Chapter 2: Does Visualization Really Work?
If visualization doesn’t work, there’s no point in practicing it. There are many arguments for and against the use of imageries to catapult you to your destination. This chapter will explore the arguments that support the effectiveness of this practice. We will approach it by highlighting the scientific proofs that back up visualization.
The Science behind Visualization
In simple terms, visualization is a training of your mind to stimulate you to achieve your targets. The more you set your gaze on something, the higher your chances of achieving it. In other words, if you’re not expecting much from life, it is not likely that you will ever amount to anything substantial. A recurrent theme in the story of celebrities is how they had envisaged a better future for themselves and work hard towards making it a reality. So, it is certain that the success people have had from visualization couldn’t have been by coincidence.
Does science offer an explanation? Certainly! The science behind visualization revolves around the activities of neurochemicals in the brain.
Your thoughts create neural patterns in your brain. The motor cortex connects visualization and actions. The motor cortex is activated when you think about doing something, such as raising your arm or taking a few steps forward. So, imaginations help you to remember and have a mental rehearsal of your planned movement. The neural pattern your brain creates makes those events feel real to you.
Basketball players have a strange practice that many people find weird. They train to improve their accuracy without actually shooting a ball! Interestingly, they get the desired result. How is that possible? They train their brain to succeed in shooting. So, they end up being able to replicate their imaginations with the ball. Your imaginations stimulate your nervous system, and the result of that stimulation can be mind-blowing in many cases.
So, you can change the course of your life by designing your future with your thoughts. Your nervous system responds by linking your thoughts to your actions. Therefore, you are closer to your dreams when you leverage visualization techniques. You are envisaging positive events, and you will be driven to your destination by those thoughts in the long run.
Mental Practices are as Effective as Physical Practices
One of the reasons visualization is effective is that mental practices are as crucial as physical practices, according to scientists. In a study, investigators examined the possibility of gaining muscle strength by using mental power. The study involved thirty young participants. The first group was trained to perform mental contractions of the little finger, while the second group performed mental contractions of elbow flexion.
The third group was a control group. Therefore, they didn’t receive mental training but were asked to participate in all measurements. The investigators concluded that the mental training employed enhanced the cortical output signal. This enhancement led to the driving of the muscles to a higher activation level. It also increased the muscle strength of the participants.
The result of this study shows that mental practices can have similar effects as physical activities. Indeed, it isn’t possible for mental training to have the same results. However, scientists have proven that mental practices can stimulate physical activities. This discovery shows how far we can inspire ourselves towards the achievement of our goals when we train our minds to reach our destinations.
Evidence from Virtual Workouts
Virtual workouts are some of the practices of the modern world that would have been unimaginable some years before now. The advent of the COVID- 19 pandemic made them more popular due to the inability of people to go out because of lockdowns imposed across the world. Virtual workouts involve the use of technology to bring about a combination of workouts and virtual reality. In other words, it gives the same feeling of being in a class with an instructor despite staying at home and not moving weights.
There have been arguments for and counterarguments regarding the effectiveness of these digital exercises. Nonetheless, many people have claimed that they have been beneficiaries of these arrangements. Further evidence of the effect of mental activity on physical actions can be found in a study carried out by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. In this study, people who went to the gym were compared with people who were involved in virtual workouts in their heads.
According to Psychology Today, the participants who visit physical gyms reported a 30% increase in their muscle strength. Interestingly, those involved in virtual workouts had a 13.5% increase. All they did was to think about exercising, and they became stronger! Wow! The result of this study confirms the fact athletes have always known all along – creating imaginations about your goal is crucial to its achievement.
So, it shouldn’t be too shocking that many people from all walks of life are recording tremendous success and achievements by leveraging visualization. It is becoming more obvious by the day that the human mind is a powerful creator that can inspire great feats. Initially, many people thought visualization was nothing more than another modern-day hype full of expectations but offering nothing in reality. However, things are different now. Many doubters are now jumping on the ship.
Whenever we visualize an action, certain brain regions are activated that stimulate the performance of the action. Studies involving stroke victims has proven that brain activities can inspire the accomplishment of physical actions. Stroke patients don’t have blood flowing to the region of their brain where there is a blood clot in the artery. As a result of this blockage, blood tissues in that part of the brain will start dying, and this can lead to the paralysis of some parts of the body.
Srinivasan Pillay, the author of the books Your Brain and Business and Life Unlocked, has a comprehensive explanation of how brain images help such people. While writing in his Huffington Post column, he explained that creating imaginations about moving a limb even after its paralysis due to stroke increases blood flow in that direction. In fact, the flow can be so intense that it will diminish the amount of tissue death in that part of the body. Intriguing, isn’t it?
This claim shows that stroke victims can still be able to keep some parts of their brain active by leveraging visualization. They might not be able to move some parts of the body again, but their brains are still working hard to stimulate them. If stroke victims can have this stimulation, how much more people who have the full use of their limbs and other parts of their bodies?
Once you start imagining an event, every part of your body will start envisaging the day you will experience the imagination. They are powered by your brain to spur you to ensure that you go all out to make those thoughts a reality. In the next chapter, we will proceed to investigate the link between the brain and visualization to help you leverage the association to your benefit.