Sports Improvement-Improve your mind and your game

By Sara Mendez

What if I mess up, what if I drop the ball, what if I look like a moron, what if we lose, or worse yet, injured! These are questions that run through the minds of athletes at all levels form pee-wee to Pro's. These thoughts can become so powerful and take over a players mind creating self sabotage. Everyone wants to be at their physical and mental best while playing their sport, but this can be difficult to achieve without help.

Often we set ourselves up for failure in sports when we begin to think of our flaws. For instance, a basketball player might feel too short or not fast enough. Being short may be true, but this should not effect how you play the game. Not every basketball player is tall, but if you know how to play the game, this will help you. If you are not fast enough, this is something that can be fixed, through both physical workouts and mental workouts. By identifying what limits you mentally to be slow, you can then become physically fast. It could possibly be a memory you had that is holding you back, or maybe a learned behavior. If someone continues to tell you that you are too slow, you begin to believe you are. Over coming this belief alone can be difficult.

Most sports are not games of luck. A baseball player doesn't hit 5 homeruns in a row because he was lucky, he is focused. If you are not in that zone, it is hard to perform at your best. Often there are outside pressures that influence an athlete's performance such as pressure from coaches, fans or parents, a loud negative person in the stands, or maybe you simply psyched yourself out before the game even started by worrying you would have a bad game. Identifying what makes you lose focus, and learning new tricks to keep you in the zone. You can become not lucky, but focused.

Bump, set, spike, side out. Volleyball is a game of skill and to some extent luck, but with improved skill you can create your own luck. By learning visual and mental cues, you can teach your body how to be on point and improve your skill level. When your mind has powerful successes they become easier to recreate on the court during the game.

The ultimate athlete loves himself, his team and the game. This love builds a better, stronger, more valuable athlete. If you are constantly worrying about how you did in the game or how bad your team mate is then you are doing yourself, your team and the sport a disservice. If you were always told how bad you are at something or how if you teammate would have just passed you the ball you could have won, you are allowing these experiences to take over the game. You are no longer the best you can be. Once you learn how to deal with these feelings and memories, you will become an amazing athlete.

Sure you can work out at the gym for hours on end to improve your skills, or you can try to focus on something else during the game, but you have not really dealt with the issue. Hypnosis is one way of achieving all of these things and more. It will identify what skills you have and how to develop them without negative energy. You can also learn how to focus your energy on the game instead of an obnoxious fan. All of these things are distractions and they can hinder your progress as an athlete. While under hypnosis your mind is more relaxed and open to suggestions, you will not longer have the feeling you are sabotaging yourself.

Sports, at any level should above all be fun. You should not have to experience a worthless, anxious, or distracted feeling before you begin a game. Sure you can try other things but there is no reason to try those things when there is one blanket treatment for it. You know what works for you and your lifestyle, make your choice, but make an informed choice. - 31857

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