It’s important that you set aside time to regularly visualize your biggest dreams coming to fruition.
When Lou Holtz was coaching at Notre Dame in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he saw the awesome power of visualization first-hand…
On the Friday nights before a game, I would have my players attend a relaxation period. For 25 minutes, we would sit in a room and visualize how we were going to win the following afternoon.
Everyone left in a positive frame of mind.
I never guided a session without asking our players to discard their guilt and anger. I knew how those negative emotions could short-circuit creative energy.
I was never quite certain how productive those evenings were; after all, we didn’t win every contest. But I do know that whenever we asked our seniors what they most liked about our game-week routine, they invariable placed the relaxation periods high on their lists.
If you suffer from chronic negativity, buy some tapes and participate in a guided, positive imagery session. It’s like running your brain through a car wash.
Visualizations will also reinforce your motivation.
Many times, we take up a task with enthusiasm, but then it dissipates. Avoid this by recommitting yourself every day.
Wake up thinking WIN! What is important, what do you need to accomplish today to come closer to your long-term goals? Then visualize the life you will have once you attain your dreams.
Draw as detailed a picture as you can. Let images strengthen your resolve.
Remember what the great baseball pitcher Satchel Paige once said: “Don’t look back, something may be gaining on you.”
Always look ahead with wonder, hope, and confidence.
— Lou Holtz, from his book Winning Every Day
As Lou Holtz states in the above passage, his Notre Dame teams didn’t win every game while he was there. But the Irish did win 76% of their games, they made it to nine bowl games, they finished in the Top 10 five times, and they won one National Championship during the 11 seasons Holtz was there.
Visualization works.
How you visualize your future tends to determine your future.
Whether you realize it or not, you’re constantly visualizing what your future will look like. When you visualize negative outcomes (worries) or nonspecific outcomes (“whatever happens happens”), you’ll be more likely to experience those outcomes.
When you take the time to visualize specific, vivid, positive outcomes (like performing well in a game or on a sales call), you’ll be more likely to create those outcomes in reality. Positive visualization puts your mind to work in trying to create the positive outcomes you feed it. Your mind goes to work in ways you often don’t even realize.
This is why psychologists tell us, “What you think about most is what you become.”
Every day, it seems scientists are discovering more about the power of our minds. The power to heal your body, the power to achieve your goals, the power to change your state in life—it all starts in your mind.
Great achievers have long-recognized the power your mind has to shape your reality, which is why championship-winning coaches like Lou Holtz take mental training so seriously. (As Bobby Knight once said, “Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one.”)
Remember, you will become what you think about most.
Therefore, you must be disciplined in your approach to mental training. Protect yourself from pessimism and set aside time every day to read motivational books, to feed your mind positivity, and to visualize your dreams coming true.
When you do that, you’ll unleash the awesome power of your mind to go to work creating the life you want to live.
