Hypnosis and hypnotherapy is widely used by sports men and women to help them reach their maximum capability and performance. But this is not just the domain of sports professionals. Perhaps you have a big presentation coming up, or a new job or a big sale that needs closing. Anyone who needs to perform at their highest level can use hypnotherapy techniques to achieve their goals and maximise their performance. As Harold Geneen (American Businessman) said, “It is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises – but only performance is reality”. Great performance comes from having five main attributes – mental toughness, mental rehearsal, belief in yourself, resilience and zone thinking.
Mental toughness is an overused phrase but is generally used to refer to a set of positive attributes that helps a person to perform effectively under difficult circumstances such as adversity, stress or pressure. It allows you to keep confident, focused and clear headed while you face the challenges of a situation.
Many successful people use mental rehearsal and visualisation to enhance their performance and give themselves an edge. Mental rehearsal, as with any form of rehearsal, can highlight unanticipated challenges, refine your approach and help you to correct any unwanted habits or outcomes. It also helps to prepare you consciously and subconsciously for what you want to achieve. It’s similar to muscle memory in that you are preparing and training yourself and your brain for what is required.
In order to achieve anything you have to believe it’s possible and you can do it. The quickest way to ruin your performance is to tell yourself you aren’t good enough or that you can’t do it. When you face challenges and setback it’s understandable to think, ‘Perhaps I am not as good as I thought’ or ‘Maybe I can’t do this after all’. While these thought are natural, you have to think them and let them go and not take them to heart.
Despite all of your hard work and training, sometimes things go wrong. You can’t anticipate everything and don’t control everything. This is where resilience comes in. You need to rebound quickly, adapt to the new situation and continue to think and perform like a champion.
What does it mean to be in the zone? Well it’s difficult to define, but it’s a state of relaxation and focus where you have no distracting thoughts. In part it’s about learning how to manage stress and relax to get in the zone. But truly being in the zone it not thinking about your performance – you don’t have to. Everything is intuitive and natural. Many performers (sportsmen, musicians, etc.) report that their best work comes when they don’t think about what they are doing. It all comes from an inner place guided by your subconscious.
We all have times when it’s important to perform and meet or exceed expectations. And hypnosis can help you prepare for these times. Hypnotherapy has a range of techniques to help with confidence, focus, resilience and visualisation. As Ralph Marston (former American football quarterback and inspirational writer) said, “Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality”.
I have compiled a group of case studies where hypnotherapy has helped sports professionals. If you think hypnotherapy can help you be the best you can be or help you with a challenging situation, then contact me. I have also made a short video about using Hypnotherapy for success in business.