Athletes often use "guided imagery" to enhance their performance. Jack Nicklaus describes how he does it:
"I never hit a shot even in practice without having a sharp in-focus picture of it in my head. First, I 'see' the ball where I want it to finish, nice and white, sitting up and high on the bright green grass. Then the scene quickly changes, and I 'see' the ball going there: its path, trajectory, and shape, even its behavior on landing. Then there's sort of a fade-out, and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images into reality. Only at the end of this short private Hollywood spectacular do I select a club and step up to the ball."
This approach is useful in the business world also. Industrial / Organizational researchers call it a "visioning process." The idea is to imagine yourself in the future achieving some goal or result that is difficult to do now. Then, like Mr. Nicklaus, work your way back in your imagination to where you stand today. What will it feel like, look like, what will it take to get there, who can help you, etc. The more you work at this visualization, the better you get at it.
Having such personal visions can be powerful. Just like when you're driving, it keeps your eyes looking to where you want to go. You don't tend to get sidetracked, and setbacks don't seem to matter as much. Your chances of achieving the result also go way up.
If this works so profitably at the personal level, imagine what a shared vision can do for a team or a larger organization.
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