How to Train Yourself to Visualize Anything (3 Simple Tips & Habits) - Maya Raichoora

mental health and mental fitness. What's

the difference between those? You're

only mentally fit if you're actively

training the brain. So mental fitness is

the active maintenance of good mental

health. Everyone is probably visualizing

already. Most people visualize the

worstc case scenarios. So that's what

we're getting good at. We're getting

good at wiring the brain to think we

can't make it. You know, I'd wake up

having about 65 tablets in the morning.

I'm going to the L maybe 30 times a day

and it's just pure blood. And I had an

accident in front of everyone. So this

is like 400 people. That moment scarred

me. I was like, I am never ever gonna

speak in public again.

What about just action? I was in Oxford

Circus on a bench and I was just doing

my visualization. So obviously my eyes

are closed, headphones in. Kind of

dangerous to be fair. People are looking

at me so weirdly like, "What's she

doing?" Oh, that's really embarrassing.

But why can we run in public when we're

not allowed to train our mind in public?

It just doesn't make any sense to me.

And so I think if we can start that

young, that will change a lot. So

questions, even just one question. Two,

I'd say start changing the conversation

around training the mind and body. And

then three,

Maya, welcome to the podcast. Thank you.

I'm very excited. Thank you for being

here. We're excited. Um, so we kick off

the same way we do every time. Who are

you and what problem do you solve? So my

name is Maya. Um, so I'm the UK's

leading mental fitness and visualization

expert. uh really helping people think,

feel, perform like the top 1%. And in

terms of what problem I solve, I think

um if we really take it back for a

second, we all grew up, you know, doing

PE class or knowing that training the

body is important, but barely anyone

knows how to actually train the mind to

their advantage. And so that's what I

really help people do. Nice. and people

that are watching this, what symptoms

might they be facing that you can help

them with? So, I think this um in itself

is interesting because I'm going to

challenge you on that question. Let's

say if um I was like a PT, would we say

like, oh well, you know, do you have to

be fat or injured or, you know, unhappy

to go to the gym? No. So I think the

word symptoms is interesting because

whilst yes you know we all struggle with

things like confidence or um like

imposter syndrome or anything like that

really I think it's also about going

from good to great like nothing has to

be wrong. You could be doing great in

life and you could be like a world

champion yet you still need to learn how

to train your mind so you can stay there

or you can get better if it's even like

0.1%. So I think what I am really

passionate about is making sure that we

learn about it in the sense of you can

be struggling and this can help you but

also you can be doing great and this can

also help you. That's how I like to

think about the mind. Interesting. I

want to clarify something you said up

top because I think this will be

important for people who've probably

just tuned in. Mental health and mental

fitness. What's the difference between

those two? Yeah. So there is a

difference between mental health and

mental fitness. So mental health,

everyone has one. If you've got a mind,

you've got mental health, right? Just

like if you've got a body, you've got

physical health. But you're only

physically fit if you are, let's say,

going to the gym, maybe you're running,

doing Pilates. And in the same way,

you're only mentally fit if you're

actively training the brain. So mental

fitness is the active maintenance of

good mental health. But what what I will

say is that you've also got mental

illness. Now mental illness is where

let's say your mental health is so bad

that you would then seek professional

help or um you know get medication etc.

And then you have mental weakness. Now

mental weakness is something all of us

will experience right sometimes you know

days you're just not as sharp or you're

tired or something's happened in life

which just means your resilience is a

bit lower. That is where your mental

fitness is key because it gives you the

tools to bring up your your mental

fitness again. Um, so really I see it as

mental health, mental fitness, mental

illness, and mental weakness. And

knowing that distinction is very

important because then how you actually

approach your own mind would also

change. Um, but what I will say is I

kind of made up the term. Like the only

other person I've heard talk about it is

Simon Synynic. Um, other than that, it's

really, you know, it was it was written

in literature in like the 1980s, but no

one really knows about it. In fact, it

was interesting. I went um I did like,

you know, those interviews in London and

I was like to people, "Oh, rate your

mental fitness one out of 10." And

people were like, "What is that?" And I

was like, "Okay, it's kind of obvious."

But actually, people didn't know. Um,

but since talking about it more, what I

find is people find it more exciting,

more empowering, kind of like sexy, you

know, like cool, I want to get mentally

fit, it's attractive, rather than just

being like, okay, let me just talk about

my mental health. So, the little

distinction I think makes a lot of

difference. Okay. So, then if we took

the analogy of of an athlete. Yeah. So,

you know, there's some people who are

the child prodigy. I've got just inbuilt

stamina. I can just run all day or I'm

naturally a very strong person. When we

look at mental fitness, are there people

who have more of a propensity to be fit

in certain areas? Yeah, I think

naturally, you know, it comes from how

we grew up or the people we're around or

even your life experiences. But I think

the key to remember is that at any point

in your life, whether you are 80 or you

are 18, you can improve your mental

fitness. And that's great. So whether

you are like, you know, super resilient

or super confident, it doesn't really

matter. Either it's about maintaining

that or there's there's always going to

be parts of our brain and our life that

we can improve. So yes, naturally you

might be more stronger in areas, but um

that doesn't mean to say that we don't

keep working on it. Um but I think that

comes down to the self-awareness point

of like do you know what your mind is

like? Do you know it enough to be like

actually, you know, I can handle my

emotions really well or I'm okay to say

that I'm angry at something. I don't

need to suppress it. All of these things

are really important when it comes to

actually building your mental fitness.

