High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 74: Imagine Greatness

Episode Date: October 6, 2016

High performers imagine past and future success regularly. They create in their mind first, and then they live it. They imagine coming back from setbacks stronger and imagine dealing with adversity while staying in control of their body and mind. They use imagery to prepare to perform and get in their flow zone. Affirmation this Week: I imagine success. I create success in my mind first, and then I make it happen. I follow the lead of elites and use the most powerful performance weapon I have – my mind.

Welcome to High Performance Mindset with Dr. Sindra Kampoff. Do you want to reach your full potential, live a life of passion, go after your dreams? Each week we bring you strategies and interviews to help you ignite your mindset. Let's bring on Sindra. It is time for High Performance Mindset today with Dr. Sindra Kampoff, PhD, CRE. How are you this morning? I'm doing great. You know, I just spent five days in Phoenix. What were you doing? I saw you there. It know, I just spent five days in Phoenix. What were you doing? I saw you there.

It was great. It was awesome. It's one of my favorite parts of the year. We go there every year for, well, you know, change the locations, but for the Association for Applied Sports Psychology Conference. So it's a bunch of sports psychologists all together. Yeah. And it's amazing because I just get to talk about this for like five days. Right.

Exactly. Yeah. It's great. You can see like five days. Right. Exactly. Yeah. It's great. You can see why I'm fired up right now. Yeah. And so I got there on Wednesday, and like all Wednesday night, this is what I heard. Oh my gosh, Sandra, I love your podcast. I love the radio spots that you put on there.

I love TJ and Lisa. Yeah, funny. And where was this? In Arizona? It was in Arizona. Sweet. I know. That's pretty cool You have a big influence

I had a lot of people Make a lot of compliments About you both So I usually put these Interview spots on my podcast And so that's where People are listening to them Awesome

Well thank you to those folks That's really nice to hear And hello to all of you Listening to the podcast Absolutely The podcasts are amazing So yeah keep it up Today we're talking about

Choose to imagine greatness. Are you starting with a quote today? Because I'm trying to imagine greatness all day until the end of this game tonight. I know. Me too. Okay, so the quote I'm going to start with is, if you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.

Okay. Who said that? I think I've heard that before. William Arthur Ward. Okay. That's not ringing a bell,? I think I've heard that before. William Arthur Ward. Okay. That's not ringing a bell, but I believe I've heard it before. But it's a good quote. Yeah.

And some examples of people who have used imagery before to achieve their success. So that's what we're talking about today is how can you use your mind to imagine what you want in the future. And so here are a few examples. Albert Einstein used imagery to conceptualize his theory of relativity. So he actually visualized how the world looked while he was traveling inside a beam of light. Another example is Adrian Grenier. He's the actor and star of Entourage. He used imagery to prepare for each audition. He said he would ask himself, what kind of performance do I want to give? Like, who do I want to be? And then he would actually go through the mental process of creating the outcome in his mind. And then

Michaela Schifrin, she's an 18-year-old skier. She won the slalom last year at her first Olympics, and people just expected her just to, you know, crash under the pressure. But she used it to actually be able to do very, very well at the Olympics. And she said it felt like she wasn't a rookie there. Those are a few examples of people who've used it. And you can see that it's not just for sports, but in all areas. Absolutely. So what is imagery exactly? I mean, obviously, we daydream a lot. Everybody does. But what is imagery? How do we use it in the proper way? Yeah. So it's more than just daydreaming you know we sometimes just dream about our future but imagery is actually using it systematically

to imagine like something in the past that went well or something in the future you can also use it to kind of be able to rebound from any setbacks so where you imagine rebounding from something that hasn't gone well and you can also also imagine it's like something that's unexpected. So you're prepared for it. So if this is our project for the week, using imagery more, why should we be doing this? How does it help? Well, it's one of the most powerful performance tools. And by performance, I mean not just in sports, but we perform every single day.

So it's one of the most powerful mental skills you can use. One study said that 99% of Olympians use imagery. And what's amazing is your mind doesn't know the difference between something vividly imagined and something real. That's why it's so powerful is if you really vividly imagine something, it's like your mind doesn't know the difference. So it's one of the most powerful things that you can do in terms of using your mind in a way that's really going to help you be successful.

