I’m 14 days into Phase 3 of the LiveHard program. Almost halfway through. Just 16 days away from completing the full LiveHard year.

If you’re not familiar with 75Hard or LiveHard it’s worth checking out. It’s a mental toughness program and includes a difficult list of daily tasks (e.g. 2 workouts – one has to be outdoors no matter the weather; 1 gallon of water, reading requirement, strict diet, 5 minute cold shower, more…)

Visualization isn’t required in Phase 3. But it is something (from Phase 1) that I’ve kept going as part of the deeper process. And lately, it’s been changing the way I think.

Not because I’m getting better at picturing the win. But because I’m learning to picture what happens if I don’t.

I have always read and been told to visualize success. We see ourselves closing the deal, launching the thing, hitting the target. It feels good, and it’s motivating. To be clear, this is a good thing, BUT, apparently, there is a more effective use of visualization.

After a recent Huberman Labs podcast’ve been diving into the neuroscience behind how visualization really works.

Dr Huberman breaks it down clearly. The most effective visualization isn’t about seeing the reward. It’s about picturing the cost of inaction. The failure. The disappointment. The ripple effects of not doing what you said you would do. This, of course, assumes you have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish in a given area of life. Yes, there is some degree of visualization of a successful outcome that is important, but not near as much as we might think.

When you vividly imagine failure – what it looks like, what it feels like – you activate a different motivational system. One that kicks up adrenaline, sharpens focus, and pushes your body and brain into motion. It’s not about fear in a paralyzing way. It’s about urgency. And energy.

I’ve tried out and started using three specific protocols from Huberman’s research that have helped me show up with more focus, especially when resistance kicks in.

The first is the visual focus tool. Fix your gaze on one single point in the room or on the horizon for 30 to 60 seconds. It sounds basic, but the impact is real. Blood pressure rises slightly. Adrenaline and dopamine begin to release. You go from a relaxed internal state to one of readiness and action. I try it before work blocks, before heading into challenging conversations, or even before heading to the gym.

The second is the visualization of failure. Sit or stand quietly and think about what would happen if you don’t follow through on your highest priorities. If you quit early. If you miss the mark. I think about how it would affect my team, my clients, my family, my sense of self. I keep it brief and sharp. Enough to spark motion, but not spiral. It’s surprisingly powerful. It makes the cost of drifting very real, and that clarity becomes fuel.

The third is the space-time bridging protocol. This one was weird at first. You close your eyes and breathe into your internal state, then shift your gaze from your body to the middle distance to the horizon to full panoramic vision. Then reverse it back again. What it does is trigger and train your brain to move between short-term and long-term thinking. You connect the action you’re about to take with the outcome you want weeks or months from now. That connection helps reduce overwhelm. It makes the next step feel meaningful instead of just urgent.

These tools have been helping me in unexpected ways and they’re based on solid neuroscience studies…not just new-age advice from the latest guru.

Visualization is just a mental checklist – a system to bridge the gap between identity and execution.

So try this for yourself. If you’re visualizing success and still struggling to show up, try visualizing failure. See what happens if you don’t do the thing. Let that vision move you into action.

Stare at a point. Breathe with intention. Shift from internal to external focus. Connect your actions today to the outcome you want later.

Ultimately, every goal is made real or lost through what we do today. Not what we imagine. Not what we post. Not what we promise.

What we do or, intentionally, do not do.

And sometimes the best way to get there is to look clearly at what happens if you don’t.

See you next Saturday.