It has to start with that awareness

piece. So, people listening to this are

maybe thinking, "Oh, I actually don't

know how self-aware I am." Or they're

questioning it or they've seen something

on social media and they're like, "I'm

going to look into this." what what

questions should they be asking

themselves to to find out about their

awareness? That is a really good

question. So self-awareness

is I think the way to frame it is like

you know how if we um become friends

with someone or you go on a date with

someone or you're in a relationship, you

know how you get to know them and you

ask them things like well what do you

like or what do you believe in or things

like that? In the same way do that for

yourself. So some of the questions I

would look at is like what are your

values? What are the things that make

you feel alive? What are the things that

actually drain you? Little questions

like that will help you understand

actually I don't like being in this

environment or I don't really like being

around these people but you know what

like when I am surfing let's say I love

it or when I am um having an

intellectual chat with someone I also

love it. So definitely your likes,

dislikes, the things that drain you,

energize you, really important. If you

also want to build self-awareness, I

would also ask quite difficult

questions. I would ask yourself, you

know, what am I what part of what part

of me am I hiding because I'm afraid for

others to see

or why am I still performing in these

environments? Or genuinely, do I like

myself?

One of the best questions to ask is when

I'm on my

own, how do I feel about

myself? And a lot of people will be

quite scared to answer those questions

because one, we're never taught to, but

two, it's quite, you know, like, oh

gosh, you have to finally face some

things. But it has to start there

because otherwise without that, you

won't know, you know, where to look or

what to work on. Um, so those are

definitely some ones. And then also

self-awareness is also about like well

okay in the last like year or few months

how have I changed the most because if

you're just the same person like a year

ago I think that's a red flag. We've got

to be constantly evolving and changing

that's really really good. And so just

asking that thing of like okay well

where was I a year ago? Where am I

today?

Um, and then the question I always ask

myself is, what do I still need to let

go of? What am I holding on to that's

stopping me from achieving my goals or

becoming the person I want to be? Again,

hard question, but such a great starting

point. I love it. I'm getting fired up

already. Here we go. Um, so when you

were talking about fitness, it makes me

think, and I'm I'm going to chuck it out

of couch to 5K. Okay. So, I'm a I'm a

beginner. I've never done a 5K before,

but the couch 5K, it gets you moving

slowly. If we think about mental

fitness, I want this to be so actionable

for people to take bits away. Where do

they start? Yes. Okay, great question.

So, if you want to build your mental

fitness, I would think of it as these

five key areas. So, one, you've got to

be consistent, right? Even if there's

like a few minutes a day, you want to do

that. Two, let's look at diet. Now, diet

isn't the food you eat. It's like what

you consume. What does your mind

consume? So, a really actionable point

is if you want to clean your your mental

diet, I would go on your social media

and I would unfollow any account or

person that just does not serve you. You

know, people say to me like, "Oh, Maya,

like I get online and then I'm just

comparing myself to this person or that

person." And they can literally be

friends. They can be people who are

doing such good in the world. But if it

is affecting your mind, just get rid of

it. Why are you putting yourself through

that torture? So, I kind of call it like

a bit of a a mental diet audit. Get rid

of the things that you're consuming that

you don't need. And that includes the

things you watch. It includes the

conversations you have. And two things,

two of the most common things humans do

that genuinely like destroy mental

performance. Gossiping,

complaining. If you can catch yourself

when you're doing those things and just

reduce it, think about what you what

else you could fill your mind with.

ideas, inspirations, thoughts, debates.

It's so much better. So, diet is

something very actionable and you can do

today like just unfollow people or block

people. You don't you don't need that to

be um always like consuming

it. The third thing is cardio. You know,

your brain is it's a tool that if you

don't use it, it will just die. Um but

generally, most of us are using it. If

you're going to work, you're you know,

you're thinking, you're practicing. But

if you want to take that further, think

about um pushing yourself. Whether

that's quizzes, whether that's questions

like we just mentioned, whether that's

having a debate with someone and

actually like disagreeing with them. All

of that expands your brain. The fourth

thing, rest. Ah, you know, if you are

someone who you go to bed and you wake

up and you're still tired, you don't

need physical rest. You clearly need

mental and emotional rest. And that

doesn't mean sitting on your bed on your

phone watching TV and you think you're

doing that. No, this really means giving

your mind a break. Actually giving your

mind the space to just be. And that

might include things like meditation. Um

it might include just like brain dumping

all the stuff that's there. Um but

really just creating pockets of space is

important. And then the last one which

is well my absolute favorite is the

strength training. So I think where

people um we we lack education is how do

I actually build a stronger mind and for

that it's where I use visualization

um so this is a tool that can completely

rewire the brain and so you're not just

becoming aware of you know your

characteristics and how it works you're

changing it and so that might mean

overcoming beliefs it might mean

becoming more confident it might mean

performing like better than ever doing a

sales call better than you've ever done

or handling a rejection much better. So

that's where the visualization piece

comes in. And I'd say the first step if

you want to try visualization would be

to focus on character visualization

because when you start practicing

identity changes a lot can change like

around you. So what I would suggest is

spend maybe 5 minutes, close your eyes

and ask yourself, if I was 1%, 2% more

confident or more kind or more driven,

who would I be? And in your

visualization, you practice that. Like

see how you would walk, how you talk,

how you might respond in an argument.

Like actually practice it and then open

your eyes and do this repeatedly and

you'll start seeing changes in your in

your daily life and character. Nice.

That leads nicely on. Actually, it's

almost like let you know where we're

going with this. Um,

visualization versus manifestation.

What's the difference between those two?

So, yeah, visualization and

manifestation are not the same things.

Um, so manifestation is really this idea

that if you can create something in your

mind, you know, you can make it happen.

