The power of the human mind has been a subject of study for a long time. The remarkable ways in which a certain type of mental conditioning can help an individual or a collective are well documented. But much of what can be accomplished by using the brain remains an enigma. Questions about the best ways to leverage the mind still remain.

Nevertheless, one of the easiest and most effective ways to succeed in all types of scenarios, particularly in challenging ones, is visualization.

Visualization is the exercise of picturing a certain situation as accurately as possible. It partly is based on the principle of attraction and possibility, in that the more familiar a situation is to you, the more likely it is that it will happen again, and the higher the chances are of you succeeding in that situation.

How Michael Phelps Used Visualization to Break Records

In his remarkable book “The Power of Habit,” author Charles Duhigg details how visualization provided Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer of all time, with a significant edge over his competitors. Duhigg explains how Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman, focused on the mental side of training and constantly prompted him to visualize himself performing, thus elevating his capabilities: