Sports Imagery Example
Guided mental imagery is defined as a conscious, purposeful, and specific scene you create in your mind to increase the likelihood of a repeat performance in the physical realm.
For guided imagery to be maximally impactful, you should engage all the senses: olfactory (smelling), gustatory (tasting), auditory (hearing), visual (seeing), kinesthetic (feeling of movement), and tactile (feeling of pressure against the skin).
Here’s a guided imagery example for a swimmer attempting to qualify for the 100-meter freestyle at Olympic Trials. For this swimmer to create a vivid experience, the following ingredients will profoundly stimulate the senses:
- Smelling chlorine in the air.
- Tasting the sweetness of their energy drink.
- Seeing the stands, pool, arena, starting blocks, lighting, backstroke flags, etc.
- Feeling their suit and goggles against their body.
- Sensing the air and water temperatures.
- Hearing the sounds of the crowd, the starting signal, and the rushing of water.
- Performing their pre-race routine.
- Diving into the pool, feeling their body moving through the water, feeling confident, driving their kick, and turning over their hands fast.
- Seeing themselves finishing their race strong, seeing their final time, and realizing they achieved a personal best.
- Seeing their teammates and coach cheering loudly.
- Feeling excited, exhilarated, and proud.
You won’t always have time to rehearse an entire athletic event mentally. However, you can still benefit from shorter imagery sessions according to your needs.
Guided mental imagery can help improve performance or future responses in countless abbreviated scenarios:
- Powering up a 1-max rep in weight training
- Sinking a 10-foot putt in golf
- Cycling powerfully up a half-mile hill (and, yes, without smoking)
- Finishing strong during the last minutes of an intense exercise class
- Making a game-winning save in a soccer match
- Resisting the urge to eat late-night snacks