Episode 47 - How to use visualisation to improve your life and make much better use of your smart mind
Welcome to this episode of the managing the smart mind podcast with Master Certified Coach Else Kramer, a.k.a. Coach Kramer.
Well hello, smart human and happy 2023!
After having taken stock in the last episode, it’s time to start looking forward, to your fabulous future.
And today we’ll do that by diving into the fascinating topic of visualisation.
This is a potent tool - when used in the proper manner. It can help you access way more of that beautiful smart mind than you are currently using. So fun!
But first, think about the last time you felt completely and utterly confident.
Maybe you were cooking your signature dish.
Maybe you were playing your favourite sports or computer game.
Maybe you were creating a painting, giving a speech, fixing your car.
It doesn’t matter what it is - as long as it was a situation in which you knew exactly what to do and how to do it. There was zero effort to ‘get it right’, you were just doing what you needed to do.
Take yourself back to that place.
Where are you?
What are you doing?
What are you wearing?
What do you hear, smell, see, taste?
Got it? Congratulations!
You have just successfully visualised, and probably even changed your brain a little bit (hello neuroplasticity!) through this one simple act.
Pretty cool.
Visualisation is something most of us can do quite naturally.
It’s something that we often engage in.
Sometimes through worrying and worst-case-scenarios.
And sometimes through something which the Dutch call ‘voorpret’ and the Germans ‘Vorfreude’, which means ‘joy ahead of time’: feeling great because you’re thinking of something you’re looking forward to, like a holiday for example.
In fact, often the ‘joy ahead of time’ is at least as good as the thing itself because it doesn’t involve real-life shit like flight delays, lost luggage, etc.
Now, knowing that we already engage quite a lot in visualisation, how can we use it to improve our brains and the quality of our lives?
And how can we make sure we’re using visualisation in a way that works?
That’s what today’s podcast is all about.
You can use visualisation to do so many things, including but not limited to:
- Improving a motor skill
- Solidifying a habit;
- Optimising performance;
- Increasing awareness of our current beliefs and drivers;
- Manifesting your goals, dreams, and desires;
- Changing your perspective on something or someone;
- Moving into a new identity.
And the best news: it only takes a little dedicated time and focus every day.
Now if you think this is all ‘woo’ I have to correct you.
This is all science. Neuroscience, to be more specific.
No need to read ‘The Secret’ or ‘Think and Grow Rich’.
You just need to know how your brain works with input - and how to use that to your advante.
So here’s a very short introduction to how and why visualisation works.
First of all, your brain doesn’t know the difference between an imagined experience and an actual experience.
As in: your brain/body system reacts in the same way when you imagine your favourite food, or phobia for example, as when it is actually there.
Insane, right?
You can practice lifting weights or playing the piano or feeling confident during a presentation by visualising it.
So that’s how visualisation works when you want to improve your performance or skill - this is also why so many athletes and performers use it.
But there’s also science behind the manifesting.
Our brain has something called a Reticular Activating System (RAS for short): a network of neurons located in the brain stem that filters all the information that your brain picks up.
And it’s a good thing you have it, otherwise, you would already be completely insane from information overload.
Imagine you’re in a restaurant.
There’s lots of smells, sounds, things to see, feel, taste, etc.
If you would take in EVERYTHING that your senses picked up, it would fry your brain.
So instead, if filters out for you what it deems important.
Probably the people you’re with, the person serving you, the food and drinks on the table.
But when someone says your name, maybe even whispers it, at the other end of the restaurant (‘hey, isn’t that Coach Kramer?’) your ears immediately prick up and you consciously HEAR IT.
This is the RAS at work - it deems anything connected to you important enough to prioritise, so this specific sound is prioritised.
The great thing is: you can instruct your RAS what to look for by using visualisation.
If you spend a significant amount of time visualisation your goals, your RAS will start looking for things related to them and notify you of them when they appear.
This could be anything: an article with exactly the information you need, a new connection that can help you move towards your goal, something in the back of your closet that is exactly what you need, etc.
Without telling your RAS what you’re looking for, you won’t find it.
