Hypnotherapy and NLP for Sports Performance

Your mind is incredibly powerful, and it is very important to understand how this can affect any attempt to progress to a higher level in any sport.

It is very easy to allow negative thought processes to be created, which can override more beneficial positive ones. These negative thoughts can lead to, among other things, anxiety, bad habits, lack of motivation and even physical pain!

Not good if you want to achieve your goals!

It is possible that you are reading this because you suffer from such negative thoughts right now. But there are ways that these negative thoughts and emotions can be brought under control. All thought processes, whether positive or negative, are what we perceive of the world around us. They are what you have learnt from life, and how you “map” those learning’s in your mind.

The “map” (your perception of the world) is a representation of the “territory” (the world itself). Everyone’s map is different. That is what makes us all unique, and gives us our personality and outlook on life.
Sometimes the negative thought processes are a little too strong for our own good, and tend to take over when we need them least.

Athletes and sports people in general are prone to negative influences on a regular basis, no matter how good at their given sport they are. You are probably familiar with them! These negative thought processes can all too easily become dominant, causing a drop in confidence and performance.

Most sports people will recognise that a bad result will affect consequent performances. But this does not have to be so!

With the help of Hypnotherapy and NLP, the mind can be “trained” to accept positive thought processes before it allows negative ones to become too influential. This can give the athlete the necessary confidence to help to achieve the outcome they desire.

“During the Summer of 2007 I saw Martin for a series of sessions tailored to help me focus on performing in key races, to help with the natural feelings of apprehension before a big event and to give me the mental strength to push that little bit harder both in races and in hard training sessions. The techniques that Martin used and the mental “tools” that he equipped me with during the sessions (which soon became my “secret weapon”) undoubtedly helped me to success in 2007 – No 1 spot in the National Duathlon Rankings (35-39 Age Group), qualification for the 2007 European Duathlon Championships and qualification for the 2008 European Championships where I finished 4th in my age group and first Brit. In September 2008 I will go to the World Duathlon Championships in Rimini and will work with Martin in the run up to this event.”

Mark Shaw
Team GB Duathlon