The definition of a truly great person is one who has complete control over his mind, with the ability to visualize events by way of total planning. By that, Halevi meant mental rehearsal in advance for unexpected roadblocks in life; preparation not only for the expected, but training for the unpredictable which invariably become part of the unwelcome script of our lives.
Bob Bowman was swimming coach of 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. Under his tutelage, Phelps won five world championship gold medals and was named the American swimmer of the year from 2001 to 2004. What Bowman stressed most to his star student was the concept of mental visualization. When things go wrong, as they sometimes invariably must, an athlete has two choices. He said, “You can view the situation as a disaster and mentally knock yourself completely off track dwelling on this, or you can look at the situation as a challenge that you can rise to and thus get better from. By anticipating bad things happening and then rehearsing exactly how you will successfully handle them, you will take your mental game to the next level. This kind of practice will enhance your confidence and keep you calm under pressure.”
Bowman could not have known what would happen in Beijing in 2008. Phelps had already won seven gold medals and was on the cusp of doing something no one had ever done before: to win eight gold medals in a single Olympiad. But when he dove into the water at the start of the race, his goggles started leaking. Soon his goggles were completely full of water and he was literally blind. On the verge of disaster, Phelps decided to switch gears and mentally consider what happened as just another challenge, a challenge for which he had prepared mentally. Phelps had rehearsed precisely for this possibility. Calmly, he switched his concentration to his stroke count. He knew from countless practice exactly how many strokes would get him across the pool as efficiently as possible. He knew just what to do – and his mental vision before the meet became the reality of his eighth gold medal.
“If you will it, it is no dream” were the inspiring words of Theodore Herzl, which in no small measure turned a 2000 year old dream into reality.
Belief – in God, in oneself and in the potential for good – can produce results far beyond not just the expected but even the possible.
These three ideas, The Power of Habit, the Power of Criticism and The Power of Imagination, can make us champions in the contest of life.
[B Belch]
