Dr. Jim Taylor Shares How Olympians Use Mental Imagery And You Should Too
Dr. Jim Taylor is an accomplished and well-known name in the sport psychology world, with experience working with elite high-level athletes in various sports and having regular speaking engagements and articles. Dr. Taylor holds a PhD in Psychology and recently shared the following article with Psychology Today on how Olympians use mental imagery, and how you can use this practice as well. You can learn more about Dr. Taylor here, and you can read more and go directly to read more on the Psychology Today site here.
What I really enjoyed about this recent article, aside from the obvious relevance with the timing and excitement of the Olympic winter games in full swing right now, is how Dr. Taylor relates the practice of mental imagery to a Swiss Army Knife in your mental training, as it can provide so many different benefits to your sport. Another very important point made is that the same approach should be made to mental preparation and the practice of imagery as that of physical practice and preparation when planning for your sport or game. For example, if you put as much effort, time, and preparation into your mental imagery that you do to your physically practice, you will see better results. Lastly, anyone at any level can use and benefit from the mental imagery techniques as described here, from youth to high level elite Olympian athletes that represent their respective country.
Olympians Use Mental Imagery; You Should Too
Mental imagery is a powerful tool to maximize athletic performance.
"As I noted in my most recent blog post, Olympians use imagery as a tool to help them prepare themselves mentally to perform their best. In my ninth of 12 vlog segments devoted to athletes and coaches, I describe what mental imagery is (here’s a hint: It’s not just picturing yourself performing in your mind’s eye). I also explain why mental imagery is such a valuable tool (here’s another hint: It triggers your muscle memory just as if you were actually performing in your sport). I call mental imagery the Swiss Army Knife of mental training because it provides so many different benefits to you in your sport efforts:
Get better technically and tactically (you fool your body into thinking that it’s actually performing in your sport,
Gain confidence (successful images and feelings help you believe in yourself),
Adjust your physical intensity (if you get nervous in real competitions, you’ll get nervous in your imagery and can then calm yourself down),
Improve your focus in training and competitions (imagery takes consistent concentration which will helps you focus better in real life),
Prepare for specific competitions (you can imagine yourself performing your best in the days leading up to the competition).
A key point I want to emphasize is that, like any form of sport training, mental imagery will only be beneficial if you use it consistently. This means making a commitment to incorporating imagery into your training/practice efforts and your pre-competitive preparations. Additionally, you should approach your imagery away from your sport the same way you do your physical conditioning. What makes your conditioning program effective is that it’s structured and consistent. I see imagery as “conditioning for the mind,” meaning you should develop an imagery program away from your sport that is also structured and consistent. Such an imagery program involves scheduling and engaging in imagery several times a week (see below for how to do that).
To learn more about how you can use imagery to maximize your sports performances, watch Prime Sport vlog segment #9.
To learn even more about how you can use mental imagery to maximize your performances, you can download my Prime Sport Mental Imagery workbook.
Want to get your mind in the best shape of your life so you can perform your best when it matters most? Take a look at my latest book, Train Your Mind for Athletic Success: Mental Preparation to Achieve Your Sports Goals and at my online courses for athletes."
