Imagery - The Key to Unlocking Your Performance Potential (Part 1)

“Imagination is more powerful than knowledge.” -Albert Einstein

Did you know that as children, we enjoyed a significant mental advantage over the adult population…an advantage that the majority of us let slip away as we grew into adulthood? Because of a lack of consistent practice, we gradually lost the ability to use an effective mental skill that most children seem to possess naturally – the skill of mental Imagery. Imagery, the Language of the Mind

Because humans think in pictures, there isn’t a single thought that we create in our mind that is not somehow associated with a mental image (and often, with feelings) of some sort. We frequently talk about seeing with our ‘mind’s eye’…this simply means that when we imagine something in our mind, we generally see a picture of what we are thinking about, just as if we were looking at it through a camera lens or through our own eyes. Some people refer to this process as “visualization”, but I prefer the term “imagery” because it is broader and more easily incorporates the other senses beyond vision. In effect, it would indeed be accurate to describe imagery as the language of the mind. You can confirm the truth of this statement for yourself with the following simple exercise.

Take a few moments to think about your mother - before you read any further…

Now as you did this, you probably ‘saw’ (with your ‘mind’s eye’) an image of what your mother looks like, what color her hair is, how tall she is, what she looks like sitting at the dining room table or in front of the TV, or wearing a favorite outfit. You might have pictured her from the front or from the side, in profile. You may even have ‘seen’ your mother working in the garden or in a favorite room, etc. Whatever you ‘saw’, it is likely that you created a set of images or mental pictures in your mind (and perhaps even an associated emotional response) that reflects how you see your mother, standing there by herself as if in a portrait or how she might look in a variety of different situations. Consider this: How would it be possible to think of your mother if you couldn’t ‘see’ her in your mind’s eye?

Now, take a few moments to think about your home…

Again, it is likely that you ‘saw’ (in your mind’s eye) some image of what your house or apartment looks like, perhaps from the outside, what your front lawn or driveway might look like, or what one or more of the rooms might look like. You may even have seen an image of your spouse or children watching television in the den or of all your family members sitting down to a meal around the kitchen table. Again, you created in your mind a set of images and feelings that reflected your perception of ‘home’ and what it is like when the important people in your life occupy it. It should be clear to you from this simple little exercise that we do indeed ‘think’ in pictures, no matter what we are thinking about. In fact, try thinking of something without “seeing it” in your mind’s eye… your car, your desk at work, your favorite hat, etc!

The Impact of Imagery on Our Emotions

Images that you put into your mind directly influence how you feel. These feelings in turn affect your behavior and this set of behaviors influences your personal performance in anything that you do.

Think back to a situation where you were watching a particularly sad, scary, or exciting movie? Your body responded directly to the images and feelings that were developed on the TV or movie screen, as you watched the show. Sometimes you felt tension or even fear in anticipation of the next scene (when the villain or the creature jumps out of the shadows), or relief when the hero who was hanging by his fingertips from the ledge of the tall building manages to swing back up onto the roof to safety. When watching a particularly sad movie, you may even have begun to cry. Yet, intellectually you knew that these situations were not real, they were roles played out by actors following established scripts that simply became part of your imagination.

How is it that these “imagined pictures” caused your body to respond in a very real way? It is important that you realize that the set of images and the beliefs that you create in your mind are the reality that truly exists for you. This ‘reality’ in fact, serves as the mental computer program that directs you to perform in a manner that is consistent with the images in your mind and the feelings that are associated with those images. I can illustrate this point with a specific example.

Imagine that I placed a wooden board flat on the floor in front of you. The board is six inches wide, perfectly stiff, and 20 feet long. If I asked you to walk the length of the board without touching the floor, do you think that you would you be able to do it? It is likely that, not only would most of you be able to do it, but you could probably do it with your eyes closed or even do it backwards if you put your mind to it! We have now established that is it likely that you could easily walk the full length of this 20-foot board when it is placed on the floor in front of you.

Imagine that I placed a wooden board flat on the floor in front of you. The board is six inches wide, perfectly stiff, and 20 feet long. If I asked you to walk the length of the board without touching the floor, do you think that you would you be able to do it? It is likely that, not only would most of you be able to do it, but you could probably do it with your eyes closed or even do it backwards if you put your mind to it! We have now established that is it likely that you could easily walk the full length of this 20-foot board when it is placed on the floor in front of you.

Imagine if I now took that same 20-foot board (that is six inches wide, perfectly stiff, and that you know you could traverse with ease when placed on the floor) and suspended it between two buildings, 100 feet in the air! Even assuming there was no wind whatsoever and that I could make it perfectly stiff – as it was on the floor – do you believe that you could still walk the length of the board between the buildings… with ease? Likely not and yet, it is the same board with the same physical dimensions and features. Something in the mind of most individuals would stop them from even attempting to walk the length of that 20-foot board and if they chose to try to do it, the tension level (and fear) that they would feel would be much greater. Many of us would ‘freeze up’ and not be able to move at all. But what has changed?

The only thing that has truly changed in this new situation is your perspective regarding the physical challenge or danger that you face. Because the consequences of falling off the board when it is placed directly on the floor in front of you are non-existent compared to the consequences of falling off the board when it is 100 feet off the ground, you think nothing of walking the plank while on the floor and indeed, can execute the stunt with ease! As soon as your perspective regarding the challenge that you face changes (you imagine all the nasty things that could happen and may even ‘see’ yourself falling to the ground in your mind’s eye), your ability to perform the task changes as well. This is a really important point to keep in mind…

The Bad News is that we create our own set of mental images, and these images directly influence our feelings, behaviors, and our ability to perform.

The Good News is that we create our own set of mental images and these images directly influence our feelings, behaviors, and our ability to perform.

It depends completely on the kind of mental images that you put into your mind since the images you process there become the dominant thoughts that control how you feel, how you behave and ultimately, how you perform. We’ll explore this process of imagery further in the next installment of the Performance File.