And I do believe in it. I really do. But

visualization is a neurological mental

training technique. Now it's different

for two reasons. One because there are

actually five techniques. So sometimes

if I'm working with people you know um

we might do a creative visualization

which is to manage emotions. Is that

manifestation? No. You are using mental

imagery to feel and release an emotion.

Now where the slight overlap comes is

when we're using visualization for

achieving goals. And you know the

manifestation I guess like

um arena is like okay if you see your

goal it will happen like no it it's more

that if you are wiring your brain for

success then sure you might achieve your

goal quicker or you might see

opportunities you never would have but I

always like to compare it to like

Michael Phelps you know he visualized

his goals all the time. Would we ever

say that he manifested 26 golden medals?

We wouldn't say that. And I think in the

same way it really comes down to how you

frame a technique will change how you

use it. So you might notice everyone

manifests at like the beginning of the

year and then they never go back to it,

right? They do their vision board and

that's cool. Okay, I've manifested this.

I'm now just going to stop. That's

that's not what we're trying to do here.

mental fitness and specifically

visualization is something you want to

do at least three times a week because

think about how often your brain will go

back to that same you know old patterns

or um old ways of performing. So it's

something we've got to keep doing. Um

and really I've learned everything from

the sports world and none of them will

talk about it as manifestation, right?

They talk about it as mental imagery.

I'm training my mind and I'm wiring

myself for success. And in part if sure

you manifest different things through

your goals that's great but the other

techniques don't have anything to do

with manifestation. Interesting. Okay.

So three times a week. So let's say

someone is listening to this who they've

got a goal of I want to move house.

That's where I want to be at the end of

the year. How do they visualize getting

there? Is it about visualizing the steps

it takes to get there? Is it about what

the smell is like in the house? Like

what are they actually doing three times

a week? So um I'd say you want the one

non-negotiable which is actually seeing

yourself in the new house because you

cannot be what you can't see right um so

actually seeing yourself enjoying it

being there and that creates resilience

as well because let's say houses fall

through or you don't get there if you

have this laser focused vision that you

know you know what I'm going to make it

that is very rare and it's such an

advantage. So that's one aspect of it.

two, it is the process. If you are

someone who needs more organization or

you want to like um actually see

yourself taking those steps to get

there, then you would do a type of

process visualization where you're

seeing, you know, you're mentally

rehearsing, okay, I need to do XY Z to

get there. Um but it really depends on

your brain, right? If you're inspired by

just seeing yourself at that end point,

just go for that. You just need that

inspiration to keep going. Um, and you

want to do that, yeah, like two, three

times a week. And you'll at least become

more resilient and have more belief that

you're going to make it happen. When

when I bought my house, we didn't know

if it was going to go through in the

last minute. And I was with my partner,

pack for the house you want, not the

house that you have. Oh, I love that.

So, we packed and we hope that it went

through and it did. So, visualization

might have come into that. Um, what when

you're working with clients, what do you

what do you find that they typically get

wrong about visualization?

H I think there are many misconceptions

with visualization. One is obviously the

more woo woo like manifestation thing

which we've obviously talking spoken

about. Um, two

is is actually they underestimate it a

lot. They really do. And I think a lot

of people think they don't have time for

it. Whereas I'm very much an advocate

for like I'm not asking you to spend

hours on this a day. I'm literally

asking for maybe four to five minutes at

least. Like anyone can do that when

you're on the train, when you're, you

know, just in your bed in the morning.

Like I think that's an excuse. And I'm

very strict at the beginning to be like

if you're not even going to be willing

to invest that there's no point working

together because you've got to take your

mental fitness as a lifelong journey and

skill. And I'd say that's the third

point is that I always teach

visualization as a skill because if you

see as a skill just like you know

playing the piano or weightlifting

you'll be more invested in knowing that

it's okay to not get it right at first

or it's okay to maybe um not have the

best experience. It's something you've

got to keep improving. Um so really it

comes down to the education piece. Um,

but ultimately I think the biggest way

of convincing someone about

visualization is just do it. Try it.

Like it's like imagine if we just sat on

this podcast and just spoke about how

good running was. Okay. But like you'll

only really know if you do it, right?

You got to you just got to go on the run

and then you can decide actually, you

know, you know what? I feel good. And

the more you do it, yeah, I'm getting

better and I'm seeing progress. I'm

seeing, you know, I'm fitter. All of

that. Same way. Like I'm so done talking

about mental fitness or mental health.

Like I'd rather someone watching this or

listening to this as soon as you

finished go and try one of the things

we've said and actually commit to it.

That's what's going to make the

difference. So I'm sure that your your

mental fitness throughout the years has

kind of built up and this resilience. I

guess for when you when you go back to

the beginning, what what has changed

from when you first started

visualization to kind of where you are

now?

So I think my journey with visualization

was um quite different to how others

would kind of enter it. I mean I started

learning about visualization in

hospital. So for me it was a a chance to

relearn how to walk again to manage pain

um but also to just see myself being

healthy again. So it was very much like

at that point I was in like rock rock

bottom and visualization was a massive

source of hope. At that point it wasn't

I didn't realize it was a training tool.

I saw it as just like actually this is

giving my mind new

possibilities. Then once I trained with

you know neuroscientists and athletes

and even their coaches that's when I

really realized that wow this has a lot

more power and scope than I ever knew.

But here's where it gets really

interesting. So when I first started

learning about it, it was very much

outcome

process. Creative visualization, I

really learned from, you know, um I

learned from neuroscientists like David

Hamilton and Louise Haye who really

spoke about creative visualization as a

tool for the body and emotions and

disease.

