All right, we're going to do something a little different this week. This idea came from my wife, and it's about visualization.
There's tons and tons of data now that prove that the brain doesn't really know the difference between an actual experience and visualizing an actual experience. And when I went through all my training this year for the Red Bull X-Alps, I read a lot about this. And you can get a lot done. If you're injured or laid up, or just don't have access to flying, by just visualizing it, and I've started using this a ton in my own flying, so I thought I'd just take you through a very simple and not very long visualization exercise that you could hopefully use whenever you need it—before a comp, before a big flight, before just a little sledder, just something to get your head around flying and doing it safely and doing it well.
So in the future, just have this on your phone and you could fast forward to this section and do a little visualization exercise. But let's get into this exercise.
Close your eyes.
Take a couple of nice deep breaths. We're not meditating here. We're just going to imagine how a good flight goes down.
Good flight always starts the night before at least with eyes closed. Imagine that you've checked the weather. You've looked at all your resources. You've already spoken to your flying buddies. Everybody's ready for the the next day.
You're going to get a good night's sleep. You're going to eat well.
And you're just relaxed about the big day you're going to have tomorrow.
Imagine kind of what that looks like the night before. You're calm. You're collected.
You're relaxed and focused.
And you're not going to make any schoolboy errors. And that means that everything's just organized. All your Your instruments are charged, your flight deck's put together, the clothing, the water, the food, all the stuff you need for this flight. Whether it's a big bivvy, it's going really remote, or just something local, or a comp, whatever backups, instruments, just run through it right now with your eyes closed. Run through all the little things that go into your kit, your external battery, your inReach, maybe your journal, your
phone, cable or cables, somebody
close to you has your contact details, you guys have already put together a WhatsApp or Telegram group, how you're going to communicate. communicate, all the little things that you don't want to be thinking about tomorrow are already done.
So again, just take a minute here to run through and visualize all that stuff. Don't necessarily get up and go handle that right now if you haven't, but just run through in your mind that you've got everything you need. Some protein bars, some
electrolytes in your water, everything you need now
Let's imagine it's the next morning. You're up early because you don't want to rush; you want to have plenty of time, get your gear together, and get to launch. You're relaxed, thinking about some jokes. You feel good and imagine that. Think about it: how does it feel able to feel good? How does it feel to feel calm?
Again, just breathing deeply.
Your eyes are closed, but notice how much you can see through the lids of your eyes, the light and color and contrast.
Let's imagine you're up at launch now, putting down your gear.
You might have a little tarp to help keep things organized.
And you begin to lay out all of your stuff. You
want to make sure that that whatever you have and whatever pockets you use are there. For example, an external battery, if you don't keep it in your flight deck.
Your inReach is on. Tracking is on. Your phone is on. Your maps are downloaded. And whatever initial page you like to fly with is up.
If you're flying with buddies, you've got them on XCTrack or other ways to have them. You've decided on a radio frequency. that's on. You've checked the levels.
You've got your PTT all set.
Let's do a nice check of your gear. Go through it all. Your speed bar, the knot's all good. Is it connected?
How about the pins on your reserve and the second reserve for flying comp kit or two reserves?
Anything that might need a little bit of maintenance or attention right now.
Let's check out all your stuff because because we don't have your wing out yet. You don't need to expose that to more sun, but you're going to check everything that's in your immediate vicinity when it comes to your harness.
You've got a knife. If
you use a drogue chute, you've got that accessible.
And whatever instruments you use are on. And, of course, they're charged because we did that the night before.
If you're at a comp, Let's go ahead and imagine for a minute or so that you're—you've just done your task briefing and you're getting really—you're very familiar with the course, both on your screen or screens, and in your mind. You understand the terrain; you can visualize it. Let's just run through it at top speed here, not at paragliding speed, but just—just imagine real quickly what this flight's going to look like. Just take it from launch to turn point to turn point to turn point. Or if it's just a big XC day, then various geographical features that you know and
run through it. Let's just do it quickly for now. We'll come back to that.
Imagine it both on the horizon and then also in your instrument. run through what you're going to do today from the launch to goal just so you've got it clearly in your mind what the task is run
through. If, if you do this at a comp run, through in your mind how you enter the waypoint, waypoints, put them in your instruments. The cylinders, these are the the little things that can often be really easy to screw up and wreck your day. So let's make sure that the task is known and correct. Now
let's go back to your gear. You've checked your harness, you've checked the pins, you've checked your flight deck, checked your speed bar, your radio, your in reach your helmet let's
Lay your wing out any
Obvious signs of damage lines. Make sure we're all... how many things happen because of little problems with the lines, so let's make sure everything's clear. Just go through them left to right. Check all the lines. A's on top, brakes at the bottom. Everything's clean. One...
final shot at going to the bathroom, putting
on your condom catheter or diaper, whatever it is you use, all
The boxes are ticked throughout.
This whole time, you've been looking at the sky, getting a feel for what's happening above. Little puffy clouds are forming. See them? Notice how they're getting bigger? The day's starting to look really good. It's very little, little wind.
Can't wait to get off the hill. You're excited, but you're also calm. Feeling really good about the day. You're confident. You've done a ton of ground handling. You can see it, the launch, exactly how it's going to go. You can see that, you know, if you turn right, your right cascades over the left. Your A's are in one hand. Your brakes, your hands are down through the brake toggles. Got it all dialed.
