Mental Rehearsing: Is it just a bunch of new age mumbo jumbo?

Mental Rehearsing is the act of visualizing what you want to happen in advance in any given situation. When I talk about Mental Rehearsing, people tell me that is like the movie The Secret. I have seen the movie, and I assume that what they mean is the act of visualizing is what they mean to be similar. In some cases, it may be. Imagining that you are driving the "car of your dreams" like The Secret suggests and it "The Universe" will bring it to you seems too good to be true. In my opinion it is if you have no means of getting that car. I hate just depending on something else outside my external control to get me what I desire. The other side of that coin would be more along the lines of practicing. I first came into contact with this idea when I watched Joe Montana's The Winning Spirit:  16 Timeless Principles That Drive Performance Excellence. He suggests that you need to practice in order to become the best at what you do. I completely saw the logic when I first watched the DVD to practice playing football if you wanted to become the best football player you could be. However, I didn't see where it could get you in terms of being successful at losing weight or even making money, which were what I was looking to be successful at.

The application of this process first starts in you head. Even before Joe Montana went on the field to practice, he would rehearse in his mind what kind of practice he wanted to have. Then if he ever strayed from this criteria, he would notice it instantly. He would notice it because that's what he told his brain was important. As soon as he sees it as varying from the practice that he wanted to have he would. In psychology classes at NMHU, I learned this idea is known as the reticular activating system. In class, they describe it as noticing the kind of car you drive everywhere you go. If you just bought a new VW Bug, you're going to notice it everywhere you go. Same concept goes for a game called Slug Bug. If you're not familiar with Slug Bug, you call out "Slug Bug Purple" if you see a VW Bug, and then you get to hit your opponent. If you're like me, once you stopped playing, it was hard not to notice everytime you saw a VW Bug because your mind or Reticular Activity System (RAS) still thinks it is very important to you.

Mental Rehearsing is found as a tool in the Week 4 of the Weight Watchers books. The idea applies specifically to weight loss. If you find yourself struggling with a certain situation, visualize yourself handling it successfully over and over again. The idea is that as soon as the situation arrives, you can have a go to plan for getting what you want. You feel comfortable carrying out those actions because you have done them so many times in your head.


Til Tomorrow,
Josh

Subscribe on the right hand side of the screen if you would like to hear more. Comment or email me at MediaArtsSpecialist@yahoo.com.