What really amazes me about sports is how two physically similar athletes can have such dramatically different results. One goes on to the big leagues and the other ends up working the night shift at Taco Bell.

It may interest you to know that Steve Nash, 2-time recipient of the NBA MVP Award and 6-time NBA All-Star, has out-shined many “freak of nature” competitors who were stronger, faster and more experienced since his professional career began in 1996.

“Nash spent many hours perfecting his talent. He videotaped college and NBA basketball games so he could “watch the players’ moves over and over, and then try to do them myself.” Nash thinks the visualization techniques and mental agility so useful in sports will soon be more recognized as crucial skills for all aspects of life.” (1)

New England Patriots quaterback Tom Brady, NFL MVP and 3-time Superbowl Champion, wasn’t always at the top of his game like he is now. He was seventh on the depth chart when he enrolled at Michigan State and had to fight for playing time every day. It was only after he hired a sports psychologist to help him get his mental game firing on all cylinders that things started to turn around. He finally got his big break when the New England Patriots drafted him in 2000. Since then, he’s never looked back…

“The only thing I’ve learned is that you’ve really got to prepare, because when you get that opportunity, you never know what can happen.”

- Tom Brady

Tiger Woods, winner of 14 major golf championships including the Masters, US Open, Open and PGA, was taught self-hypnosis and mental techniques at the at of 13 by Dr. Jay Brunza and still uses them to this day to get into “the zone” quickly and easily - and to remain focused and centered on the golf course.

“I always have an inner peace on the golf course. I’ve learned to trust the subconscious, and my instincts have never lied to me.”

- Tiger Woods (August 2001, Golf Magazine)

Are you struggling to “manage” your expectations when it comes to your athletic pursuits? Do you ever get tired of the constant pressure that comes with these expectations? If so, then read on. I’ve got a solution that will cure you forever!

Throughout their careers, athletes face difficulty when their high expectations outweigh their performance. This is especially noticeable if the athlete or team is very skilled and used to playing at a very high level.

Before I go into ways to get over the frustration that shows it’s ugly face when you’re not able to play at your potential, I’d like to discuss a few of the effects that high expectations have on your game.

1. They Lead to Increased Stress, Pressure and Anxiety

2. They Cause Inconsistency, Poor Performance and Decreased Enjoyment

3. They Cause Frustration

4. They Start the Dreaded “Downward Spiral” and Destroy Your Confidence

Well, first you have to realize that the expectations themselves are the root cause of your frustration and disappointment. I know it sounds a little crazy, but follow me on this. Expectations actually rob you of the enjoyment that the game brings.

When you have an expectation, one of two things can happen: either you get what you expected and you feel “okay” - you’re not excited or surprised because you were “supposed to”, or you don’t get what you expected and you fly off the handle – wondering how life could be so cruel as to cheat you this way. Your disappointment then leads to frustration, negative self-talk and the dreaded “downward spiral.” On the other hand, when you have no expectation and your goal is simply to do your job and play the game, your disappointment is replaced with enjoyment and satisfaction.

The real solution here is to take every single one of your expectations, lay them out nice and neatly on the ground and then stomp the living %!@$ out of them! …Trust me, you don’t need them.

Well, you start by letting go of the outcome. Think about it – when do you usually play best? When you’re enjoying yourself, right? When you’re enjoying yourself are you completely obsessed with the scoreboard? …or are you playing because in that moment, you truly love the game, the unique challenges that it brings and the rush you feel when you rise above?

When you let go of the outcome and focus instead on the process, it allows you to squeeze more enjoyment out of every second of the game and because of this, your performance literally skyrockets! Think about it… Many of my clients have faced similar situations - by letting go of the outcome and “going with the flow” they were able to turn their game completely around.

Instead of placing unnecessary expectations on yourself or the situation, choose to focus on the process. Stay in the present moment. In the place of rigid expectations for yourself, develop process focused, manageable tasks for each game or event. Some examples would be:

• Hockey - focus on quality back-checking
• Tennis - increase first serve percentage
• Football - commit to the full execution of each play
• Basketball - focus on passing game
• Track - focus on rhythm during race

The purpose of this kind of process-centered thinking is not so much about achieving the task itself, but by focusing on the task, you become more fully immersed in the present moment and more able to respond quickly and effectively to whatever comes your way. As a result, your confidence is vastly improved.

