See It, Feel It, Believe It, Produce It

There are many lessons playing sports have taught me. From a very early stage in my life, I was introduced to visualization. It all began in my karate dojo when I was in ninth grade. At the beginning and end of class, we would meditate for a minute or two, and sometimes even longer. During that time, our sensei (instructor) taught us to picture ourselves completing each technique with finesse and power. It helped cultivate this visual imagery in our minds, which allowed us to better perform our techniques. Visualization helped with producing each motion to its very best. It also allowed for us to gain a great deal of focus and discipline. I believe it was in my karate dojo that the seed of visualization was planted into my life.

I continued to master this technique throughout different venues in my life. I used it when I played volleyball. I would picture myself hitting a certain way, cheering in a certain way, and even performing the way I wanted to. I could see how visualization manifested itself in my game. I even used it while I was getting recruited by universities. I would picture myself getting an email, a phone call and even get approached by a coach. It helped me create images in my mind that gave me the confidence in my dreams and my goals. The images I produced in my mind kept on manifesting themselves in my life. In high school, I achieved so many of my goals through hard work and visualization. I even got to a point I could do it with my eyes open, right before I played or even right before a serve crossed over the net. The benefits of visualization were transforming me into the best athlete I could be on and off the court. I also benefited from this technique, in the classroom, in my social and personal life. I used it in my relationships, friendships and networking.

While I saw the benefits of my positive thoughts, I also encountered at times how visualization could be a tool that brought negative outcomes and failure in my life. When the images in my mind were manifesting themselves from my negative thoughts, the outcomes always produced themselves that way. Visualization can have a positive or negative affect on your life. You can learn to train your mind to control your thoughts and not allow negativity to infiltrate the images you are producing in your mind. As Henry Ford once said "Whether you think you can or can't, you're right." There is a lot of truth in that saying because only one person has the ability to tell you whether or not you can or can't do something. And that person is you. Even if it's impossible, you have all the odds against you or time is not in your favour, mastering visualization can bring you to new heights in your life whether it be personal, your career, your relationships, your social life and even you health.

Visualization can be practiced every day. You don't have to spend hours every day trying to make it work for you. You can do it right before you go to bed. Picture something you want, see yourself having it and enjoy it. Seeing it, feeling the emotions of getting what you want and believing in it will help you arrive to the outcomes, success and accomplishments you desire.