PERFORMANCE Hypnosis & Coaching

Hypnosis for Sports and Performance Enhancement

By Tom Nicoli, BCH, CI

Are you a weekend warrior, casual athlete, high school star or pro? Regardless of the level you play at, your game and skills can be improved and it doesn't happen on the practice field. We all know the player or team with the psychological edge usually wins, even if they are less talented. That's because the game begins in the mind.

Believe it or not, your greatest asset is not a lightning quick jab or lightning speed or a throwing arm like a rocket... it's your mind! Imagine that our mind is like an iceberg. The part we see above the water is only 10%. The other 90% is what we can't see. Are you using 10% or have you learned how to access the incredible ability below the surface? Almost all people subconsciously sabotage their success because of old patterns, regardless of what is learned and believed at a conscious level. Those still left in the dark continue to use "will power" and force and struggle their way to change. News alert: if will power worked, we would all be what we want to be… but we're not!

A common term used when we have moments when everything seems to go just right is, "being in the zone." Sometimes this can happen by chance, but do you want to base your life, career and success on chance? Of course not. Only someone who has taken way too many blows to the head would answer yes. There is a way to be "in the zone" more often and on purpose, rather than by chance, and it changes lives and helps win games. And the opposite happens when a player is "in a slump". They couldn't find the zone with a zone locater. The player didn't lose their skills; they lost their "mind game." But how do you get back in the zone and stay there during the game? Glad you asked…

The way all players practice without leaving their recliner or favorite chair is with hypnosis. Hey, every time a coach said, "Close your eyes and see yourself in the game", they were using hypnosis. You just called it imagery or visualization. Same process, different wording. Many athletes have used hypnosis (visualization and guided imagery) as a regular practice to increase the mind game but quite frankly, you may not be very good at it. But you can learn with a hypnotism professional.

Hypnosis is simply accessing the door to the subconscious mind through imagery and relaxation. Once this is done, there is more to it than directing the mind through positive suggestions of how to perform athletically. An experienced professional hypnotist who works with people for personal success knows how to remove old negative programming and beliefs that were established years ago and block success. Just imagine what it would be like to have increased confidence, heightened awareness and reaction while being calmer and more focused and to be at peak performance. You can't buy it, train hard enough to attain it or order it off the internet. It's not bottled, canned or delivered in the mail. This awesome power is within each of us and just lying there waiting to be used... 90% beneath the surface. How about you?