“Expectations are based in the past. The past is over, so… why waste your time? Visions are based upon the future and they give your mind something it can work with and move TOWARDS. There is power in having a vision.”

Now, some athletes may say that without goals and expectations about how you “should” perform, they would lose motivation. For this reason, I would like to invite you to develop a positive, empowering vision to provide lasting motivation without all the BS. The main difference between a vision and an expectation is that the vision focuses on the end result that you want to achieve and doesn’t bother with minor details. For example, your inspiring vision might be winning the championships or going to the Olympics. As long as you focus on achieving the vision and you hold it in your awareness, your unconscious mind will move you in that direction.

Just stay committed, have a little faith and enjoy yourself.

(8 mins. total run-time)

Just think of how great you’ll feel knowing that you’re mental game is 100% taken care of - playing at your personal best with amazing confidence and enjoyment for the game.

Now, I’m not going to tell you to sign up for my coaching program - you can make that decision for yourself. I am going to suggest, however, that you do what it takes to develop a solid, reliable mental game. Get over the frustration and disappointment that comes from not performing at your full potential - for good.

Reason #1 - It’s natural. There are no prescription drugs or pills. There are no side-effects and no contra-indications. Treatment is based upon using your mind to produce positive change, which means you get the change you want without any surprises…and you’re not dependent on expensive medication for the rest of your life.

Reason #2 - It’s rapid. Most challenges can be taken care of in 1-4 sessions. You save yourself the cost of years of conventional therapy… and you can get back to the things that are important in less time than you thought possible.

Reason #3 - It’s solution focused. Knowledge of your particular challenge provides the perspective necessary to making any change, but chances are you’ve dealt with your challenge for a while now, so what’s the point of beating a dead horse? At Rethink Hypnotherapy we empower the solution, not the problem. As you’re making positive progress towards the solutions we’ve worked together to create, you’ll feel inspired, relaxed and uplifted after every session.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
- Albert Einstein

Reason #4 - It’s permanent. When our work together is finished and you’ve developed more positive patterns of thought, emotion and behavior, you’ve essentially been transformed into someone who simply does not have the challenges of the past. You’ll never need to return for the same issues and you can get back to living your life, free of the challenges of the past.

More on Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis is really just a state of mind. Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis for therapeutic change work. It’s not magic, bit it is a very effective way of communicating with a deeper part of yourself.

Along with everything I’ve already talked about, one of the things you’re really going to enjoy about hypnotherapy how you’re in control. When in the wonderful state of hypnosis, you are always aware of what I’m saying and you have the ability to accept or reject any suggestions that I give you.

Hypnosis is a natural state of the human mind and you’ve already experienced hypnotic trance many times before. If you’ve ever arrived home from work and not remember the trip, you’ve experienced what’s known as road trance. If you’ve ever been working diligently and then looked up at stared off in the distance at nothing in particular, you’ve experienced another type of trance. Bottom line - If you are watching this presentation now and hearing the words that I’m saying, you can make positive change with hypnotherapy. How do I know? Because everyone can experience hypnosis – it’s a natural state of mind!

…What About Stage Hypnosis?

Maybe you’ve seen an entertainment hypnosis show where people go up on stage and do some crazy things that they normally wouldn’t do. You may have thought that it was the hypnotist that made them do these things.

The idea that one person can have absolute control over another is very mysterious and entertaining. It is, however, the furthest thing from the truth. Think about a magician you’ve seen perform…maybe it was on TV or maybe it was a live performance. As an example, his assistant lays down on a platform and then he begins upward waving gestures with his hands and she beings to float up off the platform…the audience gasps in amazement. The child in each and every one of them in thinking “Wow, this must be magic!” The magician is not so much concerned with real magic…he is concerned with the ILLUSION of magic, the ILLUSION of the supernatural. In the same way, the stage hypnotist is not concerned with actual control, but rather the ILLUSION of control.

