How to Coach Yourself and Others Better Coaching Through Visualisation | Page 211

goals as if they've already occurred, then the universe will give this
to you.
Here’s my take on Vision Boards.
Cutting out pictures and writing down positive affirmations may be
beneficial to some; in particular, helping us organize and more
clearly delineate our goals. However, there is good evidence that
these actions may also be detrimental.
The evidence:
Experiment #1.
(from Pham and Taylor at the Univ of Ca):
Three groups of students: Group 1 (Secret group – my label not from
the study): students were asked to spend a few moments each day
visualizing with a clear image how great it would feel to make a high
grade on an important mid-term exam that would take place in a few
days time. Group 2: students were asked to spend a few minutes
each day visualizing when, where, and how they intended to study.
Group 3: control group of students not asked to visualize doing
especially well on the exams. Students visualizing being A students
(Group 1), studied less and made lower grades on the exam. They
felt better about themselves but achieved less. Students visualizing
studying, prepared better, studied more, scored higher grades, and
were less stressed.
Experiment #2.
(Pham and Taylor).
A similar studied showed similar results for golfers and tennis
players. They were more successful if they imagined themselves
training rather than winning.

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