We ask each new athlete at West Little Rock CrossFit, “What is your most important goal? What is your number 1 reason for coming to us?” Then we ask them to visualize it in their mind.
COACH: “Ryan, what is the most important thing for you to accomplish with us?”
RYAN: “Drop 30 lbs. I want to get from 210 to 185.”
COACH: “Okay, let’s visualize that to make it more powerful. I’m a Harry Potter fan. Say a wave a magic wand over you, and tomorrow you wake up with your goal met. You weigh 185, but you don’t have a scale. How do you know you’re 185? Whats different about:
- How you look.
- How you feel.
- How you sleep.
How is life overall different for you?
Ryan {visualizing}: I can wear my Large Razorback jersey to games again. Hell, it would probably look big on me. I would have more energy. I don’t sleep well, and I know when I used to workout that I slept WAY better. That would probably help with energy too. I wouldn’t need so much coffee and even energy drinks at work. EVERYONE drinks them. I would feel more like me I know. My wife would see the guy she married. I wouldn’t feel self-conscious this summer when we go see friends in Miami. I know we have some beach days planned…You know, I feel self-conscious every day anyway, and I’m tired of it. I want to feel less self-conscious.
Coach: It’ sounds to me like every one of those things will allow you to be happier. I think you want to be happy, and all of us deserve that…
I wrote down some bullet points on what you just said. I want you to write those out tonight and visualize them or read them every day this week. We are basically lighting a fire for you in the office, it’s small and burning, but to make it into a roaring bonfire, we need to keep adding fuel. I think you’ll probably add some bullet points to this list by the time we meet this Thursday.
Why do we do this?
Visualization:
Anyone can come up with a goal and a plan. But the most powerful organ you have in your body can be left un-tapped without asking it to help you. Your brain can help. Let it.
An active imagination has no problem imagining the outcomes of a plan. The outcome that you imagine and visualize repeatedly will not magically make it a reality. BUT- you will be more likely to shore it up and create an environment where it can take place.
Visualization gives you a clear “I want this, so that means I’m going to do this”.
When it comes to the “I want this, so that means I’m going to do this”. we can help.