Ask yourself this question - “If people have to volunteer to be part of the hypnosis show, then how can there be any control?” There can’t. If I volunteer to mow my neighbors grass for him, he can’t then force me to mow his grass – I already volunteered! These people want to be part of the show.

If, when they are on stage, they begin to have any inhibitions or if they are uncomfortable, then they won’t be able to experience hypnosis and they are asked to return to their seat in the audience. It should be noted however that just because these people can’t be hypnotized in a stage show doesn’t mean that they are not able to experience hypnosis – it’s just that they may have some inhibitions or they don’t feel comfortable in that kind of environment.

How Does Hypnotherapy Work?

We’ve already talked about how you experience several different types of trance all throughout your day, like road trance, daydreaming or staring vacantly off in the distance. In any trance state, your conscious mind is taking some much needed time to rest and your unconscious mind is very active – organizing, categorizing and understanding all the information you’ve taken in up to that point. It’s in these times of what seems like inactivity that we end up learning the most.

As human beings, we all have certain patterns to the way we move through the world – we have patterns of thought, patterns of emotion and patterns of behavior. Many of these patterns are habitual and we carry them out without any conscious thought at all. With hypnotherapy, change is created by communicating effectively with your unconscious mind to produce more empowering patterns… and to condition these patterns so they become habit.

It’s Natural. It’s Rapid. It’s Solution Focused. It’s Permanent.

The “Rapid Results” Coaching Session…

You know, even with the rapidly increasing awareness of hypnotherapy as an effective tool for positive change, I still have some clients coming to see me as a sort of last resort. They’ve tried EVERYTHING and they’ve been frustrated for a long time. The reason this happens is because either they didn’t know that hypnotherapy could help for their specific challenges or they didn’t know enough about hypnotherapy to make an informed decision. After we’ve finished working together they always say that they wish they would have come in much sooner.

To educate people those interested and to make my work more accessible, I’ve started offering a free introductory session that I call the “Rapid Results” Coaching Session. It’s a comfortable first step for anyone interested in learning more about how they can benefit from hypnotherapy.

In the “Rapid Results” Coaching Session, we’ll work together to…
• Create a crystal clear VISION for what you want in your life
• Uncover hidden challenges that may be SABOTAGING your success
• Leave the session feeling renewed, energized and inspired to live life on YOUR terms

To book your “Rapid Results” Coaching Session, you can call From Within Wellness Center at (780) 489-7799. Just let the receptionist know you’d like to book an introductory session for hypnotherapy.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and I wish you all the best!

6 Signs That You MUST Get Your
Inner Game Handled

1. Emotional Ups and Downs

If you experience strong emotions during a game, it’s difficult to focus on the task at hand. As a result, your performance suffers. Professional athletes know how to keep their head on, even in tense or uncomfortable situations.

2. Simple Mistakes Cause a Complete Meltdown

If you make a simple mistake in the game and your confidence takes a nose-dive, you’d better figure yourself out. In order to get the most out of yourself and play at your peak, you must understand that making mistakes is part of a process of learning and as long as you’re learning and improving your game, you will be making mistakes…and it’s how you RECOVER from these mistakes that will make the difference between winning and losing.

3. Pregame “Nerves” Continue Throughout The Game

Some anxiety before a game is normal and is actually a good thing. It is simply your body’s way of preparing for the game to come. However, if this anxiety continues throughout the game, or becomes worse, you have some serious problems. Excessive anxiety can cause you to make MORE mistakes than you would normally.

4. Uncomfortable When People Are Watching You

Especially when people you know are watching you, like family, friends, coaches or team mates. This is caused by not wanting to embarrass yourself or cause disappointment. It all stems from caring more about what other people think about you than what you KNOW about yourself as an athlete.

5. High Expectations Cause Disappointment

This is often a challenge for those athletes who usually do very well in competition. While having high expectations is definitely of great value for your game, it can cause major disappointment when those expectation are not met.

6. Difficulty Staying In The Present Moment

If you’re concentrating too much on the score, the other players, or your friends cheering for you, it takes your valuable attention away from what you are doing in the present moment. In any given sport, there are only a few things that you should be focusing on. If you’re not concentrating on what’s important, your game will suffer.

