The advice “visualize success” means something a little different than “expect success”. Visualize says something about a creative process. Imagine a chain of events. Predict cause and effect. What will it look like and feel like for something to happen. Conjure it into existence by imagining details.

Expect says something about suffering if results don’t match expectations. It is less focused on process and more on outcome.

They are similar in that they ask you to get familiar with the idea that success is within reach. Both paint a picture in your mind that the thing you want will happen.

A golf meditation CD I listened to at age 18 was the first time visualization made sense and worked for me. Call it a shot ritual or shot routine. Any good shot routine has repeatable physical movement coupled with visualization.

Usually eyes are open and you imagine in your vision an object in parabolic motion. An arrow leaves a bow and arcs toward a target. A soccer ball flies from the penalty spot to the back of the net. A basketball goes through the hoop from the free throw line. A ping pong, tennis, or volley ball serve is aced into the opponent’s half.

More powerful visualization is possible by getting more senses involved. What will it sound like? How will my breathing feel? How will the muscle tension in my shoulders and hands feel? Small detail is good.

People visualize outside of sports. Say you are supporting someone else or working with a partner and you want to make something great together. Imagine what them at their best looks like. Set up situations to try to allow that to happen.

The last piece of a shot routine is accepting the result. In a game like golf if you get emotional because the thing you wanted didn’t happen it is going to interfere with your next shot. It is harder to visualize success when there are lingering negative feelings from the last shot.

The phrase I tell myself is “visualize without attachment to outcome”. The only expectation is that making something great can happen.