If other people around you are struggling with it, it just makes you even more confident. You know you've got this move. Done it a million times over and over and over again. Visualize it. See it in your mind exactly how the launch is going to go.
Okay, let's get in the harness.
All the clips are done. All the checks are done. Chin straps straps hooked.
You've once again checked the pins on your reserve or reserves.
Now you're just looking at the sky. You know your instruments are on. You know everything's been taken care of on your flight deck.
You're ready to go.
Breathe. You're calm. You're collected. You're excited. See it. Feel it.
You lay out your wing. Walk down the hill a little bit. It might be a a little cross. It might be a little windier than normal. It doesn't matter. You've got this move. Again, you've done it a million times. You're going to attack it with optimism and confidence.
Wait for the right cycle. You see it coming. You feel it coming.
Dance. Dance with the wing. Love it. Smile at it as if she comes up overhead.
Catch her with a quick pump of the brakes. Turn.
Torpedo. Chrigel torpedo. Don't mess around here. None of this farting around on your feet and sitting back in the harness. Get forward. Be athletic. Push. Hands up. Let the wing fly.
Get a long ways away from the hill before changing anything.
Then step into your harness. sit back yes ah it's such a good feeling briefly
Look up at the wing, just do a check if anything needs attention. Now's the time; you're a long ways away from the hill. You've got plenty of height. Deal with any issues if there are any, and
There aren't, because you've checked everything. Everything's smooth and good. Follow...
your instincts now you know what to do you've been here many many many, many times before.
Now, the only thing you need to be thinking about from this moment until the last moment of the day is observation. Look everywhere, constantly. Feel your head is a bobble, your neck. You can already feel that it's straining from how much you're looking around. You're seeing everything. Smoke, birds, other pilots.
Hey, look at that. Someone off to your right is climbing a little bit better than you. Go there. Now, don't hesitate.
Get that climb. Now look at you, the highest. You're looking down on all the other pilots. You've just out-climbed everybody. Feel it. Feel that delicate balance between brake pressure pressure, hip pressure, weight shift, and the smile. Don't stop smiling.
This attitude, all it needs is the right adjustment between the ears. That's all it needs. Flying around the sky looking for turbulence.
Chose this to be here today and you're going to nail it. Feel it. How good it feels to nail it. How good it feels to out-climb anybody else. How good it feels to out-climb birds.
See the sky. See it in your mind. Simpson clouds, perfect cumulus, no wind,
all laid out before you and you can see everything, all of it.
You spend very little time looking at your wing. You don't need to. You feel it.
She's giving you all the feedback she needs to. You can feel the little bits on the bees when you're on glide. Let's go on a glide. You've just topped out a climb, going to get to the next thermal as fast and as efficiently as you can, because
you topped that climb out a little bit higher than some of the others, and you're in a great, very strong position. You're slightly behind several other pilots, slightly higher. This is the perfect position.
Find the word right now that helps you do well. Mine's discipline. Like Russ Ogden says, discipline. Keep saying it over and over, whatever your word is. If
you're climbing well, find a word that you associate that on those days when you climb well. Use it now. Mine for climbing is calm. I'm calm. home.
Find the line. Feel it. The only way to find a good line is to feel it and be incredibly sensitive to the air and incredibly observant with your eyes. With eyes closed and deep breaths, imagine that. Imagine feeling it, seeing the line, even though it's invisible.
Go to it. now
You've arrived the other end of the glide, slightly higher, slightly more in front of the people you left with. You're
Not antsy, you're not going to be impatient. You're going to practice discipline, get on top, stay in a strong position.
Don't be the rabbit, everything.
in the sky is there to help you fly better other pilots triggers clouds Clouds.
You're seeing it all slightly before it even happens. You're anticipating it. You know because you've been looking at it every time you're turning in your thermal that that cloud's getting better. That cloud is dissipating. That
cloud and that line are getting worse. This line off to my left, it's getting better.
I'm in command. I'm in control. troll. I can pull the gaggle there. Take them.
Discipline.
Smile.
Now the sky is starting to wane. Push through the big parts of the day. Now you've got to be slower. You've got to be more strategic. You've got to slow down. You've got to change gears.
Stay in the air.
Pimp if you need to.
Use others to your advantage.
Discipline. Stay in the sky. You know you can stay in the sky. You've done lots and lots of training when there's really light thermals and really light air.
Hover. Stay in it. You know you can.
Again, you're in a strong position for the final glide. if it's a bivvy, if it's an XC, or if it's a comp, you've milked every ounce out of the day.
You're always in sync.
And now you're in a perfect position to attack, but not until the attack is, it's time to attack. You've been disciplined, stay disciplined. You've
got your objective on glide. It's just a matter of finding the right line. It's just a matter of still paying attention. Don't lapse.
Don't get lazy.
Don't get overly optimistic.
Use your instruments. Use your eyes. Use your feel.
Gather it all up. Make a good move.
Watch yourself specifically through the whole process of a perfect landing. You've got the height. You
know exactly what the wind is doing, the strength the direction imagine
the trees, the field, even
Imagine a few hazards around that you've already observed from before, but you don't have to worry about now because you've got a plan run.
through the landing, it's
Perfect, it looks good. It looks sexy. You
don't flare until right at the very end do a nice foot drag across the green grass bring your wing wing down like a pro row.
Rosette up your wing.
Breathe. Smile.
Nice flight.
Cheers, everybody. I hope that helps. See you in the sky somewhere.