Why visualization actually works

If you've been around the performing arts for a while (or just around performing artists for that matter), you have no doubt been exposed to the idea that visualization is good.  Visualizing a positive outcome on stage can help make it come true!  That might seem like magic, but it isn't.  And it works!

So why does it work?  Well your brain is complicated.  It has many pieces that evolved at different times, so some of the primitive parts in the middle, for example, we share with animals that don't converge with the human species unless you reach back hundreds of millions of years.  The "amygdala" for example, we share in common with lizards.  The cerebral coretex on the other hand is relatively new, and we humans have more of it than any other animal.

Why does this matter?  Because it means you can't think of the brain as one big thing.  The various parts "talk to" each other with electrical signals.  That's why sometimes crazy stuff happens, like when you suddenly remember a past event but you don't know why it's coming up, or when you have a mysterious phobic reaction to an innocuous shrub because it looks like a wolf in shadow.  Or when you can't get your heart to stop pounding before the big show, even though you "know" that everything will be OK.  It's so complex, we can't pretend to be directly in control of very much of it.

And you've probably heard that the brain can't tell the difference between reality and dreams, right?  That's true, and it's true because the part of the brain that can't tell the difference just gets electrical signals from the visual subsystem, and those impulses look the same whether the visuals are coming in through the eyes, or they're being invented by the coretex!  Down in the primitive brain areas, there's no difference between the two.

So when you visualize a standing ovation, the deep and primitive parts of your brain think it's really happening!  And if you do it over and over, you'll train your emotional self to respond positively to stage experiences, rather than responding with terror.

And that's why it works - when your "subconscious" is properly trained to expect great audience responses, it will get out of your way, and stop interfering with your real performances.

So visualize away!  It's free, it's easy, and it works like a charm.