Many people confuse visualization with imagery, but there is a crucial difference between the two. Understanding this difference can help you harness the power of imagery for almost anything.

Visualization was a hot topic 70 years ago when it entered the world of sports and performance. In 1954, Sir Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile barrier. He was a medical student and competitive runner when he approached researchers at Oxford to inquire about tools to improve his performance. They suggested visualization, which he employed in great depth. It worked, and Bannister made history by running the fastest mile in the world.

While visualizing can clearly be effective, imagery takes us further by engaging multiple senses. Contemporary research (e.g. Simonsmeier et al., 2020; Rhodes et al., 2021) shows that imagery is most impactful when combining the five senses (touch, smell, sound, taste, sight) with emotion........

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