Train Your Mind

Train Your Mind

In 1996, Dr. Judd Biasiotto did an experiment at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Baisiotto tested students on their ability to sink free throws on a basketball court.  After establishing a baseline with all the students, he divided them into three groups.

The first, practiced free throws for an hour each day over the next 30 days.  The second didn’t touch a basketball for 30 days.  The third group didn’t practice for 30 days but spent an hour each day visualizing themselves throwing free throws.

It's no surprise that the first group improved their performance by 24%.  It’s also not surprising that the second group saw no improvement at all.

The surprise comes from the second group.  After spending 30 days practicing only in their minds, this group of students improved their ability to shoot free throws by . . . 23%!  After 30 days of only training in their mind, they improved performance well within the margin of error compared to a group that spent an hour a day training for the same skill. 

In 1983, 12-year-old Samantha Druce became the youngest woman to swim the English Channel.  She finished the grueling crossing 15 hours and 27 minutes.  When asked about how she survived and continued for that long in the cold water, Druce is reported to have said, “I had done it many times in my mind. I just needed to do it for real.”

Similar results have been seen in golf, baseball and football and many other sports.

Why does a mental “workout” provide the same improvement as a physical one?  The truth is that nobody knows.  There are many theories:  One is that what we were all taught is “muscle memory” doesn’t occur in the muscles at all.

It doesn’t matter how much you lift or how far or fast you run, the most powerful muscle in your body, the one that can improve your performance the most, by far, is the mind.

What else can this powerful “muscle” do for you?  Do you need to lose weight?  Quit a bad habit or create a good one?  Sleep better?  Overcome a fear?  Do you need to better deal with the world around you and your place in it?

This can all be accomplished by training your mind.

Train Your Mind and Your Body Will Follow