Then explorative visualization which is

so

undocumented was found in like Walt

Disney and Einstein's journals. So when

I was reading this I was like whoa like

this is obviously a visualization but no

one no one has put it as one of those

skills. And so I guess through my

learning and through my research, I

realized that it's such a versatile

skill that whilst yes, I used it to

overcome an illness, now I use it to

become the leading expert in my field or

to captivate people when I'm public

speaking or to see, okay, what does the

Nike of mental fitness look like? Like

that's how I'm using it now. Um, and so

honestly, I just fell more in love with

it because not only was I experiencing

the benefits of it, I was also

understanding who else in history has

been using it, we just never knew. And

that's kind of exciting. It feels like a

little bit of a superpower in some ways,

but yet all of us are doing it. And you

know what's really interesting?

Everyone is probably visualizing

already. Most people visualize the

worstc case scenarios. So they'll be

seeing like, "Oh, but what if this goes

wrong? What if I go blank on stage?" Or,

"What if I don't make this deal? Uh,

what if I fail at my business?" That's

what we are rehearsing. So, that's what

we're getting good at. We're getting

good at wiring the brain to think we

can't make it, but we don't realize

we're doing it. Interesting. Um, are you

able to tell us about the medical issue?

I don't Yeah. Yeah, of course. Yeah. So,

um, I actually, so I was very high

performing when I was young. uh I guess

what you call like a high achiever. Um

also I'm South Asian, right? So if you

didn't get A stars, you were out the

family. But there was that expectation

pressure, but I thrived under it because

I was living up to it. Um and I also

played bon for county and you know my my

hopes was going for country and then you

know maybe even Olympics. Um and then at

15 yeah so 15 I was diagnosed with a

condition called ulceratative colitis.

So some people know what Crohn's is, but

basically it's an inflammatory bowel

disease, but it's

incurable. So as soon as I was

diagnosed, that was the only word I kept

getting told is that unfortunately there

is no solution. You can manage it with

medication, but it's an incurable

disease. And just imagine like you're

15, what are you what are you meant to

do with that? But I was actually very

positive. I was a very like I was an

optimistic young girl. So, I kind of

just took it on my chin and and carried

on with life.

Um, but I guess

I I didn't really realize the reality of

the disease at all. Um, and so as time

went on, it just got worse and worse and

worse. And so, you know, I I sometimes

don't know how to explain to people what

life was really like, but take a day.

Um, you know, I'd wake up, I'm having

about 65 tablets in the morning. Um, I'm

going to the L maybe 30 times a day and

it's just pure blood. Um, and of course

along with that there is so much

physical pain. Oh, it's like it's like

animalistic, you know, you're so

paralyzed by it that nothing can help.

Um, not even crying or screaming does

anything because you're just so frozen

by it. Um, but then of course the the

mental aspect of this was just harrowing

because everything that I think makes us

human I lost. It was connection. It was

the ability to just walk, the ability to

go to the L. Like we all take it for

granted. I was wearing nappies. Like it

was so shameful to be 17, 18 and just

feeling like so dehumanized.

Um, and of course lost my friends. I

just became a bit of a shell in who I

was. And well, truthfully, I didn't

really see much point in trying because

I had given everything to overcoming

this disease. Everything, you know, went

from like every diet under the sun. I

was drinking celery juice, liters of it

a day. I went to France, India, America

to try and find the best doctors. um

fecal transplants which weren't even

legal in the in the country but you do

you're so desperate right you are so

desperate to get better

um and you know I can obviously sit here

today being so grateful that it is a

disease I have genuinely overcome and I

have no fear about that but can I

pinpoint it on like one particular thing

no I think there's always going to be a

combination of whether it's diet

lifestyle people etc But one thing I

will definitely say is

that the

mind is just the most powerful part of

us. Like when you can become

so I guess strong and resilient and and

have the belief that you can make

something happen. I truly believe the

mind is capable of of just anything.

Um and that is

something yeah I fully believe whatever

that looks like for people and yeah for

me it was you know really honing in on

visualization and training myself and

training those beliefs away even the

belief like you'll be sick forever that

can be so damaging for a girl right so

damaging for anyone so I had to rewire

that I had to see a different

possibility um and again you can only be

what you can see and so I really took

that to heart basically

What's an example then in that journey

of a story that you held or a belief

that you held that you rewired and saw

immediate results from from doing that?

I guess immediate it's never I guess

nothing's going to be immediate. I think

um actually I do have one. So

um when I went to uni I did I did

eventually I was able to go after I you

know got a little bit better.

Um, you know, I mentioned I used to be

very confident as an individual and I

and I loved I was very bubbly. I would

always be like the first to, you know,

ask questions, etc. So, in uni, um, I

remember being in a lecture hall and we

all had to do presentations. This was

for our like final final marks. Um, and

I I was initially excited, but I was so

nervous because it was the first one I'd

done for a long time. And I was up in

front of everyone.

Um, and I just knew what was about to

happen. I was literally having an

accident. So, with colitis, you can't

control when you go to the L. So, you

have to like run. Obviously, I'm doing a

presentation. I just, it was so

humiliating the whole thing. And I had

an accident in front of everyone. So,

this is like 400 people. Um, obviously,

no one knew, which I think was the

harder bit because you're just standing

there. you've literally like you feel

awful. Luckily, I was wearing a nappy.

But I remember that moment scarred me. I

was like, I am never ever going to speak

in public again. Never. Because that's

going to happen. And the interesting

thing about the brain is when an

experience is super emotional, it

becomes very wired very quickly. It

becomes so like stuck in your brain. And

so any opportunity to do any

presentations or anything, I just said

no. I was like, I can't do that. I

literally can't do that. I'm going to

have an accident. So, the association

was anytime I speak in public or in

front of someone, I'll have an accident.

