Imagine going to your kitchen, picking up a lemon, slicing through it and biting straight into it, juice squeezing out into your mouth.

Can you feel your tongue go tingly?

That’s the power of visualization.

Why does it work? Because the brain can’t tell the difference between reality and imagination.

Researchers have found that the mental practice of a skill can be just as effective as physical practice. How wild is that? You can literally imagine running a race over and over in your mind, and it will help you progress with your running. That’s because the same regions of your brain are being activated.

Athletes can only train for a certain number of hours a day before their body fatigues. So that means two people putting in the same number of hours would have the same shot at winning a race. But then, those who go home and spend another several hours visualizing – their entrance into the water or onto the pitch or into the ring, their action on the starting gun, their last exertion – could have a giant advantage of over their competition (23% according to this study!).

That means that visualization is one of the most powerful tools we have to propel us towards our goals.

David Beckham does it. Steve Jobs did it. Olympic athletes do it. Today I’m starting it!

I have committed to a practice of visualization for each of my impossible goals, with music and my vision board. I’m excited to let you guys know how it goes – stay tuned.

Have you ever done visualization? Let me know in the comments!