By getting your inner game handled, you can avoid these common problems and begin to play at a level you can be proud of. After you’ve mastered your inner game, you’ll look back at the challenges you used to have and wonder why you didn’t deal with it sooner.

For hundreds of years, everybody thought it couldn’t be done – that man was somehow incapable of running a mile in under 4 minutes. “People thought it was like bouncing off a brick wall,” explained close rival John Landy, who had come within three seconds of the four-minute mark six times.

On May 6, 1954, on Oxford’s Iffley Road track, Roger Bannister trimmed 2 seconds off the world record with a time of 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds and became the first person in recorded history to run a sub-four-minute mile.

It was a sense of relief,” says Bannister, recalling the remarkable event more than 50 years later. “There was a mystique, a belief that it couldn’t be done, but I think it was more of a psychological barrier than a physical barrier.”

John Landy went on to break Bannister’s record only 6 weeks later. The record was broken again, and again, and again and in the last fifty years the mile record has been lowered by nearly 17 seconds. It is now the standard for all professional middle distance runners.

Why, after hundreds of years, was Bannister the first person to break the four minute mile?

Bannister was the first to break the four minute mile because he was the first person who BELIEVED he could.

For days and days before he ran, he mentally rehearsed crossing the finish line in just under four minutes until he became certain that he could do it. By changing his own beliefs, he changed the beliefs of hundreds of athletes around the world and showed them exactly what the human body was capable of.

Are your beliefs holding you back?

If the answer is yes, then you really should learn how to develop the kind of bullet-proof belief system that makes it possible for YOU to break your own “four minute mile.” Make the decision today to learn powerful techniques to change your beliefs forever…

Maybe you’ve never thought about it before, but HOW you talk to yourself makes a HUGE difference in the way that you PERCEIVE the world around you – and how you PERFORM. In fact, every time you TALK to yourself, you’re actually HYPNOTIZING yourself!

Think about it…

HYPNOSIS takes place when suggestions are given to you by someone else - these suggestions help you to think and act in a more empowering way… (You may have experienced this already with the “Athletic Integration Session”. If not, you really should check it out - it’ll blow you away!)

SELF-HYPNOSIS takes place when YOU give suggestions to YOURSELF! If you TALK to yourself in negative ways, you’re going to THINK in negative ways! That’s why the WAY you talk to yourself is SO important. You have an AMAZING power and all you have to do is…use it properly!

You are actually creating your world by the things you say to yourself.

The 3 HUGE Mistakes Most Athletes
Make When They Talk to Themselves

1. They Use Negative Words

Your unconscious mind doesn’t understand negative words like NO, NOT or NEVER. If I told you NOT to imagine a pink elephant…

…Chances are pretty good you’re going to imagine a pink elephant.

But if I tell you to imagine a gray elephant…

…the pink elephant doesn’t even enter your mind!

In the same way, if you say to yourself “I do NOT want to lose this game!”, your unconscious hears “I DO want to lose this game!”

Instead say something like “I know I have to focus and determination to win this game!” or “I will win this game!”

2. They Don’t Ask The RIGHT Questions

By asking to RIGHT questions, you set your unconscious mind in motion to find a solution to the challenge you are facing. When you ask the wrong questions, your unconscious mind has no choice but to accept the situation in front of you.

So instead of saying “Why am I so tired today?” you could say “What are the ways that I feel energetic and lively?” or “HOW can I expand my feelings of aliveness?”

If you ask “Why am I SO tired today?” your unconscious mind gives you ALL KINDS of reasons WHY you feel tired instead of working on the solution.

3. They Don’t Specify a Positive Direction

You have to give your unconscious mind DIRECTION so it knows where to take you.

Instead of saying “I’m a great goalie.”

You can say “I’m a great goalie and I’m getting better and better everyday.”

In the first case, it’s definitely something positive to say about yourself, but there is no direction given for the future so your unconscious mind doesn’t know how to proceed. In the second case, it’s a positive statement…AND it specifies a positive direction to move in.

Just take a moment to say each of these examples and notice how you FEEL differently when you say each one. When you talk to yourself in the RIGHT way, you feel confident and alive.