And it happened a few times. So, I was

like, Mai, you need to break this

pattern. That's just not like you can't

go on like that. So, I did two things.

One, I used process visualization to see

myself in different environments, public

speaking, but not having an accident. So

I was showing my brain that actually

when you do this activity this is how it

can go. I was creating a new road in my

brain. But then the other thing I did

was negative visualization. So I would

see myself having an accident in front

of people but I would show my brain that

I was fearless when it happened and I

would show my brain that it's okay and

that I would respond differently. So

what that did is it took away the fear

of it ever happening again. And I

genuinely was like I don't care.

Genuinely, even if it happened now, I

wouldn't give a [ __ ] Am I allowed to

swear? Sorry if not, but like I just

wouldn't care. I don't have that fear

anymore. But at the same time, I have so

much trust in my performance that like

my brain was able to rewire. And now

what? I'm speaking on stages in front of

thousands of people and it's my job. So

I've seen such a difference in that

belief, that performance and that

growth. I love that. And so this is

where it gets fascinating for me. I

think it's the positive, but also the

negative. So we go back to what you said

before and people are probably and I I

was definitely look back a decade laying

in bed at night and you're probably

worrying about the worst things that

that are going to happen. So what if

people are doing that and they're

they're getting visualization wrong? How

do how do they flip that? What what are

some of the most common patterns that

you see and how how do you help break

them? Okay, so a very very simple one

that all of us can just take today is if

you catch yourself saying, "Okay, well

what if this goes wrong? What if I get

really anxious? Or what if these people

judge me? What if they think it's really

embarrassing? Just pause and ask

yourself, okay, but what if it worked

out? What if it went better than I

thought? What if actually I did really

well and I tried my best? So even that

one shift is going to help you in the

moment. Now, when it comes to the

visualization, see, sometimes negative

visualization can actually be really

helpful for people. And I'll give you an

example. Let's say you're trying to stop

a really bad habit, maybe smoking. What

they found is that the research shows

that if you

visualize like let's say you continue to

smoke for 10 years and you visualize

what that would do to your life, your

family, the fear of that actually

motivates people to stop the habit.

However, some people don't respond to

it. Some people will respond to seeing

no see yourself living without smoking,

being really healthy, being really

active and that motivates them more. So

sometimes we can be motivated by fear.

Sometimes we can be motivated by the I

guess the pull of a vision. So if you

know that you are generally visualizing

like those images that don't help you, I

think start just simply closing the eyes

and going with that prompt of the

question. What if it did work out better

and actually see a better possibility?

And that can be in any scenario. It can

be in business, it can be in personal

life, it can be in sports, whatever it

is. Um, especially with your goals, if

you can show your brain that I can do

this, you are going to give yourself a

much better chance of making it happen.

Because, you know, the thing I've

noticed is that working with like some

of the best champions and entrepreneurs

and CEOs in the world, you're like, what

is it? What is it that gives you that

edge that is the reason you're here

today? And do you know what they will

say? I believed in myself. doesn't

matter about your skill, your talent. At

the end of the day, if you have that

belief that you're going to make it

happen, like it gives you the mental

edge. And there are very, very few

things that are more important than the

attitude of I will make this happen no

matter how long, what it's going to

take. Yeah, I want this. I'm going to

make it happen. Nice. So this I don't

know if this will be challenging so I'm

excited to see where you take this but

what what about the people that are

thinking so visualization is one way of

doing it but actually when you were

talking there I was thinking what about

just action if I can if I can say right

I'm I'm actually going to just keep

going on stage and and giving myself the

evidence so I've actually got concrete

evidence rather than visualizing it

because then that's that's real that's

concrete evidence. What would you say to

those people? So I get a lot of people

come to me to be like well you know

let's say it's public speaking or fear

of that right apparently did you know

fear of public speaking is more than the

fear of death. Wow. People literally

feel it's like dying. So um okay if I

put you on stage and I said do this a

100 times right you will naturally get

better at public speaking right? You'll

probably be less anxious and you would

have done it. Problem is one we don't

all have the time for that. Two, your

doubts, past experiences, and fears are

going to get in the way. You will

self-sabotage very quickly, and it will

just mean that the experience is either

so traumatic that you're adding to it or

that you just you just won't take

action. Now, this is where it's

powerful. Why can we use visualization

here? So, I would then suggest to you,

we visualize maybe 60, 70 times you on

all these different stages speaking,

walking on, doing well, getting results.

you want and getting better each time.

It works because as amazing and complex

and incredible as your mind is, it's

actually very very simple because it

really struggles to know the difference

between you actually doing something and

you just imagining it. So you going on

stage, right, is going to fire these

neurons in the brain. Now, you

visualizing going on stage, it fires

nearly identical neurons in the brain.

So, by us visualizing it beforehand,

we're getting you better, getting your

performance better, getting your beliefs

stronger before you even step on there.

