The sprint or speech inside your head

How mental imagery can transform your performance in sport and business

Imagine standing at the starting line of an important race. Or being just moments away from delivering a pitch that could change your career. Your heart rate rises, breathing becomes more shallow, your stomach tightens and you feel the pressure building. What if you could rehearse that moment in advance — without being there physically? You can — through visualization.

Visualization is the deliberate creation of mental images, sensations, and emotions associated with a future action or situation. Contrary to what many might think, this is not some vague or spiritual practice. It’s used by Olympic athletes, successful entrepreneurs, and teams pursuing major strategic goals. It helped me become a world champion in 4-way formation skydiving. The good news: it’s not an elite technique. Anyone can learn and apply it.

Why visualization works so powerfully

Did you know that our brain makes only a limited distinction between an event that actually happens and one we vividly imagine? When I visualize the movements of a skydive while sitting in the airplane, I activate the same brain regions I use when performing those movements in freefall. This means I can rehearse the jump mentally — without actually leaving the plane.

mental rehearsal before the jump

Visualization provides three major benefits:

1. It strengthens your self-confidence

By seeing yourself succeed again and again, you feed your subconscious with positive expectations. Your brain recognizes the scenario when it occurs, making you less startled and helping you feel more calm and certain in the moment that matters.

2. It sharpens your focus

Visualization helps filter out distractions. You train yourself to concentrate on what truly matters: your movement, posture, message, breathing. As a result, you act with more precision and clarity.

3. It accelerates your learning process

Even mentally repeating something strengthens the neural pathways involved. This makes movements smoother and thought processes more fluid. In this way, visualization becomes a mental fast lane for automating skills.

In sports: training beyond physical limits

In the sports world, this is nothing new: visualization is one of the worst-kept secrets out there. From skydivers to golfers, from runners to martial artists — athletes use mental imagery to rehearse situations that are difficult or intense in real life.

A sprinter may visualize sitting completely relaxed in the starting block, hearing the starting gun, exploding out of the blocks, and finding rhythm in the first five steps. A cyclist imagines embracing the pain on a steep climb while continuing to push through. A goalkeeper mentally rehearses all possible angles of a penalty shot.

When I first jumped over the Palm in Dubai during a competition, I visualized the view from above beforehand. That way, during the actual competition jump, I was less overwhelmed by the scenery. All my attention went to what truly mattered: the performance with my team.

These “mental trainings” help not only technically but also emotionally. Athletes carry an internal script that guides them through stressful moments. And that script can be the difference between winning and losing.

All focus on the jump, not the scenery

In business: clear thinking, stronger action

The business world differs less from elite sports than we often think. Teams deal with goals, deadlines, and pressure. Leaders must think clearly under stressful circumstances. Entrepreneurs must perform during critical moments that matter.

Visualization works just as effectively here. Think of:

• Preparing a pitch: You picture yourself walking confidently onto the stage, delivering your opening line clearly, and connecting with the audience.

• Handling a difficult conversation: You rehearse staying calm, listening carefully, and responding constructively to resistance.

• Achieving strategic goals: Teams visualize what success looks like, making direction and motivation clearer.

By mentally walking through the scenario beforehand, you react less impulsively and more intentionally. You enter the situation with a sense of familiarity — something that significantly reduces stress.

How to start visualizing today

Visualization doesn’t need to be spiritual, vague, or complicated. It’s a skill — and like any skill, your ability to visualize improves with practice.

Try the following:

Create a quiet minute.

Sit down, breathe calmly, and if it helps, close your eyes.

Choose one moment you want to prepare for.

A sports performance, meeting, presentation, or another goal.

Make the image as vivid as possible.

• What do you see?

• What do you hear, smell, or feel?

• How does your body move?

• What emotions arise?

  
  

Focus on a successful outcome. Always end with a positive scenario — it helps your brain strengthen that specific pathway. There is absolutely no benefit in rehearsing a negative outcome. If you seek success, visualize only success.

Repeat daily. Short, frequent sessions are more effective than one long one.

By practicing deliberately in your mind, you improve your performance outside of it

Visualization is not magic — it’s mental training

By practicing deliberately in your mind, you improve your performance outside of it. It makes athletes sharper, entrepreneurs more confident, and teams more focused. Visualization is a tool that’s always available — all you need is your imagination.

It costs nothing but time. Start today: see it, feel it, and experience how your mental images start shaping your reality!