Another way of looking at this is that your priming your brain for serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
Again: your brain is incredibly cool - and you can use visualisation to make even better use of it.
So how does this work in practice?
Should you immediately empty out your schedule and replace all your to do’s by ‘to visualise’?
Not exactly.
But you do want to carve out 10-20 minutes each day for visualisation practice.
It’s a bit like meditation - the scientific proof that it is insanely helpful is so strong that pretty much anyone with a smart mind should at least give it a try.
So, it’s smart to visualise - but how do you visualise in a smart way?
Here’s how to get the best results.
- Make sure your mind and body are alert but relaxed - you can do this by starting off with a short meditation and body scan for example.
- When you start to visualise, make it as vivid and specific as possible. Use all your senses: what do you see, hear, smell, sense, taste? What are you wearing? What do you see when you look around you? Really INHABIT the thing or situation you’re visualising.
- Our brain makes things more important if we attach emotional value to them. So make sure to create emotions throughout your visualisations - whether it’s calm, relaxation, or things like excitement, focus, thrill, or moving through a whole range of those when appropriate.
- If you’re visualising a goal, don’t just visualise the end result: also visualise yourself taking all the required steps towards it. This will set you up to take action rather than stay passive.
My goal for this year is to finish writing my book - and this is how I’m using visualisation to help me:
- I visualise myself holding the published book and feeling incredibly proud and contented and thrilled
- I visualise thousands of people buying the book and being helped by it
- I visualise myself sitting down and doing the actual writing and editing; actually enjoying it, having clarity and focus and lots of great ideas
- I visualise finding the perfect editor and designer, collaborating with them in a fun and inspiring and fruitful way, and co-creating a beautiful end result
- I visualise myself knowing the book is DONE and being ready to let it go into the world
What I’m covering using these visualisations, in addition to priming my RAS to help me achieve success with my book, is the following:
- I generated lots of motivation
- I am building the belief that I can actually finish and publish a book
- I am creating a habit of writing and editing and actually loving it
- I am setting the expectation that I will know exactly what to write and have great ideas
- I am setting myself up for a successful collaboration with the people I need help from to create the book
- I am priming myself to let go of my perfectionism
And all this in only 10-15 minutes a day, that’s not bad, right?
I’m guessing that after learning all this you now can’t wait to use visualisation to help you with all sorts of things.
So where should you start?
Start small.
If you’ve recently done the Wheel of Life workshop (if not, I’ll leave a link in the show notes for you to find it), you’ll know in which areas of your life you want to make changes.
Pick ONE of those - not more. For now, anyhow.
Think how you can use visualisation to support the change you desire in that area, set aside 10 minutes in the morning and 10 in the evening and get to it.
Do it every single day.
And be patient.
This stuff takes time - don’t start mailing me if you haven’t seen any improvement after 7 days.
Give it at least 30.
But if you do that, I can pretty much guarantee that you will blow your own mind.
So do it right now.
Decide to get better at using visualisation to achieve the changes in your life you desire - and pick ONE thing to practice with.
Set your alarm.
And get to it.
Oh, and because you’re a human with a smart mind…remember the genie that grants wishes?
You probalby thought, just like me, about asking for an infinite amount of wishes as one of your wishes.
Meta-wishing, right?
Well, you can do the same with visualisation.
You can meta-visualise to up your game.
Simply visualise yourself sitting down for your first visulastion practice right now. And then the second. And then doing it every morning and evening. And loving it. And getting great results.
That’s it.
That’s how to make amazing use of your smart mind.
Have a great week!
Else a.k.a. Coach Kramer
Ready to start using more than 10% of your amazing smart mind? Then let’s play! DM me on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook to learn how you can work with me, or email me via podcast@elsekramer.com.
Thank you for listening to the Managing the Smart Mind Podcast, I love that at
the time of recording this there are smart humans listening in 87 countries! I really appreciate you - do send me any questions or requests for topics you have. And if you enjoy the podcast I’d love for you to give it a five-star review so other smart humans can find it - thank you!
