8. Michael Phelps — Thorough nightly visualization training
Michael Phelps, the most decorated swimmer in Olympic history, cites visualization as the key to his victories. From a young age, under his coach’s guidance, he performed mental rehearsals of races before bed. He not only pictured perfect race scenarios but also visualized worst-case situations, simulating countermeasures in his mind. For example, he mentally rehearsed scenarios like “water getting into his goggles and obscuring his vision” countless times. As a result, when his goggles actually leaked during the Beijing Olympics 200m butterfly final, he remained calm and composed, ultimately securing the gold medal and setting a new world record. Phelps himself stated, “I swim through every possible scenario in my head, both desirable and undesirable. It’s preparation to handle anything that happens.” Thanks to his nightly detailed mental rehearsals (from the start to the feel of water droplets, even the spectator’s viewpoint), he performed with the composure of someone who had experienced it hundreds of times before.
Key Point: The habit of mentally experiencing both positive and negative scenarios beforehand cultivates mental toughness. This allows you to maintain composure under extreme pressure and automatically take the best possible action.
— Reference : yourswimlog.com
