Can Visualization or Imagery techniques of Sport Psychology applied to other discipline like Business ?
Sports Psychology
Sports psychology is scientific study of sportsmen behavior and experience in sport and how we can improve their performance alongside trainer’s or coach’s physical training.
One important technique used in Sport Psychology is Visualization or Imagery. Visualization enhances efficiency, performance and emotional quotient of Sportsmen during training and performing.
Role of Sport Psychologists
Our brain is in form of two hemispheres called Left and Right Brain.

Left brain is known to perform tasks related to Reasoning, Logic, Analyzing and Temporal planning, While Right brain performs tasks related to Visualization, Organizing, Emotions, Balance, Creativity and Innovation.
We can see here, that Trainers and Coaches focus primarily on Left brain performance by reducing reaction time, strengthening Stimuli-Response relation, game plans, strategy, speed and agility. Right brain activities remain ignored by Trainers.
This void is filled by Sporty Psychologists. At individual level Sport psychologists enhances skills based on Right brain activities like Visualization, Imagination and Emotional control. At group level, Sport psychologists examines psychological factors responsible for group performances by confidence building, resolving conflicts etc.
What is Visualization ?
As William Arthur Ward said
“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it.”
Visualization or Imagery is cognitive process in which one uses power of visualization or imagination to create an experience similar to physical event.

So, during Visualization sportsmen focuses on:
1. Practice performance in mind. Prepare himself for difficult shots beforehand in mind by recalling and reinforcing the performance multiple time a day. This way, they build neural path for certain Stimuli-Response strong.
2. Correct errors committed previously by recalling mistake multiple times and replaying correct performance in mind.
3. Put oneself under various game situation and visualize responding with winning strategy fast in those situations. This way, sportsmen prepares himself for the final game in mind.
For Visualization sportsmen don’t need a playground and sports gear. Hence, it can be done without tiring the body further and helps in focusing the mind Visualization also helps in evaluating oneself and introspection at deeper level.
How Visualization helpful in other Psychological stream ?
Visualization can be divided into two categories depending on it’s goal.
Visualization for Physiological benefit.
It is found that mental imagery or visualization can be helpful for physiological benefit and can boost immunity. A complete stream called Psycho-neuro-immunology is dedicated to study of relationship between mental process(Visualization that one is getting healthy and feeling good) and immunity system of body.
Visualization for Psychological or Mental experience.
As Visualization is healthy way to evaluate and reassess one’s position , weakness, strength, reinforcement of right steps and discouragement of wrong steps with punishment. Also, as it involves experience, behavior and mental activities, hence Visualization becomes obvious to have usage spreading across different disciplines and fields.
How Visualization can be helpful in Business performance ?
Economic Development, Business development and Entrepreneurship are relatively new stream in Allied Psychology. it started with American Psychologist David McClelland where he reasoned in his books “Achieving Society(1961)” and “Motivating Economic Achievement (1965)” that a positive relationship exist between Need for Achievement among various societies and Business development in those society.
Here, McClelland laid emphasis on a society who aspires and visualizes success and prosperity achieve it.
Also, the Metaphysics writer “Rhonda Byrne” of book “The Secret” explains the power of Visualization for success in all aspects of life especially in business and economic gains. He presents the idea of Vision board where you can clip and pin your goals in your work desk or study table and visualize on daily basis you achieving those goals. Be it hitting million dollars sales, expanding business to different counties or even buying your dream car/home.
Visualization has this power.
In business specifically we can use Visualization:

1. Visualize in mind the success in business. Visualization programs the sub-conscious mind as a self-guiding missile which when fired starts moving toward programmed target. Like self-guided missile which realigns itself time to time to hit precisely the target, in the same way our sub-conscious mind realigns our mental activity, behavior and motivations to keep it aligned toward achieving success in business.
We should be extra cautious that while Visualization focus only on positive side of spectrum and not go toward imagining fear, failure, rejection and negative emotions. It tells subconscious mind that efforts are futile as we are anyway going to fail. Thereby reinforces our behaviour to put lesser efforts.
Hence, Visualization should be in positve emotion mood for positive results.
2. Visualization should involve correcting past error and emphasizing on their remedy or solutions. For e.g. if last week meeting ended without conclusion because team member John couldn’t control his frustration on Lisa for lower efficiency and you as a manager of team
couldn’t control the situation. Visualize in mind that what would you do if something similar or same situation happens again. Prepare yourself with ethical and moral actions beforehand. Whether you would help Lisa to improve efficiency, consult John for his behavior or make sure John and Lisa don’t confront each other. Visualize each course of action and their outcomes and analyze for what steps you would take.
3. Visualization different unseen situations also enriches our experiences without situations not actually arising in real world.
Hence, Visualization of different situation which never happened provides you an opportunity to reassess yourself and take better business decision which will be beneficial for you Organization.
We can see throughout this discussion that Visualization is a powerful tool for success and improving efficiency and performance in various streams. Business provides us variety of business cases and situations dealing with real world problems, humans behaviors and Emotional psychology. Hence, Visualization can solve the problem of deficit training and fast response.