Have you ever had a performance situation in which you pictured it going poorly?

Maybe you were going to speak in front of a large group, go to a possible career-changing interview, play in an important golf tournament, ask someone on a date or audition for a part in a theater production.

As you began to see it going poorly you became more and more anxious.

The ability to perform at our absolute best, when it really matters, is often a result of how we anticipate and ‘visualize’ the situation.

One of my mentors, Dr. Don Greene, has said,

“Prior to performing, what you ‘see’ in your mind, whether its weeks or just days before, will tend to become who you are in that situation.”

I have found that Visualization is a performance enhancement skill that is very powerful when it is practiced and applied. It is a skill that allows you, as a performer, to rehearse, review and focus on optimal performance.

Ironically, many performers use imagery in a negative way, that is, they ‘picture’ themselves performing poorly and subsequently express this negative rehearsal through an anxiety-filled performance.

Visualization is one of the most effective techniques for you to use in preparing for optimal performance. If you cannot imagine performing well then you have very little chance of actually doing that, especially during a pressure situation.

Enhancing your performance includes practicing the technique of Visualization to achieve your best. I will use the fear of public speaking (which creates anxiety for most people!) as an example to describe the 6 key steps to practice:

1) Start with a clear intention. What is it that you intend to achieve in your performance? For example, is your intention to give your speech in a relaxed way, feeling in complete control of yourself?

2) Center yourself physically and mentally. Take a slow, deep focused breath to slow down any anxiety or stress during your mental rehearsal.

3) Imagine what your intention would look like. Try to see, feel, and hear yourself doing well as you give a powerful and effective presentation. Break up your mental rehearsal performance into segments, i.e. see yourself preparing to give you presentation, then picture the next segment as you are being introduced, then as you walk up to present, etc. Picture each of these segments as clearly as possible.

4) Use all of your senses. Picture yourself walking up to speak, feel your hands on the podium, hear yourself as your words come out smoothly and effortlessly, listen to the audience applauding your speech, feel how great it feels to walk off knowing you did a great job!

5) Correct your mistakes. You will discover that even during Visualization you will find yourself picturing making a mistake or becoming afraid. So you need to stop the tape and rewind! Yes, go back in your rehearsal to the spot where you ‘messed ‘up’ and continue from there with a picture of you doing well. Correct your mistake until you can clearly see yourself doing well.

6) Be creative and have fun! Visualization is a very powerful technique that can be used in any performance situation. Expand using this technique in new situations until you become better and better at it.

Practice Visualization and make it a valuable skill in you performance enhancement ‘toolbox’.

Your real-life performance will continue to improve the more that you can ‘experience’ (see, hear and feel) the performance in your Visualization. Have fun practicing this powerful skill!

As a creative or performer, I suspect that there are times that you find yourself feeling challenged to stay engaged with your projects, to persevere, to hang tough and not give up. Persistence is often an ongoing challenge, one that, if not managed well, can lead to creative stagnation and a falling short of achieving your creative and business goals.

In this video I share 3 Powerful Steps towards becoming mentally tough through persistence. I hope that you enjoy it and find it valuable!

Click here to watch!

If fear creates obstacles in your life, performance or business, I hope that these 10 tips are valuable during times of feeling extreme anxiety and panic.

1. If you feel frightened, unreal or unsteady – it does not matter. These feelings are nothing more than an exaggeration of your body’s normal reaction to stress.

2. Just because you have these sensations doesn’t mean you are very sick. These feelings are just unpleasant and frightening, not dangerous. Nothing worse will happen to you.

3. Let your feelings come. They have been in charge of you. You’ve been pumping them up and making them more acute. Stop escalating the feelings! Don’t run away from panic. When you feel the panic mount, take a deep breath and as you breathe out, let go. Keep trying. Stay there almost as if you were floating in space. Don’t fight the feelings of panic. Accept it. You can do it!

4. Try to make yourself as comfortable as possible without escaping. If you are on the street, lean against a post or store wall. If you’re in a store, tell the sales person you don’t feel well and want to sit awhile. Do not jump in your car and go home in fear.

5. Stop adding to your panic with frightening thoughts about what is happening and where it might lead. Don’t indulge in your feelings and think, “Why can’t I be like all the other normal people? Why do I have to go through this?” Just accept what is happening to you. If you do this, what you fear most will not happen.

6. Think about what is really happening to your body at this moment. Do not think, “Something terrible is going to happen. I must get out.” Repeat to yourself, “I will not fall, faint, die, or lose control.”

7. Now wait and give the fear time to pass. Do not run away. Others have found the strength. You will, too. Notice that as you stop adding to the frightening thoughts to your panic, the fear starts to fade away by itself.

8. This is your opportunity to practice. Think of it that way. Even if you feel isolated, one of these days you will not feel that way. Sometime soon you will be able to go through the panic and say, “I did it.” Once you say this, you will have gone a long way toward conquering fear.

9. Try to distract yourself from what is going on inside you. Look at your surroundings. See the other people on the street, in the store. They are with you, not against you.

10. When the panic subsides, let your body go loose, take a breath, and go on with your day. Remember, each time you cope with panic, you reduce fear.