Galya, There is no doubt that the psychology of performance provides real and effective techniques. I immediately thought of the
Essential of Strength Training and Conditioning which has a whole chapter devoted to the subject. Here's a quote from that chapter.
Quote:
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At any particular stage of biological maturity, the phenotypic development of the athlete's genetic potential represents a relatively stable ceiling for performance, but the expression of that skilled performance can vary tremendously from contest to contest and even from moment to moment. Because athletes cannot exceed their stable performance ceilings at the various stages of physical and skill development, the role of sport psychology is to help athletes achieve more consistent levels of performance at or near their physical potential by carefully managing their physical resources through appropriate psychological strategies and techniques.
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Visualizing a positive outcome is one of those techniques and it is very beneficial. I spend a moment before every lift rehearsing the successful lift in my mind. Having focus during any physical endeavor gets you closer and closer to a "flow" experience.
You also asked about health and body composition goals and that type of visualization is a bit different, but the principles are the same. When it comes to adherance to diet, affirmations are often successful. There have been many articles written on that subject. I have personally used affirmations successfully. Tom Venuto has quite a bit of information on this topic. Bill Phillips (no matter how many people will hate on him) gave great advice on the emotional/mental aspects of compliance to a program.