Sports Performance – Mindset, Focus, Motivation, Results

I can remember several years ago being desperate to complete a 10km race in under forty minutes. I would enter race after race in my attempts to reach the glory of the sub-40 minute time. It filled my thoughts at work and it dominated my conversations with other runners. It was a goal I had set myself and I was determined to get there.

Yet try as I might, for a long time it eluded me. I would cross the finish line one or two seconds over forty minutes – literally one or two seconds from getting it nailed. Over 6.2 miles of running, a couple of seconds is nothing, it’s almost meaningless. Yet when the clock stopped, those couple of seconds were pretty much the most frustrating things ever known!

I knew I was physically capable of knocking off those couple of seconds but what I didn’t appreciate at that time was, no matter how physically ready I was from my training, mentally I was getting in my own way. My mind was filled with pressure, stress, doubts both before and during the race. I might lose focus for half a mile and realise I was off the needed pace to reach my goal. Once in a race, as I approached a corner I saw a sign that said it was 200 metres to the finish line, I looked at my watch, realised I couldn’t hit the sub-40 and slowed a little, only to turn the corner, see the finish line was only about 100 metres away and realise in that moment of over thinking and lack of focus, I’d blown what would have been relatively easy to achieve.

Once I learned some effective sports performance hypnotherapy strategies I went out there and nailed it three races in row. I felt like Robert Bannister when he broke the four minute mile (albeit I was a much slower Roger!).

And if you’ve ever seen a golfer miss an easy putt because the pressure got to them, or a striker miss an easy goal because they’d lost confidence, or a driver start to overthink and hesitate because of a previous crash, then you’ll know how important your mind-set is to sports performance at any level.

Bodybuilder Kate Uses Hypnosis For Motivation & Focus

I love helping sports people to get the most out of their mind and body using hypnosis and psychological strategies. Maybe I like it so much because of my own training – nothing beats that post training or competition moment when you know you’ve given it your all, nothing beats those highlights when you notice your efforts have led to improvements and, being candid, I also love exercise because having experienced how it feels to be overweight, I have no desire to go back there again in this lifetime as long as there is anything i can do about it.

As bodybuilder Kate (co-owner of Asgard Fitness in Newmarket, Suffolk) describes in her video, she has used her hypnotherapy sessions to get the most out of each and every training session and has competed to a high level with great success. Her sessions helped with clarity, focus, motivation and being able to develop the mental strength to push on and stick to the training plan, as well as handle the heat of competition.

You can have a listen to what she said here:

Sports Performance Hypnotherapy – Watch on you Tube

I love that feedback from Kate, especially the recognition of how important it is to train mentally as well as physically. After all, if your head isn’t in the right place then you may skip some training sessions, you may not push yourself as hard as you could to develop, and if you lack confidence and self belief then all the training in the world won’t help you perform when you want to.

As well as Kate’s testimonial, you may have also watched the video where Laura talks about football confidence and motivation as well as Thai Boxer Simon talking about overcoming pre-fight nerves.

So whether it’s increasing confidence, boosting motivation, sharpening focus or some other aspect of sports performance, if you want to perform to your best then come along for a complimentary strategy session and we can talk about your goals and aspirations before developing a plan to get you there.

To your success,

Dan Regan

Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Want to improve your sports performance? Struggling with anxiety, stress, worry and fear and need some help? Find out how I can help with a Complimentary Hypnotherapy Strategy Session. Learn more here: Appointments

Find out what dozens of other people have said after their hypnotherapy sessions with Dan: Hypnotherapy Testimonials

And check out these powerful hypnosis downloads that can start helping you right away with running, anxiety, confidence and more: Hypnosis Downloads