enhance my coaching skills. One of the richest veins that has
contributed much to my knowledge-base is the field of sports psychology.
Today, I'm going to write a few words about how imagery is fundamental
to improving performance in sports. Performance is defined, in it's
most simple definition, as the improvement of one or a series of
behaviors or actions.
If we take a moment and think about the above definition, performance
is not exclusive to only sports. The term performance can be applied
to almost any human endevour where we are trying to enhance an action
or behavior. The world of business and entrepreneurship is no different.
The language of performance is not English, Spanish, Chinese or any
other spoken language. It is the language of imagery. Any action or
behavior is preceded by imagery. We are not always aware of these
images, most of it is happening unconsciously, but they are always
present before an action.
All skills can be learned at two levels. One is the theoretical where
we gain the knowledge. The second level is the practical where we
actually perform the skill. Imagery spans the divide of these two
levels. It allows us to move from theory into action.
I have a close friend who coaches pee-wee soccer. He always asks the
kids what they should 'see' when their dribbling the ball and what
they should be doing when passing the ball. He gets them to
communicate in imagery since it is the basis of every action and
behavior.
When I'm working with corporate clients, I'll ask them what I would I
be seeing them do or hearing them say when giving, for example,
feedback on performance. This is a key-point.
When I ask a person what I would see him doing or hear him saying when
he is performing some action, his responce is going to entail specific
actions. He will picture the sequence of actions in his head as he is
describing it to me. Since the unconscious mind can not distinguish
reality from imagination, the mind will actually believe the event is
happening in the here and now. This is another key-point to remember.
As many of you may know, presenting in front of a group can be one of
the most daunting things we do in life. For most people, just
imagining getting up to talk in front of a group of peers elevates
their heart rate, breathing and body temperature. This means, the
images we picture, whether positive or negative, will have a direct
impact on our bodies.
Coaches of Olympic athletes will include imagery as part of the
athletes training. It involves the athlete sitting in a quiet place
and picturing the series of sequence of moves they make when doing a
performance.
This imagery training is not only visualization. It includes most, if
not all, of the senses. By getting the athlete to immerse her mind in
the imagery of the event, she is also triggering the identical
neuromuscular pathways as if she was actually performing the movement.
Remember - the mind can not tell the difference between reality and
imagination.
Through the use of imagery, the coach can trigger positive pictures in
athlete's mind, which in turn has real effects on the athlete's
physiology.
The psychology of imagery is intricately linked with physiology of
performance. In my next entry, I will ellaborate on the specific steps
to coach people to improve their performance through imagery. .
Cordially,
Jason W Liem
MINDtalk@email.com
www.mindtalk.no
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