Have you ever wondered why some people in your life seem to sap your energy and “bring you down”? I mean, you could be having a great day, then you talk to that certain person and…

Well, I don’t know about you, but all I think about when I meet people like this is how to get away as quickly as possible.

The reason certain people are “downers” is that they have made negative thoughts, attitudes and beliefs a regular part of their life – they’ve been making up all kinds of ways to make themselves feel BAD…

…and they’ve gotten really GOOD at it!

They’ve been rehearsing negative, un-resourceful states and then they wonder why they feel depressed and can’t get motivated or stay consistent…

Take a good hard look at yourself…are you a downer? Do you find yourself constantly thinking about what COULD go wrong or why your life is so terrible? If so, it’s one of the biggest things holding you back right now.

So what the answer?

You guessed it – If you want to play at your best and get the MOST out of yourself, you have to REHEARSE being in a resourceful state. By rehearsing a resourceful state, it becomes AUTOMATIC.

The more you rehearse your desired state, the more automatic it becomes, until a time when it simply becomes a permanent part of you.

What is a RESOURCEFUL state?

Simply put, a resourceful state is any state where you feel GOOD. It could be right after you score the game winner, make a great save or even when you’re kicking back and relaxing with some friends.

Or it could be that you feel amazing for no reason at all…

The importance thing is the FEELING, not how you get there.

The quality of your game is a perfect reflection of what states you experience on a day-to-day basis. If you want to perform at a higher level, then you must rehearse positive, resourceful states.

If this is something you’re struggling with right now and you want to take care of it once and for all, check out the advanced techniques for powerful state rehearsal in Chapter 9 of The Mental Contender Program

I’m about to share some really valuable information with you today.

…and it’s all about what YOU can do immediately to increase and expand the vitality and physical power you currently have.

Now, you are probably already aware of the fact that athletes who take care of their bodies perform better than those who don’t. Most athletes eat well and work out regularly - these are very important things to do to get your body into peak physical condition.

But has it every occurred to you that there are certain things you can do to get your mind into peak mental condition? In The Mental Contender Program, I go through and explain - step by step - more than a dozen of the most powerful techniques to get your mind in the game.

But I’m not going to tell you to buy the program today - you can make that decision on your own. What I would like to share with you today are 3 powerful and amazingly simple things you can do to make your body much more responsive and energetic - and to make your mind more clear and calm at the same time.

Physically Energy + Mental Clarity = Peak Performance

1. Breathe!

This is the one thing that I can almost guarantee you’re not doing correctly. Don’t take it personally though - I had to learn too. When you are breathing the way you should be, your mind is calm and responsive and your body is getting the oxygen it needs for explosive performance.

So put your hand on your stomach - when you breathe in, your stomach should expand outwards. When you breathe out, your stomach should move in.

Now just for a moment, close your eyes and breathe in for a count of 4 seconds, hold for a count of 4 and breathe out for a count of 6. Then hold for 2 and repeat this 5 times.

Breathe In - 4 seconds
Hold - 4 seconds
Breathe Out - 6 seconds
Hold - 2 seconds
Repeat

Notice how you feel before and after you’ve done this 5 times. You might want to make this a permanent part of your pre-game warm up.

I’ve also developed a technique that combines this breathing technique with powerful affirmations to make it even better.

2. Drink Water!

Immediately when you wake up in the morning, drink 2 glasses of pure, clear water. Your body is dehydrated first thing in the morning and in order to operate the way you want it to, it needs water.

Of course, keeping hydrated throughout the day is always a good idea, but it’s most important in the morning. You’ll experience more sustained energy through the day and you’ll actually feel better too - Trust me on this!

3. Eat The Right Food!

I’m not going to go too far into this one because there are so may other sources out there that explain what to eat when and why. I’m only going to say that if you’re eating refined sugar, white carbs or any junk food or greasy food, you’re not only sabotaging your own success but you are actually poisoning your body.

If you eat garbage foods, chances are slim to none you will go pro or even get any better than you are right now. You must give your body what it needs. Some examples are whole, unprocessed foods, lean protein and plenty of vegetables and fruits.

What would happen if you tried these 3 points out for a week? For a month? You may develop a whole new way of playing the game you love - a system that can blast you towards success.

Have you ever watched a professional athlete perform and wondered “How do they do that!”

