Talking with a client the other day reminded me again how powerful it can be to simply define in clear terms what we want. It is interesting how easy it is for most of us to describe what we don’t want and in contrast how difficult it is to define what we want instead.
How often – as a leader, an organization, or in our daily lives do we spend our time thinking about not doing something or worrying that something does not happen? For example, we think about the customers who aren’t buying, worry about employees who are not producing good results, or beat ourselves up over having procrastinated on a task. As a result, we are focused on what does not work: The economy is bad, my people aren’t engaged enough, I wasted my time.
By the way – check out this amusing clip about the ineffectiveness of focusing on what we don’t want without having a desired alternative.
How does the saying go?
“Energy goes where attention flows”. In other words: As long as we direct our energy towards what we don’t want change will not occur. How could things change? We haven’t defined a desired direction. So how could it become reality?
I am a great fan and active user of visualization techniques – for myself and with clients. These techniques help shift the attention to first defining a desired state and then prepare very effectively for it to happen.
Visualization techniques have their roots in sports psychology. Researchers have investigated the effectiveness of visualization techniques in the sports arena for a while. Testing professional athletes for their reaction during a visualization exercise it has been found that their bodies showed the same muscle tension, increase in heart rate, and other body reactions as if they were participating in the actual game. The body had the same reaction during the visualization exercise as it had later on the field. The realistic experience of the event before the actual event gives sport professionals the opportunity to rehearse their actions, refine and improve their techniques as they were going through the visualization and thus correct their behavior before being in the actual game. Studies in the field of sport psychology have shown that professional athletes who use visualization techniques in order to prepare themselves for the actual performance are significantly more successful. Often, these successful sport professionals spend more time doing the visualization exercises then in the actual game because they know about the impact this type of preparation has on their performance.
Visualization techniques are increasingly adopted in the business context. The opportunity to correct and refine behavior ahead of time helps leaders and business professionals to prepare themselves more carefully and strategically for such events as an important speech, presentation, or an interview. Preparing through visualization allows them to be more purposeful and intentional when the lights are on and the best performance is required.
Check out a demonstration of using visualization to prepare for the game – in this case a golf game: The Scene is taken from the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance.
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