And that's why it's good because we

don't all have the time to just

physically practice. And take like um

F1, really good example. They literally

can't be in the car all the time because

of the G-force, right? Same with like

bob sledders. can't do it. That's why

when you utilize something like

visualization, you're still upskilling

and getting your technique better or

your beliefs better even though you're

not physically doing it. And so in the

same way, why don't we use the same

situation? That's what I would say. Like

it. What's the role of consistency? So

if we're thinking of visualization and

and mental fitness, is it a right now

it's a habit and I have to do it three

times a week like you said before or

once it becomes part of you do you

change the the habit? Yeah. So I think

um I mean look there are so many

different ideas and thoughts about

habits right the really important thing

to remember about the brain is that it

moves towards what it's most familiar

with and that's why rather than even

talking about it in a habit sense all I

would say is think about repetition your

brain thrives under repet let me do that

again your brain thrives with repetition

so for most of us if you have been

repeating you know doubt doubts or fears

or I'm not good enough or I'll never

build this business or I'm just not a

good salesperson. Um if that's what

you've been repeating for so long,

that's what your brain is good at. It's

what it's familiar with. So it will give

you every possible evidence and um

opportunity and reason to tell yourself,

okay, this is true.

Now, by repeating a different thing,

what you're going to be doing is making

your brain familiar with a new

possibility or a new belief. Now, if you

do that once, great. You might fire some

new neurons, but then it will go away

because your old road comes into play

again. So, with the brain, by repeating

it again and again and again, and look,

I'm not saying it needs to be for years.

You know, the brain can rewire in like

90 days. And so you'll start seeing

those changes already, but that's how

you actually start to change the

structure of those beliefs and your

brain. So really it comes down to

repetition. So what I say is I'd rather

no it's more effective to do 2 minutes

of visualization a day than one hour at

the beginning of the week.

Like absolutely or even 30 seconds 10

times a day.

That's why I always um when people are

trying to improve their self-t talk, a

really great way to rewire is every time

it's called the doorway method comes

from Michael Phelps. Every time you walk

under a door, just say something that's

actually going to serve you. Like, okay,

I'm going to do this or I'm super

grateful for this opportunity. Because

think about how many doors you go under.

You've probably been through what, like

20 today already. Like by that

repetition, you're wiring your brain to

just think better, think more

positively, think like the top 1%. And

it's as simple as that. Repetition. Wow.

Jack's actually got a thing where you

probably think the same thing. When it's

like 10 or 11 minutes past 11, he always

goes, "Life's good." Yeah. I love it. I

love that word. And he shouts it to his

team in the office as well. That is so

good. Yeah. Powerful one. Um, sorry,

mate. You were probably going to say

that, weren't you? But you can do it

with anything. when you take a sip of

water or as soon as you wake up. You

know, I remember um when I was like very

ill, I hated waking up. Why would I want

to? Right? And then my own teacher was

like to me, why don't you wake up and

just say, thank you. Show me how good it

gets. And I was like, I can barely like

move or breathe. Why would I say that?

I've now done it for around six years. I

don't even think about saying it. And I

say it the genuine I I open my eyes. My

brain is immediately like, "Thank you.

Show me how good it gets." And it's just

so cool how I've literally just built

that habit and my brain automatically

knows. Say that immediately. Wow. So, so

I'm going to give you a a personal

example and just see what you think of

this. So, me and Jack, we've got another

podcast about stoicism, right? So, we

talk about stoicism all the time.

Marcus. Yes. We love a bit of Marcus.

Um, but sometimes my my wife will

definitely listen to this cuz she's a

big fan. But she gets annoyed at me for

like I'm almost unre like there's no

reaction to most things. Okay. And

actually that becomes quite annoying and

I get why that would be annoying you

know we're trying to get the kids out to

school and stuff. So is there a point

where you can kind of take it too far.

So um no I think so okay I love stoicism

and I understand the the you know

approach to it. I think this is again

where it comes to everyone is so

different. Now I am not like that. I am

a very emotional individual and I don't

mind that I react because I've learned

how to respond or communicate how I'm

reacting. So like if I feel anger or

frustration or sadness like I will feel

it. And here's a good way of putting it,

right? So look at two tennis players.

You've got Yanick S who on court you

will never see an emotion from him ever.

He's very stoic. Whatever's happening in

the game you just no you don't see it.

Take Jovovic. He will shout. He will

cry. He will express. He will get angry

because that's what he needs. That's

what his body and mind need. And as soon

as he's done that, he's back on court

ready to go. Now, if he suppressed that

and just tried to just be like, "No, no,

no." Like, you know, just look okay,

look mature, he wouldn't play very well.

So this is where it comes down to once

you learn what your emotions need and

how much you feel things or how you need

to express it then of course like you

know for some people stoicism is going

to be really good. For others no they

may need to be a little bit more

energized with their reactions and

that's okay but the key is being able to

communicate that and understanding each

other's language. That's very important.

So, I kind of get your wife to be fair.

Like, I'm, you know, my one of my exes

used to be very stoic and I'd be like,

"I don't get it. How are you not angry

at this? How you not frustrated?" But

then I learned to honor that like that's

how he deals with it and that's amazing.

And I definitely was inspired by it. Did

it work for me? No. Cuz I then harbored

a lot more than I wanted to. And so,

it's really about learning that language

and experimenting. That's key. And I I

know from social media you work with

some incredible clients all over the

world. So you do some amazing work. One

of the things that I'm I'm thinking

about now is and the clear up between

visualization and manifestation was

brilliant. But picking yourself up. So

if I was to visualize myself as more

confident, more chatty, whatever in

those situations, that's probably not

something that maybe is measurable. I

can go out and say, "Yeah, I felt like

that." But for the people that then

visualize something and it might not

come true or actually it still goes

wrong even though they visualized it.

How do you how do you help people to

maybe pick themselves back up and get

back on the horse if the work that

they've done doesn't feel like it's

paying off? Yeah, I get this question a

lot of like well my what if I don't

reach my goals or you know but it didn't

turn out the way I wanted. Um I'm going

to answer this in two ways. So, I

actually saw a clip really recently of

Venus Williams talking about how she

would use visualization before all the

games and she was like, "It's not to say

that, you know, every game turned out

the way I wanted to." No. But did I give

myself the best chance of doing that?

