Something happened to me a month or so ago that drove home again just how powerful the imagination is.

Background: I am not visually oriented. For instance, I can objectively sit and watch a movie. It looks like…a movie. On the other hand, when I read, I am there. With the characters. I feel, hear, smell, see, and think what they think. A quirk of my mind, maybe, but I have that ability.

So I was reading a book where one of the characters was going underground into an old mine for some reason or another. As she crawled, the passage ceiling progressively got lower and lower, until the only way she could move was to stretch her arms above her head, grab with her hands and pull while she used her toes to push.

I’m thinking to myself as I was reading, “There’s no way I’d ever make it through something like this.” Then I took notice. My breathing was faster, my chest was constricted, my skin was tingling. I thought, “Whoa.”

Continuing reading, I was trying to stay aware of my physiology because my reactions amazed me. All at once, in the story, the ceiling caved in on our hero’s legs, her light went out. She was trapped. No one knew she was there, the weight of the dirt and rocks on her body was tremendous; she was suffocating. As I read this, I noticed my physical reaction. I was literally in panic mode. I was sweating, my breathing and heart rates were off the scales. I was scared to death! And I was still sitting in my chair.

Using your imagination

So what has this to do with peak performance? Quite a lot, as a matter of fact. As you anticipate future situations in your life, you are using your imagination. The situation you’re imagining hasn’t happened yet. But, depending on how vivid you can make your imagination, your mind can make it real. What a powerful tool! Can you see the possibilities?

You can literally condition your mind to react to events in the way you want it to! What would in your past life cause you fear can now cause you to feel powerful, or enthusiastic.

Imagine a situation that causes you to feel anxiety, or fear. For me, it’s picking up a telephone to make call to someone I don’t know. Do you want to change your reactions? Would it advance your life? Here’s how you do it.

Get your feelings together. Decide how you want to be in the situation that bothers you. Imagine, in techni-color, what you would do if you were in total control of your emotions. How would you be breathing, speaking, what would your posture be, what would you be thinking, feeling? Be there, in your mind. Live it, make it real.

Create an anchor

Anchor this feeling in your mind. Do something unique: make a gesture, make a sound, make both. Stand a certain way, raise your eyebrows. Do something.

Do this process a number of times; ten, twenty, whatever it takes so that when make your unique motion or sound, you immediately feel the power you felt when you were imagining yourself all-powerful. Do you have it?

Now, imagine yourself in the situation that causes you apprehension. As you’re there, fire off your anchor. Feel powerful. Imagine the old situation, fire your anchor, feel powerful. Do this over and over again.

Test it

So put yourself in this situation in real life. Go to the phone. Feeling anxious? Fire the anchor. Feel powerful. Make the call. If the old reactions step in, interrupt the old pattern and fire your powershot. If you end up not having the feelings you want, or your old reactions take over, repeat the powershot-creating steps again. Do it as many times as you need to.