Imagine eating a salt and vinegar chip or a sour candy, the sound of nails on a chalkboard, jumping into a freezing lake, someone you love, someone you hate, breaking a bone, riding on a rollercoaster, a sunny day on a beach, or performing in front of a crowd of people. Simply thinking of sights, sounds, smells, tactile sensations, or emotional events can trigger a whole-body response in the same way as the real thing. Brain scans demonstrate that many of the same neurons and regions of the brain become activated whether we’re imagining an event or actually living it.¹ The brain does not know the difference between thinking and doing; both activate similar patterns of neurons.²  

When tuning networks to mastery with deliberate practice, we automatically assume we are talking about physical practice. However, many studies show that observing others and visualizing an activity are also practical approaches to tuning a skill to mastery.³ A survey of US Olympians shows that 90 percent of athletes and 94 percent of coaches use mental imagery as part of their training regimen for competition.⁴ 

 Most of us unknowingly use the power of imagery all day long, replaying past and future scenarios in our minds. Mental training involves deliberately using the power of thought to visualize yourself physically performing a skill, activating the relevant neurons, refining the pattern, and improving your skill level. 

In the book Neurologic, Eliezer Sternberg discusses a study by Dr. Gaung Yue of the Cleveland Clinic, in which participants exercised their elbows and pinkies. They split participants into three practice groups: the physical,  the mental, and the control, which did nothing. The first two groups spent fifteen minutes daily, five days a week, flexing their pinky and elbow over twelve weeks. The group that physically practiced saw a 50 percent improvement in muscle strength. Surprisingly, the mental group also saw gains in muscle strength, with an increase of 13.5 percent in their elbow and 35 percent in their pinky.⁵ The control group saw no improvements, as expected. 

Dr. Yue concluded that mental practice of a motor event triggers neurons to fire in a similar fashion as when we physically do it, resulting in muscle growth.⁶ The mental practice group saw less improvement than the physical one, but it still proves that mental practice has an effect. Visualizing ourselves performing a skill activates neurons in that pattern, tunes it more, and increases our skill level. 

The book “The Leading Brain” discusses a study led by Dr. Denis O’Keefe, who had a group of participants physically exercise with weights and another group that simply visualized the exercise. The physical group improved muscle strength by 30 percent, and the mental group saw a 22 percent increase.⁷ We fire and tune the pattern by vividly picturing ourselves performing an activity. We’re not saying that we can get by on mental practice alone or that it’s as effective as physical practice. Mental imagery is a valuable tool that complements physical training and should accompany anyone on a journey toward mastery.⁸

Visualizing ourselves performing a skill in the virtual arena of our mind is a mental practice that the most elite athletes use to tune their patterns and achieve mastery. All it takes is vividly picturing ourselves performing in real-time as though it is happening.⁹ Imagining the sights, sounds, smells, sensations, and feelings as we successfully execute the skill. ¹⁰  The more realistic we can make the scene in our mind, the greater the tuning will be for that skill.¹¹ It is a mental arena where we can safely make and learn from mistakes. Through this mental rehearsal, we can refine the pattern and improve, all in the comfort of our minds. 

A basketball player may visualize the last seconds of a game, where their team is down by one point, and they have the ball in their hands. They picture the basketball court, with players on the floor and fans eagerly watching from the stands. They feel their firm grip on the ball as they steadily dribble up and down, waiting for the right opportunity to shoot. They visualize themselves stepping toward a defender, pushing off, and shooting the perfect fadeaway shot. They feel the ball leave their fingers and watch as it flies toward the basket with the buzzer sounding mid-air. The ball hits the rim and spins around until it finally falls in. At that moment, everyone celebrates as they make the winning shot.  

The more we see ourselves successfully navigating these high-pressure scenarios, the more prepared we will be during the event. If we have mentally rehearsed a scenario a hundred times, we will be ready when we encounter the real thing. Mental rehearsal allows us to tune patterns for experiences we have not encountered. Michael Jordan used to say that he took more shots in his mind than ever on the court.¹² 

There is nothing to lose with mental practice, as it is all in the comfort of our minds. We can experience improvement for a skill with as little as two to three 15-minute weekly sessions.¹³ It may be difficult at first, but like anything, the more we practice, the better we’ll become. Also, visualizing yourself performing a skill is difficult if you have limited experience in that domain. If we have never played basketball, creating a vivid mental picture will be challenging, but if we played for thousands of hours, we can produce a crystal clear mental image in our mind.¹⁴

We are gradually opening up to the idea that physical and mental experiences fire similar patterns and are not too different in the quantum world of our neural network. We will continue to explore the thoughts and responses generated by our network and explain ways to maximize them. It is essential to build an awareness around how it works, so we can take control and wire our potential. We can use the power of thought to master any skill, behavior, habit, or action. We can achieve anything we want with consistent mental effort and physical practice. The brain only knows how to wire what we think and do the most; we just have to get on the path and not get off. 

Endnotes

1. Wolynn, Mark. P. 50. It Didn’t Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle. Penguin Life, 2016.
2. Afremow, James A.. P.47. The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive. Rodale Books, 2015.
3. Sternberg, Eliezer.P. 97. NeuroLogic: The Brain’s Hidden Rationale Behind Our Irrational Behavior. Vintage, 2016.
4. Shapiro, Francine. P.268. Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy. Rodale Books, 2013.
5. Sternberg, Eliezer. P.75. NeuroLogic
6. Sternberg, Eliezer.P.75. NeuroLogic
7. Fabritius, Friederike, and Hans W. Hagemann. P.180. The Leading Brain: Neuroscience Hacks to Work Smarter, Better, Happier. TarcherPerigee, 2017.
8. Sternberg, Eliezer. P.78. NeuroLogic
9. Brown, Jeff, and Mark Fenske.P.98. The Winner’s Brain: 8 Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success. Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2010.
10. Afremow, James A.. P.48. The Champion’s Mind
11. Sternberg, Eliezer.P.76. NeuroLogic
12. Bargh Ph.D., John. P.248.Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do. Atria Books, 2017.
13. Afremow, James A. P.50 The Champion’s Mind
14. Sternberg, Eliezer. P.73. NeuroLogic