Yes. And I like that. It's really about

how are you mentally preparing yourself?

Because if you walk in to a game or a

room or a networking event or, you know,

a sales call where you're thinking, "Oh,

no, like that person's good or like

they're not going to they're not going

to agree or whatever." You're just

already like ruining your chances,

right? So, one thing is think of it more

as the inputs you're putting. Mhm.

Second thing, it's just not about the

goals, is it? It's not about you know

really that end

result. The thing I can genuinely say

whether I've achieved the goal or not

that I visualized or that confident

person or whatever I can honestly say

who I have become on the way is worth it

because if I was visualizing let's say

I'm visualizing the Nike of mental

fitness right which is exactly what I'm

doing. I don't know if I'm going to get

there. Who even knows what that is,

right? But is it pushing me to be bolder

with my conversations or with what I am

trying to build? Yes. And I know that

the person I'm becoming because of that

visualization and that vision is a much

stronger, much confident, you know, much

more kind of brave individual. And so I

always say to people, don't get too

attached to the goal. Think about more

like who are you becoming on the way.

That's what's exciting because and I'll

make it so real. I once worked with this

woman called Katie and she was building

her own company and she was like, "Okay,

Maya, like you know, it's the first

launch. I want five clients." I was

like, "Okay, cool. Why don't we

visualize 50?" Not to say that, right,

we're going to attach to 50 and that

needs to be our number, but you seeing

that you're going to be working with 50

clients is undoubtedly going to make you

think slightly differently. It's going

to make you perform slightly

differently. You're going to go on those

calls and not be so scared that, oh my

god, if I don't get this client, I'm,

you know, not going to get my five. No,

you're going to be thinking, you know,

10, 20, 30, and you may even get 10, 20,

30, because you gave yourself 50. So,

what I find is it's such a great way to

be impatient with your inputs, but be

very patient with your outputs. It's not

about attaching to the goal. And as soon

as someone says that to me, I'm like,

that's just not the question we need to

be asking. Same with how long will it

take. However long it takes. If you want

it, time won't matter. That's key.

Beautiful. Beautiful answer. This is a a

selfish question. Love it. And hopefully

some people can get something out of it.

I've got a young son, just turned one.

Zach's got four children. Mental fitness

as they're growing up is going to be a

thing. feel that even the world with

mental health these days. So I think

when they're so young and so

susceptible, how do we as

parents influence lead them to start

thinking about their own mental fitness?

Yeah. So, you know, I I do work with

kids and I think why um why I love it is

maybe not as young as one just yet, but

um their imaginations are incredible,

right? But as we get older, we tend to

dampen that and we tend to say, "No, no,

you can't be an astronaut or like you

have to do this." So, one thing I would

say is always remind them how powerful

their imagination is because it really

does start from here. The second thing

is with kids, I think questions are the

most powerful thing you can ask

because you know, just imagine if you

got into the habit of just like how we

teach them to brush their teeth, right?

Dental hygiene. Imagine if every night

before they went to bed, you simply

asked

them, "What are you grateful for

today?" Cool. They're going to grow up

just always doing that and then doing it

to their kids. And it always reminds me

of

um Sarah Blakeley, the the founder of

Spanx. And she said that, you know,

every day at dinner, her dad would ask

them the question of, "What did you fail

at today?"

and she said that it just became a

normal dinner question and it meant that

when she grew older she celebrated a lot

of her failures and she now does it with

her kids. So I think people

underestimate how those traditions and

habits how quickly they can form and so

just like they brush their teeth asking

that one question and really I think the

most important thing is just like how

when you're young you know I was put

into every sport ever and like go try

this, go try net, go try gymnastics or

whatever at school they're not going to

be doing mental fitness. So, it's our

job at home or in other situations to

just talk about training the mind just

like how we train the body and they see

you going to the gym, talk about it.

Like I find it interesting. So, I was in

Oxford Circus on a bench and I was just

doing my visualization. So, obviously my

eyes are closed, headphones in, kind of

dangerous to be fair. Um, and people are

looking at me so weirdly. They're like,

"What's she doing?" Oh, that's really

embarrassing. But why can we run in

public and we're not allowed to train

our mind in public? It just doesn't make

any sense to me. And so it's because I

think culturally we've seen like only

like monks and people on mountains doing

this. I'm like no let's get it in the

forefront of people's minds so that they

realize actually it's a very cool thing

to do. And so I think if we can start

that young that will change a lot. So

questions even just one question two I'd

say start changing the conversation

around training the mind and body. And

then three, never let them forget how

powerful their imagination is. Because

those beliefs start from young, right?

One thing a teacher says or one thing a

parent says will start creating those

roads in the brain that then show up

when we're older. So, we have a

responsibility to plant the correct

seeds and the correct roads, however

young. Nice. I've started recently when

my son brings me a picture that he's

drawn asking him how he feels about it

first so that he doesn't necessarily

attach the there's a validation that I

need here. Almost like a oh, I really

like this first and he kind of talks me

through it first. So he's just there to

if he's happy first then we're all

happy. I love that. That's really good.

