The StoWicks Conversations
by
Carolyn and Seth Wicks
Today's Key Points:
- See Your Wins
- Rehearse Adversity
- Prepare Your Mind
Carolyn: Have you ever noticed how the days you expect to go well, usually do? And the days you wake up already overwhelmed seem to unravel before they even start? That’s not an accident, that’s the power of visualization at work, whether we realize we're using it or not.
When you can see the win before you’re in it, you show up differently. You move with more confidence. You make decisions with more clarity. You’re not scrambling, you’re simply following the path your mind has already walked.
The cool thing is, this works for every single area of your life. Your work, your marriage, your fitness, your goals. You perform better when your mind believes you’ve already succeeded.
So this week, we’re breaking down how to visualize in a way that actually changes your behavior, and ultimately, your results.
Seth: I've touched on this before, but I was a field goal kicker back in high school and college. In high school, my make percentage was 84.8% (28/33). While I sadly never played a collegiate game, I did compete against future NFL kickers and won multiple kicking competitions. In my opinion, I was an above-average kicker.
I think the main reason for my success, even over my physical ability, was my mindset. I always visualized making the kick, which means I never even thought about missing it. I also thought about the emotions of making it - how excited I would feel to contribute and help the team win. It's the same for really any sport I played: hitting a pure shot in golf vs shanking it, making the basketball shot vs air-balling it, scoring the free kick in soccer vs missing it.
Success comes to those who have already seen it. If all you ever think about is the miss, what other result could even happen? Sure, you might get lucky, but visualizing and focusing on the best-case outcome will help you increase your odds of it becoming reality.
Carolyn: What Seth described with kicking is something every athlete understands, but for the rest of us normies, we sometimes forget it applies just as much to real life as it does to sports. You don’t need a stadium or a scoreboard to use visualization. You can use it in your workday, in your marriage, in your parenting, in your fitness...anywhere you want to show up as the best version of yourself.
One simple place to start is with something like the Ivy Lee Method, which is writing down your top priorities for the next day. (The original method lists six tasks, but most people find that three truly important ones are enough.) The list itself matters, but what makes it powerful is what you do before the day starts: mentally walk yourself through completing each one. Picture yourself finishing that task you’ve been avoiding, navigating a meeting calmly, or following through on your workout even if you're tired.
And if you know me at all, you know I want to make sure there is actual science behind it. It turns out, mental rehearsal activates many of the same neural pathways as real practice, strengthening focus, improving emotional regulation, and priming your brain for follow-through. Research shows that the brain responds almost identically to imagined experiences and real ones, which is why both positive and negative visualization can shape your behavior in meaningful ways. In other words, you’re giving your mind a blueprint for how the day should go, so when the moment comes, it feels familiar. You’re not guessing, reacting, or hoping. You’re simply doing something you’ve already “done”!
I think it is important to mention that this isn't pretending everything will go perfectly. The goal is to go into whatever endeavor you are working on with confidence and clarity. When you’ve already seen yourself succeed, even in small, everyday ways, you make choices that align with that version of you. It’s the same principle Seth felt on the field: you perform better when your mind believes the win is already yours.
Seth: A different angle that builds resilience is negative visualization. This is what I wish I would have had when I missed my first kick. I had never missed a kick before, and when it happened, I had never seen it, even in my mind. Sure, I had missed in practice, but never in a game. It was hard for me to overcome it in the moment, and luckily I only kicked PAT's the rest of the game.
Negative visualization is bracing yourself for the worst-possible outcome. It's inevitable that bad things will happen, so being mentally prepared is vital. Working in sales, I will lose bids, have rough cold calls, and lose existing clients. That is reality, and while I do everything I can to ensure these things don't happen, eventually they will.
The main thing is to be prepared, not to induce anxiety and fear. That will lead to inaction, which is even worse than trying and failing. So visualize these bad outcomes, and see yourself being calm in the storm.
Carolyn: Seth’s point about negative visualization is powerful because life will not hand us the “perfect scenario.” And this is where visualization becomes even more valuable: not just seeing the win, but also seeing the variables. When you visualize only the best-case scenario, the smallest curveball can throw off your entire day. But when you mentally walk through a few different outcomes, you become adaptable instead of reactive.
The goal is to prepare your mind without panicking your mind. For example, if you’re pitching a client, imagine the objections they might raise and rehearse calm, confident responses. If you’re having a hard conversation with your partner, picture the different ways they might react and picture yourself staying grounded. Even in parenting, imagine the tantrum, the resistance, the chaos, and visualize yourself handling it with patience instead of frustration.
The benefit is huge: when something unexpected happens, it feels familiar, because your brain has already been there. You’ve already practiced staying steady. You don’t flinch, rush, or spiral, you adapt. That's where resilience comes from. Knowing you can handle it even when it doesn't go your way.
Seth: One of my all-time favorite show/movie quotes is when Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones talks about what Carolyn just discussed: Being mentally prepared for every possible outcome.
The last thing I want to leave you with is this: Do not suffer more than necessary. Do not go into the day unprepared when tragedy and change can strike at any time. You must train your mind for difficulty, for the inevitable. Visualize success, sure, but also visualize every extreme, even Death. When you've seen the worst things in your mind, nothing in reality can break you.
Carolyn: Your challenge this week: don’t just think about your goals. See them. See the win. See the obstacle. See yourself handling both.
Seth: It’s the week after a holiday, which means most people are a bit scattered and overwhelmed, so slow down. Write down your top three goals for the week, then visualize taking action on each one.
Both: If this helped you today, forward it to someone who could use the reminder.
See you next week,
Carolyn & Seth
The StoWicks
Quote of the Week:
"The body achieves what the mind believes."
Napoleon Hill
