We've all heard people say that if you visualize something hard enough you can make it come true. It turns out that there might be some truth to that. I'm not talking about sitting cross-legged under a tree and visualizing things into being, although that might be real, too.
Instead, turning visualization into truth has to do with the way our brain filters information.
Why Do We Filter, and How Might It Help Us?
When you hear a new word or get a new car, you start hearing that new word everywhere and that car is suddenly everywhere, too. My wife is an incredibly deep sleeper, but will snap out of sleep immediately if you say her name.
We can't pay attention to everything that comes across our experience all day. We'd go crazy. Our brain filters out most of reality and only lets things through that we are concerned about.
Theoretically, if we wanted something to happen we might train our brain to let through more information about that thing. If we wanted to be financially independent, we would tell our brain to let through any information that might lead to ideas and opportunities for financial independence.
How the Filter Actually Works
Our brain has a network that starts near our brain stem and reaches throughout most of our brain. It's called the reticular activating system (reticular means network). The reticular activating system is responsible for activating conscious states: sleep, dreaming, and wakeful consciousness. People who have narcolepsy are actually experiencing difficulties with their reticular activating system.
Controlling conscious states is really controlling how much information gets into our brain. When you're awake, your brain is still filtering, and the reticular activating system is basically the filter for your brain. When your brain becomes aware of something it wants to let through, the reticular activating system lights up and lets it in.
How Visualization Tricks Your Brain
Our reticular activating system gets trained by our experience. If you experience something or interact with something a lot, your brain filters that something less. Musicians hear music everywhere, and salespeople notice how buying decisions work.
There's a famous study from the University of Chicago where basketball players visualized free throws. One group practiced thousands of free throws in real life, while the other group simply visualized thousands of free throws. The real-life practicers improved by 24 percent. The visualizers improved by 23 percent.
“The visualizers improved almost as much as the group that did thousands of real free throws.”
University of Chicago basketball study
So by visualizing something, you trick your brain into thinking it really happened. Visualizing something repeatedly trains your brain to let related information in.
Visualization Isn't the Same as Imagination
It's important to note that visualization means actually seeing it play out in your head, like you're watching a movie. You can't just think about something or wish real hard; you have to see it.
It also matters that you're not just visualizing success. If you want to be financially independent, instead of visualizing yourself being rich, visualize getting rich: see yourself making smart decisions or coming up with good ideas. That trains your brain to notice information that leads to smart decisions and good ideas.
A Word of Caution
If you look up the reticular activating system, you'll find people pointing at it as proof that you can change the universe with your thoughts. That's not what the science says. The science says that visualizing something helps your brain let in more information related to it, which is useful enough on its own.
Try It Now
What is something you would like to see happen in your life? Close your eyes and visualize yourself making it happen. Really see it play out, in detail.
Do that again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. That's how you put your brain's filter to work for you.
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