Tip # 17: Imagine Your Way to Success.

Which method do you think would better help you deal with a problem that causes you stress? Would it be to 1)analyze the problem, 2)think in detail about how it came about, or 3) imagine the positive outcome emerging from the problem. Brothers Chip and Dan Heath, in their book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, point us to a study that asks just that question. The answer will surprise you.

A group of UCLA students was broken into three groups. One group, the control group, would do what most of us would do: “…think about the problem, learn more about it, think about what you can do, and take steps to deal with it. The second group was asked to “Visualize the beginning of the problem, going over in detail the first incident….Go over the incidents as they occurred step by step. Visualize the actions you took.” They were also to visualize the environment in detail. The third group was to “Picture this problem beginning to resolve….Picture the relief you’ll feel. Visualize the satisfaction you would feel at having dealt with the problem. Picture the confidence you feel in yourself,knowing that you have dealt successfully with the problem.”

Now that you know more about it, which method do you think would be most successful? If you’re like me and most people who would read this blog, you’d probably guess number 3 — imagine the positive outcome emerging from the problem — and you’d be wrong. It turns out that the second group, what they called the event-simulation group, did better than the other groups in almost every way. The difference were seen right away, and after a week, the event-simulation group widened the gap. “They were more likely to have taken specific action to solve their problems. They were more likely to have sought advice and support from others. They were more likely to report that they had learned something and grown.”

It turns out that mental simulation is effective because when we imagine events, real or imagined, in detail, we use the same parts of the brain we would when actually living those events. Our brains are living as if we actually took the action, and that helps in stunning ways. Mental simulation can build skills—even physical skills. People threw darts, played the trombone, and skated better after practicing only mentally. Mental simulation is used to treat phobias by exposing us mentally to the things we fear. Mental simulation helps us better handle our day to day events by helping us anticipate problems and appropriate responses. Research has suggested that mental simulation can prevent relapse into bad habits. In one example, “A man trying to kick a drinking problem will be better off if he mentally rehearses how he will handle Super Bowl Sunday: How should he respond when someone gets up for beers?”

Other research indicates that the most successful simulations focus on the process of reaching a goal rather than on the outcomes or attainment of the goal. If the first option above, thinking about the problem and planning for its resolution, were changed to “imagine in detail the steps involved in your plan for resolving your problem, and imagine your yourself taking those steps and responses to any problems that might arise,” it would be the winner.

The upshot of this for us is that we can accomplish more of anything by creating detailed visualizations of ourselves going through the process of achieving our goals. In other words, mentally taking the steps necessary to earn a new Mercedes is more likely to help us get one than simply focusing repeatedly on having the Mercedes, as suggested in books like The Secret.

The process is easy:

1. Define your desired goal, or outcome, in precise detail. Specifically define success. You should probably write this down.
2. Carefully imagine the steps that would be involved, the obstacles that confront you.
3. Each day, find a quiet spot without distraction and for 10 minutes or so imagine yourself taking those steps and working through those obstacles.
4. Enjoy wealth, success, happiness, and boundless love.

Okay, we may not all achieve number four, but we’ll be more likely to take the appropriate steps to achieve our goals or solve our problems.

Give it a try. I know I will.

Make a great day.