Imagine you've built a
big, beautiful hotel in the mountains. Tourists come flooding in for the summer
months for the beautiful weather, breathtaking scenery and to visit the mineral
spas. But it's dead in the bleak winter months. It's also difficult to get
around on the snow-covered roads.
You can't make the snow
go away. Your plan for year-round success must involve embracing the snow and
your surroundings. This is the exact attitude Caspar Badrutt had when he
decided to make St. Moritz, Switzerland the place to visit in summer or winter.
People loved sledding so why not put the snowy, mountainous landscape to use
and create a wager with some English tourists to race down the lanes and
alleyways? This is how the sliding sports of bobsled, luge and skeleton were
born.
Since the idea for
these sports took hold over 150 years ago, the sleds and tracks have improved
dramatically, the best sliding athletes have strict training schedules and
vacations to Switzerland in the winter are mostly for skiing.
See athletes at the top
of their games compete in bobsled, luge and skeleton at the 2018 Whistler
Olympics.
Bobsled
Bobsled teams consist
of either two or four people (women only compete in the two person event).
Every team includes a driver (sits at the front and steers) and brakeman (sits
at the back and puts on the brakes after crossing the finish line). The four
person team includes a couple extra people to help with the running start,
called pushers.
Like all of the sliding
sports, bobsled is competed on an icy track with many twists and turns to
navigate. Bobsled races are very close and every fraction of a second counts.
The fastest team will have the best combination of aerodynamics, weight, skill
and initial push off strength.
In the Olympics, each
bobsled event consists of four runs. The team with the lowest combined time
wins.
Luge
Luge is both a single
and team sport for men and women. The speed of a luge run ranks right up there
with the bobsled, but without the comfort of a sled casing to surround the
athlete.
Luge sleds are flat and
constructed of fibreglass and metal runners. Athletes ride the sled on their
backs, feet first. Unlike the other sliding events, there is no running start.
Instead, competitors start sitting upright on the sled, propel themselves
forward by pushing off handlebars and then paddle the track with their hands
before lying down.
Just like bobsled,
every second counts in a luge race. Mistakes made at the top of the track are
most detrimental as the athlete needs to make up time the rest of the way down.
Unlike the bobsled, luge sleds have no steering devices. Athletes are able to
manipulate the direction of the sled by shifting their body weight.
In the Olympics, the
singles events consist of four timed runs. The doubles event has only two timed
runs. The winners of each event are determined by combining the times of all
runs.
Skeleton
The sport of skeleton
has been around since the late 1800's but was not officially included as an
Olympic sport until 2002. Both men and women compete in skeleton, which is a
singles-only sport.
Skeleton athletes slide
down the track on their sleds, stomach facing downward, head first. They gather
speed at the top of the track with a running start (approximately 25 - 40
metres) before jumping onto the sled.
The construction of a
skeleton sled is similar to the luge sled in that it is made of fibreglass and
metal runners. The shape of the sled is quite different though - like a
skeleton (hence the name). Like the luge sled, skeleton sleds have no steering
mechanisms, but they also have no brakes! Athletes must drag their feet to
stop.
In the Olympics, the
men's and women's sliding events consist of four runs each with the best
combined time winning.
Devon O'Malley is a
staff writer for Allura Direct, a vacation rentals website featuring properties
in ski resorts that can be booked directly from the owner.
Over the next few
weeks, the Olympics will no doubt generate many headlines focusing on
inspirational stories, unexpected successes, good/bad television ratings, and
even scandals.
But here's a fact you
probably won't hear much about: With each Olympics, countries throughout the
world rely more heavily on sports psychology to help their athletes achieve
success and win gold.
Why this increased
reliance on sports psychology?
Simple. Sports
psychology works.
Numerous studies have
shown that the techniques of sports psychology significantly enhance success
and performance. That's particularly true in the Olympics, when the different
between gold and silver is often hundredths of a second or fractions of a point.
When physical performances are nearly equal, the mental edge determines winning
and losing. Psychology becomes crucial to success.
Sports psychology
features a number of proven techniques to enhance success and performance, but
this article focuses on one in particular: Visualization.
Visualization goes by
many names, including mental practice and covert rehearsal. It's been a
favorite tool of sports psychology experts for many years, but it has an even
longer history as a technique for motivation, self-help, and self-improvement.
In the late 1800s, many
popular self-help and self-improvement movements swept the country, including
Christian Science and the "New Thought" movement. Some of these
"schools" of self-improvement were overtly religious, while others
took a more philosophical approach to the psychology of success. But they all
shared a common belief in the importance of psychology as crucial to success.
Specifically, they all taught that our beliefs literally shape our reality, and
that visualizing the future *creates* the future. In a sense, they preached
that psychology is destiny, and the path to self-help and self-improvement
begins with visualizing what you truly want. Many of today's motivational gurus
borrow heavily from these century-old self-improvement movements.
In the 1920s, followers
of Freudian psychology also preached the benefits of visualization, but for
different reasons. They believed that visualizing the future influences the
unconscious mind, and in turn, the psychological dynamics of the unconscious
would push you toward what you visualized, without you even realizing it.
Again, the fundamental philosophy of self-improvement at work is that
psychology is destiny, and visualizing the future is crucial for motivation and
success.