Okay. So then how does that help us here going along? Yeah, you know, what kind of the research in my field shows is that increases your confidence. You feel more calm and controlled. One study I read said that like every minute of imagery is worth seven minutes of practice. Wow. So it just shows you like the power of your mind. And you can use this not just, you

know, in sports, but let's say to improve your ability and confidence when you speak in public, you prepare for a job interview that you want to do really well in. Maybe there's a presentation at work that you just want to crush, you know, so it's really powerful to imagine it before it happens, especially because then you're, you know, you're just more prepared and more confident and more feeling in control. All right. So we've used acronyms already this morning with your CRE. Do you have one? Do you have one for, I like this because you, you work a lot with acronyms and it really,

it's a good mnemonic device. It's easy to remember. Yeah. Okay. So here is the acronym. It's VICE, V-I-C-E. Okay. So this week or today, when you're going to,

because what I'd recommend you do is like spend some time today is like imagining something that you really want to go and do well in the future. And so this is how you should do it. You should try to imagine it vividly. So just try to, you know, paint like a crystal clear image, detailed image, use like colors and senses so that it becomes alive so your mind doesn't know the difference. Cool. All right. So that's V. I is imagine it with the same intensity.

How does it feel in your body? How would it feel just to do awesome at that presentation? So that's I. Do it with the same intensity. C is controlled. So you want to try to imagine the image as best you can, like control it. Because sometimes people imagine making a mistake. So if you do just like imagine rebounding from it okay and ease you want to have the same emotions and energy so you can really feel it in your body and this is the same like excitement

and happiness and satisfaction that you'll get from reaching your goals and here's an example of someone who has used this concept so jack Jack Nicklaus, the legendary golfer, said, I never hit a shot or even in practice without having a very sharp, in-focus picture in my mind. It was like a color movie. So he's talking about how he made it come alive in his mind. It was really crystal clear. And he's not like a lot of us would do imagining the worst-case scenario.

And if he does, he's correcting it and saying, this is exactly how I imagine I want it to be instead of, well, I'd like it to go this way, but I'm probably going to shank it. You know, many of us raise my hand in guilt. Sometimes I catch myself doing that too.

I think our default is to imagine the worst case. And so what we're talking about today, catch it, switch it, and instead imagine the best case and do it in a really detailed way so that it's more likely going to happen in the future for you. How often should we practice this or use it? I would tell you to do it every day. Every day? Every day.

You know, just try to imagine success every single day. If you do it, what I was saying about, you know, imagery, if you do it systematically, so it means like it's planned. You're doing it to improve your success and improve your performance. So you could do it, let's say, before you go to bed or at the beginning of the day, but the key is to turn off anything, right? Like your phone and any distractions. So you can really focus on it and try to recreate it in the best way that you can. But it could be something in the past, in the future, something that you want to do well at. Remember when I interviewed Adam Thielen, a local Minnesota Viking wide receiver who played for the Mavericks,

and we had a great discussion, and he said, you know what, I use imagery regularly, and I know it helps me feel more confident and prepared on the field. So here's the best of the best talking about how they have used imagery. And he's now opening a lot of eyes across the NFL. They're like, who is this kid? Who is this kid? Like, wow.

All right. So congrats to him and it's working for him. So in summary, then, how do we kind of put this all in a nice little nutshell for today? High performers, those who are working to reach their greater potential, they imagine past and future success regularly. So they create it in their mind first and then they make it happen. And they use imagery to prepare for their, you know, how to deal with adversity so they can be ready for anything that comes their way. I like this topic. It's a good one when you're just trying to muscle through.

And on a Monday, what a great topic to dive into. So the affirmation for this week? I imagine success. I create success in my mind first and then I make it happen. I follow the lead of elites and use the most powerful performance tool I have, my mind. Nice.

Alright, well I will be imagining from now until about 7.30 or so tonight. So for the next 12 hours I will be positively imagining the Vikings throttling the New York Giants in Monday Night Football tonight. Me too. I hope so. If we want to get in touch with you, Sindra, or we want to get those podcasts we were talking about and the affirmations on the social media and all of that, how do we

get in touch with you? The podcast is available on iTunes. You just search High Performance Mindset, or you can also go on my website, Dr. Sindra. So D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A. And that's where you can get video blogs, podcasts, any other information that could help you use your mind in a way that's really going to allow you to have more success. All right. And with a new title to add to your business card as well, you were. It's nice to see you re-energized after a week in Arizona and back in studio with us today. And you didn't even have to go to school for years for that one.

We'll just tack it on to the end, right? It came from experience. It's one of those posthumous awards like they give, the degrees that they give out to celebrities when they're back at their alma mater. Thank you guys so much for having me. Thanks for giving me this new title. Something to be proud of right there. So if you need some help, drcindra.com.

Thanks a lot, Cindra. Thank you for listening to High Performance Mindset. If you like today's podcast, make a comment, share it with a friend, and join the conversation on Twitter at Mentally Underscore Strong. For more inspiration and to receive Cindra's free weekly videos, check out drcindra.com.