been done with athletes is great because it’s quantifiable—and the results are something I was able to replicate for myself. But process-oriented visualization is useful in so many other situations—any situation, in fact, where you want to change something, such as a habit, or accomplish something that’s difficult for any reason.
A different study measured the effect of visualization on students’ grades.
Group 1 was asked to visualize the specific process of studying for the exam (process visualization). This included visualizing themselves sitting at their desks, studying the chapters, turning off the television, turning down invitations to go out, etc. Group 2 was asked to visualize seeing themselves standing in front of the board where the list of grades was posted and seeing that they had received an A on the exam (outcome visualization). Group 3 (the control group) was given no instructions. Groups 1 and 2 practiced their visualizations for 5 minutes a day.
The results were that Group 1 (the process visualization group) started studying earlier, they studied for more hours, and their exam grade was 8 points higher than Group 3 (the control group) and 6 points higher than Group 2 (the outcome visualization group). [Taylor, Pham, Rivkin, & Armor (1998), neuroscienceschool.com]
Visualizing yourself taking the action you need to take to get your desired outcome can make it easier for you to take those actions. Visualization can also reveal gaps: steps you may have left out or hadn’t considered. According to Srini Pillay, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School:
Imagining allows us to remember and mentally rehearse our intended movements. In fact, visualizing movement changes how our brain networks are organized, creating more connections among different regions.
Pillay agrees that imagining in the first person activates muscles more powerfully than imagining in the third person. And that it’s important that the action we’re imagining be “consistent and believable.” Putting all those elements together underscores why my visualization of that gym exercise produced such great results.
The secret to getting the most out of visualization is to focus on the process, from a first-person perspective, and to include realistic sensory details.