The difference between “Humph, I can win this” and “Poof, I’ll easily win this”

“How visualisation works: imagining what winning looks and feels like, and then going for it. It may sound absurdly simple, but it’s extraordinary just what a powerful tool it can be”
Alastair Campbell, Winners and How They Succeed.

He’s absolutely bang-on.

That’s what visualization does to people. Cristiano Ronaldo does his signature Super-Saiyyan celebration the same way in the Real Madrid practice ground as he does at the Bernabeu. Michael Phelps always thinks of all possible scenarios when he prepares for a competition — all the good as well as all the wrong things that can happen. And that doesn’t limit itself to sportsmen — Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone had a concrete idea of what Twitter could actually turn out to be before it actually became the multi-million dollar enterprise that it is. Research by certain universities shows us that when you visualize a certain target, your brain tends not to distinguish between the completion of the target and its visualization, hence secretes the same neural impulses, thereby making it easier to “do” all the things invariably to make the goal a reality. When I was talking about this in detail over a Devil’s Own, the person at the other end of the table, invariably bored to death, exclaimed, “But if I think about winning too much, won’t it serve as a disappointment if I don’t end up winning?” She was right. There is a fine, fine difference between visualization and constant visualization. And that’s what I’m going to bore you with now.

The trick lies in the fine points. Let’s imagine this. A is a person attempting to achieve a target B, but there are two contrasting situations. Situation I. A thinks he might be able to actually accomplish B — he doesn’t achieve negativity and clump down. Rather, he works hard to achieve the goal and thinks about all possible hindrances that can happen during the completion of the target, and figures out ways to negate them. Situation II. A starts off with the same principle, but thinks too much. He visualizes himself winning, but does that far too often, so much so that he abandons all preparation for B in the sure situation that he’ll “ace” it no matter what. Result: I wins, II does not. And that is the whole point. Wayne Rooney is a very “good” example of constant visualization. During Manchester United practice sessions at Carrington in 2006–07, assistant manager Carlos Queiroz commented the difference in the approaches of Ronaldo and him. He paraphrased, that while Ronaldo always wanted to improve, Rooney always thought he’d score in a match — and ended up not even practicing. That cemented the difference, with Ronaldo ascending up to be one of the best players in the world while Rooney is still an incredible player, but definitely not among the world’s top 2–3, which he was originally touted to be.

The difference between the two approaches, lies in the extremity, or lack of it. The first approach of “humph, I can win this” is an approach of confidence — you know you have the talent to, but you also know that you’ve to work hard, and you imagine yourself making the target a reality. The second approach borders on extremism — “poof, I’ll easily win this” means basically that you anyway know you’re going to win so you’ll not prepare. That’s definitely not the approach a winner must take. Champions all around the globe in whatsoever field they’re involved in, say the same thing. Confidence wins, overconfidence does not. Be it starting a company or playing in the Olympic Games, visualizing success can go a long way in making the dream, a reality. Hence, from Kevin Systrom to Nadia Comaneci, they’ve always maintained that having a constant vision for the goal has a galvanizing effect on the brain, and helps in keeping all the bodily functions in top form. However, the innumerable number of startups that just “started” and couldn’t continue, or the Brazil team after the 7–1 demolition by Germany in the World Cup, are two of many examples that show that overconfidence, or thinking above the roof, aren’t at all good strategies.

Although, variety is the spice. Let’s enjoy the moderations and extremities while they still exist, shall we?