Creative visualization refers to the practice of seeking to affect the outer world via changing one's thoughts.[1] Creative Visualization is the basic technique underlying positive thinking[2] and is frequently used by athletes to enhance their performance.[3][4] The concept originally arose in the US with the nineteenth century New Thought movement. One of the first to practiced the technique of creative visualization was Wallace Wattles (1860 – 1911), who wrote The Science of Getting Rich.[5]
Creative visualization is the technique of using one's imagination to visualize specific behaviors or events occuring in one's life.[6] Advocates suggest creating a detailed schema of what one desires and then visualizing it over and over again with all of the senses (i.e., what do you see? what do you feel? what do you hear? what does it smell like?).[7][8] For example, in sports a golfer may visualize the "perfect" stroke over and over again to mentally train muscle memory.[9]
In one of the most well-known studies on Creative Visualization in sports, Russian scientists compared four groups of Olympic athletes in terms of their training schedules:
Group 1 = 100% physical training;
Group 2 - 75% physical training with 25% mental training;
Group 3 - 50% physical training with 50% mental training;
Group 4 - 25% physical training with 75% mental training.
Group 4, with 75% of their time devoted to mental training, performed the best. "The Soviets had discovered that mental images can act as a prelude to muscular impulses."[10]
Creative Visualization is distinguished from normal daydreaming in that Creative Visualization is done in the first person and the present tense – as if the visualized scene were unfolding all around you; whereas normal daydreaming is done in the third person and the future tense – the “you” of the daydream is a puppet with the real “you” watching from afar.citation needed
Visualization practices are a common form of spiritual exercise, especially in esoteric traditions. In Vajrayana Buddhism for example complex visualizations are used to attain Buddhahood. Additionally, visualization is used extensively in sports psychology.[11]
^ Kathleen A. Martin, Craig R. Hall, "Using mental imagery to enhance intrinsic motivation," Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, Vol. 17, Iss. 1, Champaign, IL: Mar 1995.
^ Fiona McCormack, "Mind games," Scholastic Scope, Vol. 54, Iss. 10, New York: Jan 23, 2006. Quotation: Visualization is another tool that Olympic athletes use to get their minds in shape for competition. In this technique, athletes mentally rehearse exactly what they have to do to win. Sports psychologists say that visualization boosts athletes' confidence by forcing them to picture themselves winning. It also helps them concentrate on their physical moves, rather than on distractions around them.
