Breaking boundaries, achieving success
Added Thursday 27.08.2009
Most people know that a big part of being successful is having the right attitude or mindset. Whether it be in business or sport having a clear focus on what you want can make all the difference. It's one thing to know what we need to be successful, we can often spot these traits in successful people, but how do we go about getting the right mindset for ourselves? Well, funny enough there are techniques and methods to do this.
You will find a lot of successful business people and even athletes use techniques like visualisation. You may have heard how Tiger Woods visualises his golf stroke to make the perfect swing every time. You may have watched 'The Secret' explain how to attract success through visualising things like driving your dream car or seeing cheques appealing in the mail. There is a lot of market hype out there and lot of people trying to make a quick buck, but the truth is that visualisation is a very powerful tool and has been used to achieve success, improve health and even overcome phobias. The important thing is finding a method that works for you.
You might ask how can visualisation make me better at what I do? Well, visualisation is a mind technique that is like injecting caffeine into the brain without actually taking the caffeine. You have to remember that in the right state of mind we can achieve extraordinary things. How many people have heard the story or a similar story of a desperate mother lifting the weight of a car to save her child or baby? A true story that really impressed me of the power of the mind was of a champion weightlifter and his coach. With the weightlifters having several rounds or attempts to lift as heavier weight as possible one coach decide that he would 'trick' his weightlifter by telling him that the weight he was about to lift was lighter than it actually was. The weightlifter went onto lift the weight successfully and even lifting more than he even did because he believe it weighed the same as he normally lifted. The mind can sometimes be a restriction and we can limit ourselves by perceived boundaries, but it can also push us to new heights, we just need to know how to use it.
One visualisation technique I have come across is to visualise a normal task repeated times, each time in our minds seeing ourselves going further and further. Upon repeating the same task we can often find ourselves going further than we normally would. It is important to have a clear mind and free from scattered thoughts. Meditation and breathing can help reduce scattered thoughts - try to calm yourself and listen until you can hear the beat of your heart. There are many variations of visualisation techniques, try searching for some and then trying them yourself. Rather than mentally visualising you can draw pictures, write down and describe an ideal outcome, or even create a movie on your computer of you achieving your goals. Different things work for different people. These techniques can help you to focus your mind and body. If you play basketball try visualising ten times throwing a ball into a basket, then actually throw the ball, was it more accurate? There is a science behind this. It is said that doing this can stimulate the body and will actually help prepare the body for the task at hand.
I hope this has given you some food for thought, I would even love to hear from people already doing this. I hope to have some more techniques you can try in our Knowledge Centre soon.
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