Sometimes it is especially pleasant to dream about what is not available in everyday life. However, what is the use of such fantasies in reality? We tell you whether it is necessary to create positive images in the imagination and how to do it correctly.
An interesting thing is sports psychology. While we, “ordinary” psychologists, teach clients to fight perfectionism and accept their imperfection, colleagues working in elite sports teach them to be more efficient: faster, higher, stronger.
“Well, tell me, what do you do with them?” I asked my colleague with skepticism.
“Visualization helps a lot, you know,” he replied. — The athlete imagines that he will succeed …
Oh god, I thought. Who doesn’t remember Rhonda Byrne’s strange book The Secret? “Imagine every day in full color and detail that you receive money in the mail, and you will start receiving money transfers.”
Fighting the ingrained idea in our clients’ minds that visualizing success will lead to success is not easy. Not to mention the favorite slogan of near-psychological authors: «Thoughts are material.» And so I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned about the study, which convincingly showed that those who often practice visualization, motivation drops.1.
Positive images can indeed be very helpful. They affect the mood more than words
But at the beginning of autumn, I visited the European Congress on Cognitive Therapy and was once again surprised.
Psychologist Simon Blackwell spoke about a series of experiments that confirmed the benefits of visualization for patients with depression. If such a patient for twenty minutes imagines himself successfully doing some business, then it will be much easier for him to cope with it in reality. Moreover, with the regular use of this technique, the level of depression decreases much faster than with conventional psychotherapy.2.
Where is the truth? As always, in the middle. After talking on the sidelines with the speaker, I found out the following. Positive images can indeed be very helpful. This is due to the fact that they have a stronger effect on our mood than words. But there are three important conditions.
First, to work, visualization must be accompanied by action. For example, you need to prepare an important report. You can imagine yourself doing the job with confidence and enjoyment. But after that, you need to start doing it!
Secondly, visualization should be about the process, not the result. Imagine yourself in a state of solving a problem. If you imagine that you have already finished the report, you simply will not want to start it.
And thirdly, it is important to stop in time. Studies show that it is optimal to spend 10-15 minutes on visualization. And then do not forget to return to real life.
1 Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2013, vol. 4, № 6.
2 E. Holmes et al. «Mental imagery in depression: phenomenology, potential mechanisms, and treatment implications», Annual Review Of Clinical Psychology, 2016, № 12.