Visualization

If you think you are beaten, your are
If you think you dare not, you won't,
If you like to win, but don't think you can
It's almost a cinch you won't

If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out in the world you find,
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in a state of mind

For many a game is lost
Ere even a play is run,
And many a coward fails
Ere even his work is begun

Think big and your deeds will grow
Think small and you'll fall behind
Think that you can and you will
It's all a state of mind

If you think you are out-classed, your are
You've got to think high to rise
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize

Life battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the fellow who thinks he can

by anonymous

Every great champion has achieved success by first visualizing it. Ask any pro athlete and they will tell you that their success began in their imagination before anything became a reality. It might sound simple but it is true that everything we are or will ever be will start as a thought. The power of thinking and imagining ourselves to a level of success greater than anything we have ever achieved is what leads us to success. When you think big, you will do better than you have ever thought imaginable. When you visualize something, you are essentially trying to travel forward in time to a place where you have achieved a certain task successfully. So how is this applicable to the throws?

• Visualize successful technique as often as you can. This can be done by thinking upon your best technique and playing it over and over again in your mind. Stop relying so much on video cameras and start relying on your ability to mentally play out your technique with your eyes closed. You can take this mental copy with you everywhere you go, whereas you cannot take a video of yourself everywhere you go conveniently.
• Visualize the feeling. The feeling of a successful throw is something that is hard to forget. Thinking back to times when you felt great and a had a great throw. Remembering cues such as the weather, the atmosphere, and the way you felt when you had a great throw in the past can cause your body to chemically adjust while competing because it wants to recreate the wonderful feeling again.
• Visualize winning but also visualize how you would react if you lost. This might seem counterintuitive but I am of the opinion that if you have visualized a calm reaction to an unfortunate event, chances are that you will be able to recover faster than without thinking about it at all. Positivity is good but life has several instances of not giving us what we want and being mentally prepared for this allows us to overcome these obstacles faster.

"You are what you think." Think like a champion and soon you will be. If it doesn't happen physically, it has happened mentally.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! or email me at 0a4w@virginia.edu