How to visualize like Michael Phelps before anything that matters
In competitive weightlifting, you get three attempts per lift — three for the snatch, three for the clean and jerk. That’s it. There’s a hard ceiling on how many times you can practice the real thing, especially when it matters most. Your body can only handle so much.
So visualization became a tool for me. A way to rehearse highly complex, high-stakes movements without putting more wear on the body. When you can only practice in that specific environment so many times, being able to rehearse it in your mind is genuinely a superpower.
I came across a technique that can be used for anything that matters to you.
What Michael Phelps Did Differently
Coach Bob Bowman instilled this mental rehearsal practice in Phelps from a young age, and Phelps talked about it in interview after interview. What struck me when I came across it was the simplicity. It’s the kind of thing where you think, “Well, I could actually do that.”
By race day, Phelps had already been there. Dozens of times. His body and mind had already lived through it. Every variable that might have spiked his anxiety. The crowd noise, an unexpected lane condition, the pressure of the moment, goggles filling up with water. It had already been turned down in rehearsal.
Why It Works
Fear exposure reduces initial anxiety. There’s real research behind how your brain and body respond to mental rehearsal in ways that closely mirror physical practice.
Dr. Andrew Huberman has noted that visualization is most effective in short bursts like 15 seconds or less. It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn-out session. Small, vivid scenes rehearsed repeatedly are enough to put you in a more prepared state, even when things don’t go according to plan.
And the cost? Zero. No gym membership, no coach, no equipment. You can close your eyes and do this from exactly where you are right now.
The Three-Step Practice
For any high-stakes moment you care about whether it’s a job interview, a big presentation, a conversation — run through all three:
- Visualize how you want it to go. The best-case scenario. See it clearly.
- Visualize how you don’t want it to go. Don’t skip this one.
- Visualize how it could go in a perfect world. How it should unfold if everything fell into place.
If you genuinely put effort into conjuring all three scenes, you’ve mentally rehearsed a wide range of outcomes before you ever step into the room.
One More Thing Worth Knowing
A lot of people can’t do this. It’s not because they lack discipline, but because they can’t still their mind long enough to visualize anything clearly. And part of that is a muscle we’ve collectively let atrophy.
When you’re consuming video all day, the picture is handed to you. The mental muscle you use to create scenes and images on your own just doesn’t get exercised. Reading is one way to rebuild it. And stacking it with intentional visualization practice trains that same muscle from two directions.
Your Version of the Race
This is a skill. It can be practiced. The cost is low, and the upside scales with whatever you’re working toward.
No matter who you are or what you do — you have your version of the race. The high-stakes moment that matters to you.
Thankfully, you probably won’t have to hold your breath underwater to win it.
In your corner,
Misbah Haque
Founder of Pod Mahal & Habit Chess
P.S. If you enjoyed this, hit reply and let me know!
