Everyone wants to be at the top of their sport, as any professional sportsperson will tell you, whether it's Golf, Tennis, Football, Cricket, Swimming, Gymnastics, Dancing or any other sport or Art form.
Today visualisation and mental imagery play a significant role in training. Although served up in many guises, professional sportspeople use hypnotherapy techniques more and more, although some may not admit to it.
Many top athletes learn self-hypnosis to assist them to increase their concentration, belief and achieve their optimum performance when competing. However, when performing, the right mental attitude is crucial for success.
Belief is so important in all walks of life. For example, in 1954, Roger Bannister was the first to run a mile in under four minutes. Although at the time, scientists believed this to be physically impossible, the following year, over one hundred people ran the mile in under four minutes.
Because negative emotions are four times more potent than positive ones, we are often subconsciously held back. When we have a negative or poor experience, it makes a deep impression in our mind and unconsciously plays us (a good example would be an on form football striker who misses a goal and then has a bad period where he is unable to score). In such cases, I use a technique which I call 'spring cleaning' to de-sensitise the negative experience; this clears the mind and allows the person to focus positively on their skills and ability. Our minds can learn to forget a poor performance. How often do you see people struggle for a few weeks or even months after being affected by inadequate performance?
When we practise something in our mind, we are practising for real as far as the brain is concerned. Practising to be your best repetitively creates deep levels of learning in the brain. When we practise hypnosis, our mind can practise perfectly every time. We have to train and practise physically, but when we practise for real, we often repeat our mistakes and learn.
We can eliminate poor habits, let past mistakes go, and train the brain with a positive attitude by using hypnotherapy and giving you the ability to remain focused and poised in any situation. Having rehearsed the perfect race hypnotically, the ideal swing, the perfect stroke so that you can perform at your optimum level at any moment. As we learn to harness our nerves and use the adrenaline created for energy and power, we can achieve our optimum performance every time.
Whether you are about to embark on a new fitness regime, compete in a tournament, or want to improve your own personal best, you will be following in the footsteps of some world-class sportspeople such as Michael Johnson, Bianca Andreescu Lewis Hamilton.
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