Yeah. So hopefully that's going to

that's going to work. That's going to

pay off. Fingers crossed. Um I've picked

up on something. So we we love

communication, mindset, neuroscience,

all these different things. the way you

speak is very certain. There's no ums

are and I'm guessing that's something

that you've worked on, but how important

is that in the visualization piece, the

kind of certainty in the language you're

using? Yeah. So,

um it's a it's a really interesting

thing like I have started replacing the

word beliefs with certainty because

really when you're creating a new

belief, your reality may not reflect

that just yet. you know, if I'm like,

okay, I'm a great public speaker and I'm

actually pretty crap. It's a bit like,

whoa, what's going on? So, I think the

brain, like I said, you know, because it

moves towards what it's familiar with,

the more certain you are with something,

then the the easier it's going to be to

adopt that. Now don't get me wrong like

you know even though yes I'm a mental

fitness expert and you know I've done

visualization for so many years I still

have days where my certainty like drops

or let's say I have doubts

or you know I'm a bit fearful like even

take like the book right it's a really

new professional challenge for me I'm

obviously very nervous I'm really

nervous like yes I've put in so much

work into it. But, you know, you never

know what's going to happen. And there

have been moments I'm like, "Oh, no. You

shouldn't publish this." Or like, "No,

no, no, like people aren't going to like

it." Of course, that comes up for me.

The point is, am I going to listen to

it? Am I going to feed it even more? No.

And that's what we can do is that like

those thoughts, it's not about never

having negative thoughts or having

doubts, right? Let them come in, enjoy

them. The key is what are you going to

say to them? How are you going to

respond to them? And um I don't know if

you've ever heard about this story about

the uh it's like a Churroi legend about

these two wolves. Yeah. Yeah. And the

granddad is like telling the grandson.

Okay. So in our mind we have these two

wolves that are that are kind of against

each other. You've got the one that's

very empowering, positive, and certain.

You've got the other one that's a bit

more doubtful, self-sabotaging, and

negative. And he was like, "Well,

they're always fighting each other in

your brain." And the grandson is like,

"Well, who wins?" And the grandfather's

like, "It's the one you feed." And I

love that because it's not to say the

wolf isn't there. It's the thing that

you have control to be like, "How

certain are you going to be? What are

you going to feed?" And that the what

the one you feed is the one that's going

to be more certain. You can absolutely

hold, you know, doubt and courage in the

same hand. Absolutely. The point is

which one are you going to make louder?

And that's where I see certainty. Um, so

yeah, in the visualization piece, of

course, you want to prompt and prime

your brain to be like this can be

possible. And a really simple shift. So

I actually spoke about this recently is

that when you're talking about your

goals, instead of being like I want to

achieve XY Z, simply say I am

achieving. That tiny shift will

completely change the way you look at

it. That perspective is so important. Or

even you know how like um Muhammad Ali

would be like I am the greatest. It's

kind of interesting right? He became the

greatest like he's just so certain that

even if it didn't happen the point is he

was still going to get very far with it.

And so yeah the words you say matter and

the way you say it matters even more.

But I'll also challenge that and say

sometimes it's not about being

assertive. Sometimes it's about being

compassionate or kind, right? Because if

we're always so like assertive to

ourselves, sometimes the brain just

needs a bit to be like, "Look, it's

okay. Chill, take the day off." You

know, you you made a mistake, it's okay.

And sometimes that's what we need

instead. So the tone does matter as

well. Beautiful. Amazing. Uh can you

tell us about the book? Yeah, so the

book is called Visualize. Um Think, feel

perform like the top 1%. Um, so it's out

March 27th. And you know, did I ever

think I'd be writing a book? No.

Um, but I did it

because everything about visualization

has been so like behind the scenes.

There's been so much gatekeeping and so

much lack of education that yes, you

have a few chapters here and there, but

really there's nothing out there where

you can apply it to your life. Now, you

have a lot in old sports psychology, so

books from like the 1900s, which I love,

but it's all to do with sports. But

like, you know, how does someone, let's

say, who's 20, how did they get better

at networking? How does maybe a mom of

four manage her

anxiety? But how does also Yeah. like

one of the top 10 tennis players win the

Australian Open? So what I love about

the book and how it's designed is anyone

can take anything from it. And the way

I've done it is it's awareness,

intelligence, and then execution. Get

aware, like the self-awareness piece.

What is your brain like, you know, get

to know it. Intelligence is all about

the five types of visualizations and

being able to practice that and do them.

And then execution, like we spoke about,

how do you actually integrate it into

your life? Because if you can't really,

you know, how many of us just read a

book and then we never do anything about

it? Yeah. been there, done that. Um, we

can't do that anymore. We've actually

got to take steps. It's like reading a

book about running, never running. I

don't want that to happen. So, that's

why I made it as practical and easy to

implement as possible. Um, but yeah, I'm

excited. I think it's going to be a lot

of new information in this area um, done

in a quite different way as well, which

will be fun to see how how people can

really take it and integrate it. I'm so

excited for you. This this conversation

has been inspirational and refreshing,

Maya. So, thank you for joining us. Um,

obviously we we'll put a link to the

book. Um, but where else can people find

you? Where should they find you? How can

they get in touch with you? Yeah. So,

um, talk a lot on my Instagram. So,

that's mymental fitness. Um, that's good

mental diet by the way. Once I did that,

someone was like, "So, should we just

unfollow you?" And I was like, "Savage."

Um, or obviously LinkedIn, which is Myra

as well, and then the other book. And

then, you know, I'm always hosting

events in London and doing bits here and

there because I think um why not create

a bit of a community around this, you

know, we have so many in the physical

fitness space. I think mental fitness

deserves the same. So, and that's all on

on websites and on Instagram as well.

So, yeah. And I'm always up for a chat.

I I reply to all my DMs because I wish I

had that when I was also learning about

this because not a lot of people are

talking about it. So, yes, always up for

a quick chat or a voice note. I'm a

voice kind of guy. Love it. Thank you so

much for joining us. Thank you.