Creating your best self as an athlete.

It is easier than you think.

When you invoke the creative powers of visualization, you are using your imagination to make-over yourself, literally.

With the seed of your imagination, you can transform any element of your performance - your skills,your Game Face, even your confidence.

As the saying goes, "Little hinges swing big doors." Of course, creating your best self does not mean manufacturing something fake.

It means finding your authentic athletic self and allowing it to be expressed.

A classic example is how you handle your biggest competitors.

A lot of aspiring athletes think they need to trash talk and get into the heads of their competitors to win.

But this rarely brings out their best self. Instead I like the technique used by U.S.
Olympic figure skating champion Scott Hamilton (recently seen on TV show The Apprentice).

In figure skating it's common for skaters to get aggressive during practices.

They'll get into their competitors' way on the ice or even jump right next to them.

Scott didn't do those things. He knew they wouldn't bring out his best, most authentic self.

Instead he used a subtler approach. He never wanted any competitor to see him miss a
jump. If he was warming up or doing a run-through, it had to be perfect.

This put terrible pressure on his opponents, making them think they HAD to skate perfectly
all the time or lose to Scott.

At the same time, it forced Scott to BRING IT whenever he was in a competing environment.

You've probably already guessed that visualization is the best way to find your genuine athletic self. In Scott's case, he found the flawlees self he wanted to project and made it his mission to do it.

By harnessing the power of visualization, you can do the same. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, or what level you're competing at.