Imagining performing a specific action is a technique used to great effect by sportspeople
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This article is part of a special series exploring the radical potential of the human imagination. Read more here.
Feeling stressed about an upcoming event? Imagine, for a moment, that you have a magic anti-anxiety pill in front of you that will take away your nerves. Picture its packaging, and feel yourself popping the pill from its foil. Now, visualise bringing it to your mouth, dropping it in, and conjure up the sensation of swallowing it.
These were the instructions…