Visualization is a technique of the mind with virtually unlimited potentials and wide applications in practicing and acquiring new skills. In this technique, you imagine the actions and scenarios surrounding an exercise in a bid to emulate your brain into thinking that it is experiencing that scenario.
Visualization can be used for:
- Honing a skill you already possess but can't take out time out of your schedule to practice. This is used by many performers you rehearse.
- Going through a routine before it happens to maximise the effectiveness of the said routine. Athletes, gymnasts, singers: they all do it.
- Boosting your confidence by only helping you familiarize yourself with the actions and helping you acquire new skills as well
- Balancing possibly negative thoughts by practicing positive actions, giving us a healthy tug of war between good and bad in our minds.
Visualization can be achieved in varying degrees by practicing the following acts, with expertise increasing with time. The opinions on this technique, however, are wildly different.
These can be seen as the steps to visualization:
CALM DOWN
Try to calm your nerves. Find a cool, collected corner of your mind and go there. A helpfully soothing environment also helps. Then, familiarize yourself with that place in your mind so you can mould it later.
IMAGINATION
Start imaging the scenario. Start with the surroundings. Then start imagining the act. If you are thinking about writing, then you should think about imagining a Wordpad or a laptop. Think about the feel of the pen in your hand, gliding over the paper. Think about the calmness that washes over you as you write. Think about the light scratching of the pen on the paper and the ink flowing out.
If you’re thinking about playing the drums, think about a room. It can be brightly lit, and clean. The walls may be lined with mirrors, and the floor may be hardwood.
Then imagine a set of drums at the center of the room: black, metallic and refined.
Imagine drawing near to them, running a hand over the cymbals and cupping the drumstricks. Then grip the drumstick and bring it against the drum. Do it again and again, till your rhythm sets.
Practice to your heart’s consent, and then begin to deconstruct your ideas and it will become nothing more than a part of your memory.
Voila! You have successfully practiced the art of visualization.
Develop your skills gradually. Start with trivial tasks such as showering and cooking some noodles. Then eventually add on experiences till you become ready to do this with complex entities and experiences. Practice daily for a few minutes till you succeed but remember to always look positively at life.
Visualization is, however, not enough to develop a skill and actual performance is still required. But it does show us the sheer power of will, and the beauty encompassed in every human brain.