Written by Megan Farcas, LMHC CMHIMP (Clinical Supervisor, Senior Clinician)
Have you ever set a goal and then struggled to remain focused? Or felt like the goal was so far away it was unattainable and so you were less motivated? I was recently listening to an interview with psychologist Emily Balcetis who studied how our brains can use our visual system to shape our behavior. In other words, what we visualize can help change our behaviors and motivation.
Balcetis discussed a study where they had participants go on a walk. Some were told to focus on a stop sign up ahead, while others were not. Those who focused on the stop sign felt that the finish line of the walk was closer than those who did not. More than that, those keeping their focus on the stop sign finished the walk faster than the other group and also exerted less energy doing so. The conclusion was that the illusion of proximity motivated the participants to walk faster without realizing it. This is a common practice among elite athletes, who often train to break things down into smaller chunks, like Michael Phelps counting breaststrokes or marathon runners identifying visual cues for their runs.
But what happens if your goal is something you can’t tangibly visualize? Balcetis highlighted another study in which they talked to young people about retirement. Most young people had not yet considered retirement since it seemed so far off, but when the conductors of the study presented them with pictures of themselves photoshopped to look older, the young people began to engage and express interest in talking about options for retirement plans. This 'materializing' of something abstract can help make things more tangible to 'visualize' and focus on.
When applied to our day-to-day life, this research can be game changing. Maybe there are tangible goals you can 'see' like the example of walking while keeping your eyes fixed on a goal up ahead. But maybe there are things you are working towards that are more abstract. Are there ways you can be creative about 'materializing' a visual component? Making it more concrete? Maybe it is putting a sticky note with your goal or area of change written out on it and placing it somewhere you will see regularly. Or perhaps it is setting reminders to pop up in your calendar and keep you oriented towards your goal. Another idea is to engage your creative side and draw a picture of what you visualize the end result will be.
All of this also reminds me of the Christian life, of pressing forward to Jesus. The Bible speaks in a similar way about keeping our eyes on the the end goal:
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14 ESV)
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2 ESV)