It seems like they are gods and you may think that they’ve just always been that good, but every athlete, no matter how skilled they have become, started off the same way. Every athlete goes through a certain process when they learn anything new.

1. Unconscious Incompetence

Another way to say this is that you’re really, quite terrible at something, yet you don’t even realize you are.

2. Conscious Incompetence

What happens is that you eventually realize consciously that you are amazingly unskilled at what you were doing.

In this phase, you still have no idea what you’re doing, but now you know it. Something has happened to tip you off that you need to improve.

3. Conscious Competence

After practicing and working on yourself for awhile, you eventually reach the stage where you are quite skilled, yet you still have to consciously think about every detail to maintain this skill level.

4. Unconscious Competence

This is the height of skill. What Unconscious Competence really means is that you’ve mastered all the exact timing, movements and behaviors so well that you don’t even have to think about it anymore - It’s all automatic.

So For Example…

Imagine learning how to skate. First, you tie on a pair of skate, then soon after you realize you’re not very good at this “skating” thing. You then begin to learn the exact movements and timing you need to be a good skater. After awhile, your skill level increases and eventually you don’t even have to think about it. It has become as natural as walking and now it’s all automatic.

How do you achieve Unconscious Competence?

Practice, practice, practice. The very best way to practice is to set the intention in your mind that your skills will continually increase with practice, then just relax and have fun.

Remember: Learning takes place most rapidly when your mind and body are relaxed.

Once you’ve reached the level of Unconscious Competence, you’re able to drop into the zone quite easily, but only if you’ve set up your mind and body to allow for a natural transition to the zone state. You can do this by using self-hypnosis, anchoring, affirmations and associated state rehearsal among other things.

So that’s all for today. I’ll be in touch.

Every now and then, I hear somebody say “It’s just some good, healthy competition.”

The truth is, the way most people think about competition is neither healthy nor beneficial. When athletes
make competition the most important part of their game, a few things usually happen:

- They experience dramatic ups and downs in their level of performance

- Their confidence takes a nose dive

- They lose their enthusiasm for the game

So…why does this happen?

When you try to compete with others, you begin to focus more on their performance in order to gauge how you must perform in order to beat them. The only problem with this is that as you are focusing on them, you are losing awareness of yourself. You begin making the small, simple mistakes that could cost you the game. Mistakes that could be easily corrected by focusing on yourself instead of every other player.

…Seems a little crazy doesn’t it?

Obviously, you cannot control other players - so it’s no use focusing on them.

The solution is to focus on improving yourself, keeping your mind calm and your body responsive. By focusing on yourself and responding to each play as it happens, you will play more consistently and confidently because you will be focusing on what you can control, instead of what you cannot.

So for your own sake, stop competing with others and instead, pay attention to your own game. Instead of
bragging about how great you are or complaining about how you never get a break, think about how you can continue to improve yourself - whatever level you are at now.

Now, Think About How This Relates To YOUR Game

The Law of Attraction basically boils down to this…

“Whatever You Focus On, You Get MORE Of, PERIOD”

I’m gonna get a little scientific for a bit, but stay with me, this is important. There’s a certain part of your brain called the reticular activating system, or RAS for short. Now, one of the functions of the RAS is to make you aware of certain things that are relevant and important to your life - like your job, your health, and your athletic pursuits.

How Does The RAS Know What Is Important?

One word - BELIEFS.

The definition of a belief is something that you feel certain about. For instance, “The sky is blue”, “I play better with my lucky socks on” and “I’m great with penalty shots” are all beliefs that you can feel more or less certain about.

If you’re having some challenges and you believe that your coach is a pain in the ass, then the RAS will make you aware of all the many ways that your coach actually IS a pain in the ass.

Let Me Break This Down For You…

If what you focus on, you get MORE of,

And…
You focus on what you already BELIEVE to be true,

Then…
If you change your beliefs, you will change what you experience in you life.

The real difference between the few hall of famers and the many bench warmers of the world is their BELIEFS. If you’re having challenges in your game, it’s important that you take action and work SMART, not hard.

Understand that if you have the right beliefs, and apply consistent action, everything that you want comes naturally.