Aaron Volpatti: Instagram / Website / Hockeydb

Today's guest is cognitive performance coach, visualization expert, former NHL player, fighter and survivor Aaron Volpatti. I heard of Aaron being a visualization expert through a friend and immediately knew i had to have him on the show. I've read in many books, heard on many podcasts, and seen on many youtube videos how important visualization is to achieving your goals, but something was always missing, It never really clicked for me. So who better to interview than a man who survives a terrible burn injury at 20 years old, and defys all odds at not only making a comeback to playing hockey, but making it to the show, all credited to the power of visualization.

The Golden Nugget of Wisdom:

If you're anything like me, you've heard about visualization as a technique to achieving your goals, or getting what you want, and immediately written it off as magic "woowoo" bullshit. There's just no way that the secret ingredient to success can be as simple as imagining what you want. However after my conversation with Aaron Volpatti, I realize theres many more layers to it than that, and that my view was limited and naive. I now understand that visualization is a powerful tool in order to feel prepared in the most intense situations.

One way I plan on implementing it in my life is as a sort of diagnostic test for my own "self-worth." Here's what I mean:

You can imagine with clarity how you would feel in a FUTURE scenario with your CURRENT mindset. And this will help you figure out what insecurities and limiting beliefs are currently holding you back and what you need to change. Ok, visualize with me here.

Imagine Elon Musk trying to close a million dollar deal, or asking out the partner of his dreams. Do you think he's nervous, anxious and sweaty... or cool, calm, collected and confident? It's easy to imagine that Elon feels worthy of striking the deal and getting the partner of his dreams, because he's Elon fucking Musk. Now imagine that person is you... how do you feel with the pressure of a million dollar deal on your back, or the pressure of potential rejection from your crush?

I've identified that I tend to imagine being nervous and not confident. It's easier for me to imagine failure over success. I lean towards not believing in myself. It's almost as though I don't believe I currently have what it takes, that I don't deserve it, because I don't have the same track record as Elon.

That right there, THAT'S the point of visualization. I can pretty accurately imagine how CURRENT Jeremy would react in a situation, and realize it doesn't align with who I want to be, or what I know I NEED to be to get what I want. And now that I KNOW, I can start trying to CHANGE.

In order to change, I can visualize the internal movie of FUTURE Jeremy KILLING IT. I can imagine it SO often, with such consistency, in such vivid detail that it becomes habit, so when the time comes, I've prepared for so long that it feels FAMILIAR rather than new and scary so I feel as worthy as Elon, which will translate to my body language, my tone of voice, my confidence.

Music:
FLAWD SOULS: Spotify / Instagram / SoundCloud