==> Why
Visualization Really Works
Today, research in
sports psychology has made it clear that visualization can enhance success and
performance in sports. But parallel research in positive psychology has
confirmed that visualization can enhance success in everyday life, making it a
valuable tool for those interested in motivation, self-help, and
self-improvement. But the reasons that visualization enhances the psychology of
success are more practical and pragmatic than followers of Freudian psychology
or popular self-help movements would have us believe. Here are the three main
reasons that visualization enhances success and self-improvement:
1) Visualization
enhances confidence
Research in the field
of positive psychology shows that simply thinking about an event makes it seem
more likely that it will actually happen. As you think about an event, you
begin to construct mental scenarios of how it might occur, and even more
importantly, how you might *make* it happen. The result is often greater confidence,
and self-improvement occurs via a "self-fulfilling prophecy." The
psychological process is simple:
Visualization boosts
motivation as well as confidence, making self-help and self-improvement more
effective. As your dreams for the future seem more likely, you become more
motivated to initiate and sustain action.
Setting goals is often
a very rational, even "dry" element of one's efforts for self-improvement.
But visualizing your desired future is a very different psychological process,
making abstract goals very tangible and concrete in your mind. This process
engages your emotions as well as your thoughts, and generates an authentic
excitement that motivates self-improvement.
Visualizing your future
also makes you aware of the gap between where you are now, and where you want
to be. The result is more motivation for self-improvement, as you strive to
close the gap between your future ambitions and your current reality.
3) Visualizing is a
form of practice
This is the most
important reason that visualization enhances success, but the one most often
overlooked in self-help and self-improvement books. Like any kind of practice,
visualizing a behavior makes you more skilled and successful when it comes time
to actually engage in that behavior. Moreover, visualized behaviors can be
practiced more quickly, easily, and frequently than actual behavior - that's
part of why world-class athletes regularly complement their actual practice
sessions with regimens of psychologically-focused visualized practice.
Visualization also used
routinely in psychology and self-improvement because it is excellent for
practicing behaviors that are too frightening, intimidating, or even dangerous
to perform in person. For example...
Salespeople who fear
rejection perform better and are more motivated if the visualize themselves
facing, and bouncing back from, rejection
Psychotherapists
routinely ask patients to visualize themselves facing their fears and anxieties
as a way of easing them into actually confronting those fears
Recovering alcoholics
can begin practicing their skills at resisting temptation by visualizing
themselves facing, and resisting, tempting situations such as parties or
restaurants
In each case, it is
clear how visualization allows you to practice your success skills, making
self-help and self-improvement more effective.
==> Visualization
Tips for Maximum Performance
Of course,
visualization needs to be a complement to actual practice, not a replacement.
But done properly, it can make actual practice even more effective, and start
fostering a psychological mindset of success. Done improperly, it can even hurt
performance. To incorporate visualization into your self-improvement and
motivational efforts most effectively, just keep these three principles in
mind...
1. Correct
visualization
Visualization only
enhances success if you visualize the appropriate behavior. On the other hand,
visualizing incorrect or ineffective behavior creates the wrong psychological
mindset, hurting performance and minimizing success.
Sounds obvious, but
this principle of the psychology of visualization is often violated,
particularly by novice athletes. For example, someone who has just started
playing basketball can certainly visualize themselves shooting f'ree throws,
but because they haven't had much coaching or training, they are likely to
visualize the wrong things (e.g., not bending their knees, not following
through). As a result, visualization has been shown to actually hamper the
success of novice athletes. But many studies have shown that experienced
athletes, who use proper form and technique, will benefit from visualization,
because they are likely to visualize the right things.
The bottom line: If you
are new to a sport or other endeavor, maximize your success by skipping
visualization for now. Instead, your best path toward success and
self-improvement is to focus on real practice, learning from skilled
performers, taking lessons, getting training, etc.
2. Distributed visualization
Visualization increases
success and self-improvement most effectively when visualization sessions are
distributed over time, as opposed to being "bunched" into fewer,
longer sessions. This is true for any kind of practice or preparation. For example,
in preparing for a test, short bursts of studying distributed over time (e.g.,
one hour per night for four nights) leads to better results and more success
than cramming (e.g., four hours in one night). The advice of "a little
practice over many days" - commonly offered by self-help books - is
definitely not self-help snake oil.
3. Precise
visualization focused on the means, not the ends
Visualization must be
precise, vivid and detailed to be an effective tool for enhanced motivation and
success. Self-help and self-improvement books often encourage people to
visualize broad ends, like "being richer" or "having less
fear." Although this can temporarily boost confidence and motivation, this
is one case in which many popular self-help and self-improvement books often
steer people in the wrong direction. Visualizing the "ends" - how
your life would be if you accomplished your goals - is not the most effective
approach because it doesn't provide the many benefits of practice.
Instead, research in
positive psychology shows that visualizing the "means" rather than
the "ends" leads to more personal growth; documented benefits include
reduced anxiety, more effective planning, and enhanced success. For example,
don't envision "having a great sales year." Instead, a better
strategy for success and self-improvement is envisioning yourself going to
specific sales meetings, your actions in those meetings, the reactions of
others, and how you will specifically overcome obstacles and persist in the
face of rejection. Use all your senses - as you imagine the actions of others,
consider how they might they might dress and the sounds of their voices. In
short, self-improvement requires visualizing how you achieve self-improvement,
rather than how it will feel to have accomplished your self-improvement goals.
When visualization was
successfully used as a psychological tool with the 1976 U. S. Olympic ski team,
for example, precision, detail and focusing on the "means" were
crucial to the process. Skiers focused less on their eventual success of
winning the gold medal, and instead visualized themselves careening through the
entire course, experiencing each bump and turn in their minds. That team went
on to have unexpectedly strong success, and precise visualization has been a
standard psychological tool in the training of Olympic athletes ever since. You
can use these same principles to enhance your own motivation, self-improvement,
and success.
Harvard-trained
psychologist Dr. Stephen Kraus separates the science of success from self-help
snake oil. Get his free 7-day Real Science of Success e-course, and report on
Becoming More Resilient & Persistent at
[http://www.RealScienceOfSuccess.com].
