Pre-play Events
To enhance your success and reach meaningful goals, it’s important to have positive mental images
Pre-playing events will help you visualize yourself being successful with things that are important to you. This will make it so much easier to stick with your plan and handle the obstacles along the way.
Athletes have long used this technique to improve their performance. Pre-playing events can also be used to prepare for all kinds of things, including:
Job Interviews
Important conversations with loved ones
Managing difficult situations
Eating healthy
Participating in social activities
Just to name a few.
The good news is that this technique can dramatically improve your likelihood of success.
For example, in one study, 177 people had the goal to eat more fruit. Half of them used the pre-play technique. They wrote a plan that included how, when, and where they would buy and eat more fruit.
They also visualized and imagined the details not only of eating more fruit, but of how it would smell, feel, look, and taste. They also anticipated barriers that could get in the way of eating more fruit and planned for them.
At the end of seven days, they had increased their fruit consumption twice as much as those who simple set out to eat more fruit.
As you can see from the science, by practicing the pre-play technique, participants were able to:
- Stay motivated to stick with their plan
- Anticipate challenges and find ways to deal with them
- Be confident that they could achieve the plan
Pre-play Events Example
List below the details, including effectively handling potential obstacles and a positive outcome. Then, visualize the event.
My conversation with Mom:
Over lunch with my mom, we are able to talk about the future in a positive way and stay away from past issues. If she brings up her worries or concerns from the past, I will stay strong. I will keep the discussion positive and focused on the future. The conversation will be enjoyable, loving and fun.