Why mental training helps to cope with the task better than practical exercises?
The principle of visualization is actively used by athletes: by imagining themselves during a difficult exercise, they learn to concentrate better. In addition, during visualization, their body tenses up, and this helps to strengthen muscle memory. Psychologists from Vanderbilt University (USA) found that such a strategy can be applied in other areas (for example, when preparing for a driving test). They found that visualization gave even better results than hands-on training. By constantly practicing, we force the brain to memorize a lot of unnecessary elements, so that a “blurring” effect occurs: traces of previous attempts load the memory. Visualization allows you to avoid distractions and focus on improving your technique1.
1. Psychological Science, online publication dated May 11, 2015.