Serena Williams & The Art of Visualization

Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam tennis titles over the span of four decades and is widely regarded as the greatest women’s player the sport has ever seen. But perhaps her most impressive feat came this past weekend on the hard courts of New Zealand when she captured the ASB Classic, her first tournament title since giving birth to her daughter nearly three years ago. (After her victory, Williams donated her winnings to the Australian Fire Relief Fund).

Williams, 38, nearly lost her life during pregnancy. She recounted the events saying, “It began with a pulmonary embolism, which is a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot. Because of my medical history with this problem, I live in fear of this situation. So, when I fell short of breath, I didn’t wait a second to alert the nurses. This sparked a slew of health complications that I am lucky to have survived. First, my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism. I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then, I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs. When I finally made it home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of motherhood in bed.”

So how did she keep her competitive spirit going despite unimaginable physical and mental hurdles?

Through visualization. “You need to see things happening and envision yourself in a fantasy world — and really believe in that fantasy world — until it comes true,” Williams later said. “You have to believe in yourself when no one does. If plan A isn’t working, I have plan B, plan C, and even plan D.”

Neuroscientists claim that the brain has its own GPS — which, if programmed correctly, can take you anywhere you desire. Try starting your mornings like Williams does with the following actions:

1. Use your imagination to see what you want clearly. According to Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, author of Serena Williams: Tennis Champion, Sports Legend, and Cultural Heroine, the tennis star still jots down affirmations and brings them to her matches. Occasionally, Corbett says, Serena will even glance at the statements during a match.

2. The old children’s tale, “I think I can, I think I can” works today. Think of how you felt when you achieved a goal, any goal. Then remind yourself of that feeling in the middle of the next challenge.

3. Repeat the process daily.

Williams doesn’t use visualization for unrealistic purposes like winning the lottery. She uses it as the framework of her craft during her competitive moments to remind herself of the goals, talent, perseverance, and most of all, the greatness that lives within.

Each day, we can do the same. Visualize what excellence looks and feels like regularly, especially when it seems like it is out of your reach!

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