General visualization principles#

Visualization is simply the conscious seeing or thinking through a scenario, task or activity. Other names for visualization include mental imagery, mental movies, mental pictures and “seeing with the mind’s eye.”

Often beginners believe visualization involves seeing vivid images on the back of their eyelids, as if they are dreaming. Most people do not visualize at this level, and it doesn’t matter. What matters is the concentration on the task and the conscious thinking through of what a scene would look like, or the steps to complete some activity. Sometimes you may get fleeting images of part of your visualization. If that happens, just accept them and keep going. Don’t spend time chasing the images.

The words “visualization” and “imagery” are in some ways misleading. While the dominant sense is usually vision, visualization does not just involve seeing. The more senses you involve, the stronger the effect. Hear a switch click when you turn it on, or feel an engine turn over and the vibrations as you start it. Smell fuel when you check a tank. Feel a rope as you trim the sail, or hear the shutter click when you take a photograph. Hear the applause of an audience after a presentation. All of these can make your visualizations work better.

A quick word on what this is and isn’t. The strongest evidence for visualization is as mental rehearsal: imagining yourself performing a skill or task. A well-known review of the research found that mental rehearsal genuinely improves performance — not as much as real practice, but enough to be worth your time, especially as a supplement (Driskell, Copper & Moran, 1994). The effect is largest when you already know the task, when the imagery is detailed and physical, and when you keep practising. It is not a substitute for doing the real thing, and it won’t make outcomes happen by sheer wishing. Treat it as a way to get more out of practice, not a shortcut around it.

Let’s look at three steps for visualization — prepare, visualize and finish. I also provide some general tips.

Prepare#

When starting out, or when visualizing several chunks of information, write down a script or set of points you want to visualize. This helps keep you on track during the exercise. You may also want to record the steps on to your phone or computer and play them back while visualizing. This helps with a complex, time-based scenario or task.

Visualization works best when you are in Memletic State. Key parts of state for visualizing include:

Clear goals. Goals and assertions are an important part of visualization. Review your key goals and make sure your visualization fits within them. You may also want to add a few assertions on the specific benefits you wish to gain from this visualization.
Concentration. Your mind may wander during visualization exercises. Review the concentration techniques and use the relevant ones (such as a distraction log) during your visualizations.
Relaxation. The last activity before starting your visualization exercise is a relaxation exercise. Relax your body and your mind.

See the Memletic State chapter for more on these points.

When you are ready, sit comfortably in a straight-backed chair. Have the material you are using in your lap. Don’t lie down — you may fall asleep.

When you are starting out, plan to spend three to five minutes on a session. You can build up to longer sessions as your concentration improves.

If you have a soft alarm available, set it for the time you want to finish. If you are easily distracted, you may want something to beep every thirty to sixty seconds. When you hear the beep, check you are still concentrating on the right content. If not, just bring your attention back to your task.

Visualize#

There is no magic or special art to visualizing. Simply start thinking through the steps, task or scenario you wish to visualize. Here are some tips that the research and practice both support:

Verbalize the steps or scenario. When first starting visualization, in general or with a new exercise, describe in words what you want to see. If you are visualizing a red house, simply say out loud or in your mind: “I see a red house. It has a red tile roof and red brick walls. I am standing out the front on the garden path. It leads up to the front door. I walk up to the wall and run my hand over the brick. It feels rough and cool.” Either visualize it as you read, or read it and then close your eyes and repeat the content in your mind. Pairing words with the mental picture engages both your verbal and visual memory, which is part of why this works.
Use an internal perspective. In most visualization, see your actions from an internal perspective — through your own eyes. The alternative is the external perspective, where you watch yourself as if from a camera. For mental rehearsal of a skill, the internal, first-person view generally works best, because it more closely matches what you actually experience while performing.
Use the senses. As well as seeing, build in as many senses as possible. Think of the sounds in that scenario. Are there scents or smells you would expect? What forces or sensations would your body or hands feel? Would you have a particular taste in your mouth? You don’t physically experience each of these — you just think about what they would feel like. Richer, more vivid imagery produces a bigger effect than thin, sketchy imagery.
See only the correct way. I once heard that rally drivers train to look where they want to go, rather than at a tree they could hit, when they are skidding sideways. I like this point because it highlights how powerful our focus is. If the driver looks where they want to go, there is a good chance they go that way. If they fixate on a particular tree, there is a good chance they hit it.

Visualization is similar. Focus on the correct way of doing a task or procedure. If you are visualizing a possible future, focus on the future you want. Don’t let negative outcomes distract you. If they do arise, write them down for reference and move on. Rehearsing the right version of an action is what builds the right pattern — repeatedly imagining the mistake just rehearses the mistake.

Introduce variability and interference. In the Task Variety and Task Interference techniques (described below), I discuss how variability and interference in training help you deal better with unexpected circumstances and strengthen learning. Use these in your visualizations too. Introduce a scenario that represents a diversion or unexpected event on the way to your objective, then visualize yourself dealing with it well.
Make it vivid — as a motivator, mainly. Take a moment and visualize something you know is going to happen tomorrow, like getting ready for work. Now visualize something far in the future. For most people the near, certain event feels brighter and clearer, while the distant one feels grey and fuzzy. You can borrow that vividness on purpose: when you picture the future you’re working towards, make the images bright, large and detailed, with the sounds clear. This won’t cause the outcome — I want to be straight with you about that — but a vivid, concrete picture of why you’re doing the work is a genuinely useful spur to motivation and follow-through.

For example, if your goal is to be an airline pilot, a scenario might go like this. You finish an international flight, leave the airport in a cab, and check in at a hotel. You spend some time preparing for the next day’s flight, then go to bed. These are ordinary activities you can picture yourself doing as an airline pilot — and picturing them keeps the goal concrete and close.

Practice and expand. When first starting out, do a short visualization at the same time each day. Use a simple exercise — a scenario or task — and visualize it for a few minutes.

You can also expand your use of visualization away from set exercises. When you are studying or using other techniques, relax for a moment and visualize part of the content or technique. You can visualize anywhere — on public transport, in a meeting, while exercising, or while waiting for an appointment. The more often you do this, the easier and more effective your visualization becomes.

Finish the visualization#

Finish the exercise with some positive assertions and a brief relaxation exercise. Bring your focus back into your environment. You may want to update your notes — add ideas on how to improve the exercise, or jot down how you felt during it (concentrated, aware, distracted, or other feelings).

General tips for visualization#

A few more pointers:

Eyes open or closed? It doesn’t matter much, as long as you stay concentrated. Keeping your eyes open lets you refer to notes; keeping them closed can help with concentration.
Don’t chase fleeting images. Sometimes you may get fleeting, full-picture images while you visualize. Don’t go chasing that experience. Simply keep focusing on the task or scenario. If you get more images, note them and keep going. If on some days you get none, don’t worry — you don’t need full-picture images for visualization to work.
Use it to supplement real training. Visualization is a great way to augment physical skills or tasks. Still do at least the minimum physical training you need to become competent. Use visualization alongside physical practice — the two together beat either one alone. Even small amounts of visualization can add a useful margin, as long as you keep up the basic practice.
Use the same timeframes as reality. Always try to do time-based visualizations in similar timeframes to the real thing. Stretching or shrinking how long a task takes in your mind may cause you to perform it differently in reality. For example, the touchdown part of landing an aircraft lasts only ten to fifteen seconds. If you stretch it out to two minutes in your head, the motor skills, perceptions and co-ordination will likely differ from the real task.

The core of all this is simple: a vivid, multisensory, first-person rehearsal — done in real time, focused on the correct action, and paired with real practice — is what makes visualization pull its weight.