How to Improve Skill Through Mental Rehearsal

Mental Rehearsal is a well known technique and is used by thousands of athletes, business people and those who want to improve their lives or skills in someway, all over the world. However, I think that most people probably associate visualization or Mental Rehearsal with "The Law of Attraction" and using it to attract wealth or desires into your life.

Yes, it is true that law of attraction users utilize visualization as one of their many techniques, however, in this hub my aim is to demonstrate and then instruct you how to improve skill in any area by creating mental images in your mind.

How Mental Rehearsal Works

As I mentioned previously, Mental Rehearsal is utilized by athletes all over the world and has probably been used successfully for thousands of years. The reason it has proven to be so successful is because when you imagine yourself performing an action or skill perfectly and in the way that you want, you are in turn, physiologically creating new neural networks in your brain. These networks could be compared to city blocks, intricately connected by roads and streets. It is these new neural networks that enable athletes like golfers, basketball players and runners etc to perform physical feats. In fact, it is widely said that sport is 10% physical and 90% mental and the proof of that is all around us.

Example One

A study carried out at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan by one L. Verdelle Clark found that Mental Rehearsal does indeed have a noticeable effect on the improvement of skills.

The study was carried out to measure the impact of mental rehearsal on basketball free throws. The first group of students practiced physically throwing the ball for 20 days and were scored on both the first and last days. The second group was also scored on the first and last days, however, they did not engage in any practice whatsoever. Interestingly, the third group did not do any physical practice at all and instead practiced throwing the ball only in their mind, making corrections to their next throw whenever they missed.

Results

The first group that had practiced for 20 minutes a day scored a 24% improvement in their skill. The second group showed no improvement, naturally, and the third group amazingly improved by 23% which shows that mental rehearsal does without a doubt improve skill in the area of your choosing.

Example Two

Capablanca was an immensely talented Chess player and experts believed that he might never be beaten, such was his superiority over all competition. He was defeated though in 1927 and by a rather obscure player named Alekhine who was previously given no chance against the champion. After the defeat, the world was in shock at such an upset. It would be like Barcelona FC losing to a 3rd division English premier league football side, it is just inconceivable. When quizzed by a journalist on how he had prepared for the match, Alekhine told him that he had spent 3 months in the country playing chess in his mind and mentally rehearsing the match. Mental Rehearsal won him the match.

It goes to show that should one have the discipline, passion and desire to succeed in a given area of their life, be it business, sport, public speaking or their love life, mentally practicing daily would do the trick. The only obstacle is you, do you want it enough to block out all distractions?

1. Arrange a place and time where you can go without being distracted or disturbed.

2. Get comfortable and either lie down or sit in a comfortable position.

3. Close your eyes and mentally relax by breathing slowly in through your nose and then out through your mouth, on the breath out count to 6 before breathing in again. Block out all distractions and noises and focus only on your breathing.

4. Place your focus on the skill that you wish to improve.

5. Tell yourself over and over that you are confident and you have the skill to perform the task successfully. Gently repeat this for 2-3 minutes.

6. Imagine yourself performing the action as you would like it to be performed. The key is to perform the task as if you were seeing through your eyes, not in 3rd person. If you wish to practice shooting hoops, stand as you would like to stand, feel confident and assured, steady your aim and smoothly let the ball sail out of your hand and watch it as it goes exactly where you want it to.

7. Repeat this mental rehearsal process several times or perhaps you could do 20 minutes a day for 20 days as in the experiment above.

8. Open your eyes, smile and be satisfied in the knowledge that you have successfully rehearsed and practiced your chosen skill. Congratulate yourself because positive reinforcement is also a big part of mental rehearsal.

Enjoy the process and don't allow your daily rehearsal to become a chore. It is much more than that. It can and will improve your skill level in any area you choose to focus on, and all that is required on your part is 5-20 minutes a day and the use of your wonderful imagination! Not much huh. Your amazing brain will do the rest of the work for you!  Good luck and have fun.