Issue 73: Taking Advantage Of Your Brain
THE LEAP
BY QUANTUM ORANGE
GROW, EXPAND & EVOLVE
ISSUE 73 | TAKING ADVANTAGE OF YOUR BRAIN
Each week The (Quantum) Leap summarises a key aspect of success into what you need to Think, Feel and Do to create a personal shift.
To bring anything into your life, imagine it is already there.
~ Richard Bach
THINK
Mental rehearsal is a skill used by athletes and performers around the globe. They visualise winning the match hours before the event, or imagine a note perfect concert weeks ahead of the actual performance.
But to use mental rehearsal just for sport or performance is to underestimate one of the most powerful skills you can ever master. When you use pictures and feelings in your head to detail something you desire, then at least half of your available brain capacity - your subconscious - is working to help you achieve your goal.
Mental rehearsal will not be a new concept to you. If you’ve ever sat daydreaming about how you’ll spend your weekend, or your lotto winnings, or imagined how it will feel when your soccer team wins the final, you have been using your mental powers to organise your life. The limitation is that you’re only using the conscious mind.
The true power of mental rehearsal is that the subconscious can’t tell the difference between what you actually do and what you imagine vividly. That’s why dreams can be so scary - your subconscious thinks it’s all really happening - everything is not okay, until you wake up.
Between the two hemispheres of the brain lies a communication network called the corpus collosum. This part of the mind/body mechanism is unique in that it functions by transferring information from one hemisphere to the other. Because it receives information from the hemispheres and not the senses directly, it makes no inferences. It truly cannot tell the difference between what we do and what we imagine.
And that makes it a very powerful ally.
There are many studies that have proven how effective mental rehearsal is.
One study looked at the free throw scores of three groups of high school basketballers - the first group did no practise, the second practised shooting free throws for one hour a day, and the third group did no physical practise, but visualised shooting baskets successfully for one hour a day. At the end of a month, group one’s average score dropped from 39% to 37%, group two’s average score jumped from 39% to 41%, and group three’s average score improved from 39% to 42.5%.
In another, scientists took two groups of people and taught them to play a sequence of notes on a keyboard. One group sat in front of the keyboard for two hours a day and imagined playing the sequence, while the other group actually played it. Over the course of five days, their brain scans were the same, and the group that only imagined playing was able to play almost as well physically as the other group.
In truth, we all practise mentally. We memorise facts and instructions, prepare for presentations and tests, and imagine how certain situations will turn out.
But we don’t do it systematically, as powerfully as we can (by involving the subconscious) over a long period of time. If we did, the effect would be profound.
FEEL
Mental rehearsal is a great way to prepare for almost any task. It helps you focus, boosts both confidence and performance, improves resilience and can even make you feel less nervous about what you need to do.
One of the keys is to make sure you’re using the language of the subconscious - pictures, feelings, even senses.
Just seeing yourself holding a trophy after a game or shaking hands after a speech is not enough.
When you visualise your goal, infuse it with as much emotion and sensory detail as you can. If it’s the post soccer game trophy….
Detail feeling the elation, joy, camaraderie and sense of victory. Imagine the feel of your tired muscles burning, the smell of the grass, the sun on your skin, even the damp uniform of the team member you embrace. Feel your heart pounding.
Capture the entire scene in vivid detail. Feel the emotions.
The more positively emotionally driven you can make your mental rehearsal, the more effective it will be.
DO
The Mental rehearsal is easy to do and the benefits are immense. Even a few minutes’ worth of mental rehearsal can improve skills and prepare you for potentially difficult or challenging situations.
Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way:
- Make some time to engage in mental rehearsal. It doesn’t matter if it’s a few minutes or an hour. Everyone is different, and finding the perfect amount of time is a personal matter. But it’s worth noting that, just like physical practice, more is often better, even if it comes in short bursts.
- Find a quiet place. A little peace and quiet makes it much easier to focus on the task for which you’re trying to prepare.
- Focus. Mental rehearsal is only effective when you devote all of your attention to it. Relax and ignore everything else, focusing only on preparing for what needs to be done.
- Use positive self-talk. Assure yourself that you are confident and capable, and you will be successful.
- Imagine engaging in the activity. That’s why it’s called ‘mental rehearsal’ – you have to imagine yourself actually doing things. Whether it’s giving a speech or scoring a try, it only works if you actually see yourself performing at the peak of your ability and being successful. Make sure you include emotions, sounds, sights and smells. The more positively emotionally driven you can make your rehearsal, the more effective it will be.
Read. Watch. Listen.
