We have discussed how to Focus and how to Forget in past blogs about achieving success in life. The third component of success is VISUALIZATION. Simply stated, we want to create in our mind the image of where we want to go and we pursue it every day. Those things that we pursue represent things that have not yet occurred, so the only place one can actually see them is in the mind through visualization. Carl Mays, in his book “A Strategy For Winning”, cites a high school basketball team that visualized it’s way to stellar performance from the free throw line. The team divided players into three groups: 1. Those who did not shoot any free throws for thirty days, 2.) Those who shot 100 free throws per day every day for one month, and 3.) Those who visualized shooting 100 perfect free throws every day for one month. They imagined the smell of the leather on the ball, they could see the rim, they could sense how the ball felt as it left their finger tips and they saw the ball swish through the net every time. It became ingrained in their mind and influenced their physical capabilities.
At the end of thirty days the three groups of players had a free throw contest. Guess who won? That’s right, those who visualized success.
