Using Visualisation To Improve Performance & Change Your Future

Ian Hawkins 0:02

Are you ready, ready to release internal pain to find confidence, clarity and direction for your future, to live a life of meaning, fulfillment and contribution to trust your intuition again, but something's been holding you back, you've come to the right place. Welcome. I'm a Ian Hawkins, the host and founder of The Grief Code podcast. Together, let's heal your unresolved or unknown grief by unlocking your grief code. As you tune into each episode, you will receive insight into your own grief, how to eliminate it, and what to do next. Before we start by one request, if any new insights or awareness land with you during this episode, please send me an email at info at the and Hawkins coaching.com. And let me know what you found. I know the power of this work, I love to hear the impact these conversations have. Okay, let's get into it.

Have you heard about the power of visualization, many different ways that it's been described to me. But I also which I will share, but I also want to share from my own experience from a really basic perspective as well. So the human brain stores memories, right. And, again, I'll put it in real basic scientific terms. Essentially, the brain doesn't know the difference between a memory that you've actually experienced or witnessed, and one that you've created through your own imagination, thoughts. It's why when we recalling memories, that 80% of our memories, we don't recall correctly. Because we've used our the power of our creation and our imagination to store the memory a different way each time. So we embellish and, and we were creative with how we store the memory. Now, you only have to think about those times where someone said to you, oh, when this happened to me, and you're like, No do that was actually me, like what are you talking about? And I've had these conversations with lots of different people, even with my wife, when she's recording a conversation. I'm like, Man, I'm pretty sure that was me. And it's like, well, how do you know for sure. But there have been people who have gotten in trouble in the media, because they've talked about this different experience had been proven to be wrong. And then they've gone ah, like, and their pain is in this really negative light. But it's like this is the trick that the mind has. So how do we use that to our advantage. So creating visualizations that will then store in our brain, the brain will think that it's a memory, or it will do its best to create what you've what you've put into your mind. So, for me, I started learning about this one I later in my sporting career, wish I'd learned like 15 years prior the power of visualizing your performance beforehand, from guys like Jack Nicklaus in golf, who said, he never played a single shot on the golf course, until He visualized it and played it in his head beforehand, to hearing all the different possible techniques that you can use to visualize things in your performance first, and then watching them unfold on the field. So for me, one of the areas in football or soccer, depending on which part of the world you're in, was heading the ball. And I started playing around with this visualization and on the on game day, picturing myself scoring goals with headers. So using my head, from all different angles, all different scenarios. And it was really interesting how I just started being able to recreate the game. And scoring some unbelievable head is an area of my game that had never been that strong. And I don't say that to brag, I say that almost in disbelief still myself, because it was like, how is that possible? How can I be so poor and particularly skill set, but just by going through these visualization techniques? How am I then able to then be almost like I can, I can hit the ball exactly where I wanted to at will without having to put much thought into it. And it was something a moment really for me to really reinforce just how powerful visualization is. And if you apply that to rest of the rest of your life. What future scenario would you love to play out?

And how much time are you spending visualizing it? I'll give you another example of one that played out for me it was wanting a particular house particular new house and I visualized and visualized over and over again this house and then When I was visiting Monterey, they've been spoken about this on the podcast before, but I was visiting friends and I'm in this house and I'm like, Oh, wow, this is pretty cool. And it was new for them. And, and then realizing, like, later that next week going, Oh, that is my house that I visualized. So I did what I visualized, which is I was there. I spent a fair bit of time there, I stayed overnight. So all the things that I visualized, but it wasn't clear enough with the intent of the visualization that I actually wanted it to be my house that I lived there permanently. And it was like, wow, again, the power of visualization, but also unless it in be very specific about what I'm wanting through it. So what do I mean by visualization. So closing your eyes, finding yourself, so where you won't be interrupted, quiet, calm, comfortable, starting to breathe, starting to bring your body into relaxation, sounds an awful lot of meditation, right? And honestly, the difference is insignificant. Then in your mind, going into picture, what this future event that you're wanting to bring in, or this future skill, pitch yourself doing it, and doing it well. And all the things you want to be in that future vision. Now, if you're not great with the visuals, like me, then get a sense of it, play the thoughts out and the ideas out in your head. So for me, I can describe the scene in perfect detail. But I'm not visualizing it, I'm feeling it. And sensing it if that makes sense. When I explained that to some other people who think the same way and, and their brain operates the same way, they're like, Yeah, that makes perfect sense. If you're more visual, you may actually be able to see the visuals. But whatever it is, just get a sense in the best way possible for your, the way you operate, have exactly what you want. keep replaying the visualization again, as many times as you can, day after day. And just watch what unfolds. Now, if you want to get see results quicker, you obviously focus on something that you're going to be doing that day, or the next day or during that week. If you're more for that future vision, then it's going to take a little bit while longer for that to play out. But it also is the involves some patients because that's life as well. So play around with this concept of visualization of what you want your life to be like what you want in a certain situation. And remembering that we can use this part of our brain around memory to actually create a positive change, not just have these confusing moments about what's happened in the past. Both the science of both of them is fascinating, particularly if you dive into the memory side of things, they they do these what are they called Flashpoint or something where they were they actually big, major events, they, they get people on the day to record what happened, and then they record them every 12 months. And there was one in particular done around September of 11. And then there were people who are like getting asked to recall the day, five years later, and they were then getting told what they'd said the previous year. And they were saying, Look, I don't know what was going on for me a year ago. But that's not what happened. That's how sure they were of the current moment memory. Fascinating. I'll leave it there. Enjoy your visualization. And as always, we'd love to hear the results from adopting this process.

I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Grief Code podcast. Thank you so much for listening. Please share it with a friend or family member that you know would benefit from hearing it too. If you are truly ready to heal your unresolved or unknown grief, let's chat. Email me at info at Ian Hawkins coaching.com You can also stay connected with me by joining the Grief Code community at Ian Hawkins coaching.com forward slash The Grief Code and remember, so that I can help even more people to heal. Please subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.