you might be visualising success all wrong - here's how to fix it

You've been told to visualize yourself being successful, crossing the finish line, winning. But here's why it's failing you. This exercise alone can misguide because it channels your energy to the end point, unconsciously reinforcing the idea that the end is all that matters. Whilst it gives you the spike of motivation, it can divert your attention from where it's needed the most. When you hit your first obstacle, you are unprepared. Naked. The positive feelings you evoked no longer serve you as the real world is vastly different from how you imagined. This experience gets logged in your brain and forms a mental cycle when you approach it next time. This is why you'll avoid it. Your brain does not like being caught. Naked. You stop, defeated. So what can you do? Extend the visualization to encompass the struggle. See the obstacle in the way, but this time see yourself pushing through. Observe yourself struggling, but triumphing, laboring, but winning. Witness the effort, the focus. You eventually see how it is possible and how it's likely to play out. So your mind will be ready when reality hits.