Confidence and Attitude: Winning Combination in Sports

Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal and John Wall.  (Photo Source: NikeTalk.com)

With the game tied and the clock counting down, the Washington Wizards’ Trevor Ariza grabbed an offensive rebound and passed the ball to John Wall who was more than 20 feet from the basket. 

Although not recognized as a great outside shooter and having an off game from the field, Wall calmly swished a three pointer that proved to be the game winner.

When interviewed by ESPN after the game, Wall shared some insightful thoughts, “I felt like I had some good looks, just like I did the other night and I just couldn't make them,” he said.  “But I stuck with it and kept playing defense, and didn't let it get me down."

Wall’s teammate, Bradley Beal, is known for his deft shooting stroke.  However, like all athletes, he goes through phases when he isn’t playing as well as he’d like.

Here is how he described his approach to the Washington Post, “Before, I would always get down on myself because all the shots I miss, I feel are easy shots for me to make. Shots I know I’m capable of making,” said Beal. “Whenever I have amnesia, it’s just forget about it. Just continue to shoot, continue to have fun and continue to play the right way.”

The confidence, focus and positive attitude demonstrated by Wall and Beal represents the mindset required by athletes at all levels (recreation, high school, college and pros) to achieve their potential.  It’s true in the classroom, on the job and in other endeavors.

When sharing the practice of self-hypnosis with athletes, the message I emphasize is that it’s a tool that can instill and reinforce confidence and a positive attitude.   Adversity is constant in sports.  How a person rises above it is something that can be learned.

Here are links to a few other articles I’ve written about hypnosis for athletic performance:

Whitman High School Athletes Give Hypnosis a Try

Hypnosis Sharpens an Athlete’s Mindset for Recovery

Hypnosis for Exceptional Athletic Performance

It's Magic, Right? More on Hypnosis for Healthy Living

Each January finds a renewed commitment to health and wellness.  Gyms fill up, more veggies and fruits get consumed, and undesirable habits like smoking get kicked.
 

I also find a higher level of interest in hypnosis as a tool for healthy living.  This time last year I co-hosted an event entitled “New Year, New You:  How Self-Hypnosis Can Help You Stay True to Your Resolution.”   

Here is a link to my write-up about the session, and here are comments from attendees:

Marc did a wonderful job of leading us through a powerful hypnosis session and teaching us the tools to use self-hypnosis in our daily lives! I will definitely repeat this event in the future. (From the event organizer)

This was a great introduction to the group. Thank you for organizing this meet up. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thanks for a nice introduction to hypnosis!

On February 5, I will be featured speaker at an event in Bethesda, Maryland hosted by the Wednesday Morning Group.  I’ll focus on the practice of hypnosis to empower health and take volunteers through a basic hypnotic induction.

If you find the topic of hypnosis for health and wellness interesting, I encourage you to check out this article published yesterday by USA Today.  One of the hypnotherapists interviewed echoes what I preach during my shows:  Hypnosis is not magic.  Meaningful change takes work and commitment.  

Volunteers at last year's fundraiser for Operation Renewed Hope Foundation.  A deeply relaxed hypnotic trance.

Accelerating Potential with Hypnosis and Visualization

My Hypnotic Experience show blends comedy and entertaining anecdotes with a basic hypnotic induction for volunteers and demonstration of the power of visualization.  Unlike a Las Vegas style act with is solely for humor, my goal is for the audience to have a great time and come away with a positive view of hypnosis as a tool for exceptional living.

Although every show is unique because of the imagination of the volunteers, there is a constant with every audience.  I always have a couple of people who stick around after the show to talk about a specific goal or change they desire.

Here are the big three I am asked about it:

-Stress management to be happier, healthier and sleep better at night

-Self confidence to make meaningful decisions (personal or professional)

-Performing in the moment  

I have written extensively on this blog about hypnosis for stress mitigation and self confidence.  Here are links to a few of the popular articles:

Hypnosis as a Tool for Relaxation and Healthy Balance

Sleeping Well with Hypnosis

Stress Mitigation is All Personal

What about performing in the moment?

Simply put, the approach many employ to achieve success in school, on the job or in athletic competition is to focus on skill development.  Athletes practice.  Students study.  Workers prepare a report or for a presentation.

Then, the time comes to demonstrate progress and prowess and we stumble, often because of the anxiety created by the need to excel at that particular moment in time.  We have yet to condition our mind to anticipate and expect success.

During the past three years, I have shared hypnosis and visualization with athletes to improve their performance in competition.  I’ve worked with high school students in their preparations for the SAT and other important tests.  And I provided suggestions to professionals as they prepare for an important career-related activity.

Hypnosis is not magic.  The baseline knowledge (or athleticism) and skill development are absolutely required for success.  When they are in place though, hypnosis is a wonderfully effective tool to unleash our potential.

Director Woody Allen once said 80% of success is simply showing up.  It's actually showing with an expectation that you will succeed. (Photo Source: thelowdownunder.com)

New Research Points to Positive Outcomes from Daily Meditation

An evaluation conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins and published in the peer reviewed journal JAMA Internal Medicine concludes that 30 minutes of daily meditation can help a person address mild levels of anxiety and depression, as well as alleviate pain.

The team at Johns Hopkins placed particular emphasis on the practice of "mindfulness meditation," a form of Buddhist self-awareness designed to focus precise, nonjudgmental attention to the moment in hand.

Interestingly, much of the hypnotic induction methodology I employ when teaching the practice of self-hypnosis is based on mindfulness meditation.

Here is a link to an article published by PsychCentral.com that provides more insight on this new and interesting report.

Daily meditation calms, soothes and heals the mind and body.

Conversation about the Spirituality of Health and Wellness

Our life is a unique journey defined by our experiences, our views of the world, relationships with family, friends and peers, and self-awareness.

I was reminded of this just before New Year when I had the pleasure of sitting down for an hour with Shannon Collier of Holistic Helping Hand.  Shannon is a multi-dimensional wellness provider with formal training and expertise in massage therapy, Reiki and postpartum support.

She’ll soon return to school for pastoral training, giving Shannon a deeper background in spiritual and emotional counsel.

Shannon did not initially set out on such a giving path.  In fact, her educational background and initial career focus was in environmental geology.  After realizing a high stress, “always on” policy job was not her calling, Shannon demonstrated the courage to shift her life and reset expectations.

Here are a few wonderful quotes from my conversation with Shannon:

“Wellness training is a personal experience to achieve balance, focus and purpose.  You have to live it.  That’s the only way you can truly help others.”

“I am believer in divine timing.  Your body hurts or issues come up because it is trying to tell you something.  There are no coincidences in life.  Things happen for a reason.”

“Whatever we do in life, we are on the backs of others.”

“Reiki honors the root reality that we are all connected on a fundamental level.  We all share the human experience.  I tie the practice to the belief that each person deserves to be well.”

“Reiki subscribes to the belief in universal life force energy.  Our nervous system, heart and brain all have electricity.  Reiki harnesses this energy to smooth the static of a person’s electrical current.”

We then spent some time talking about the practice of self-hypnosis and its applications for health and wellness. I walked her through a basic hypnotic induction and then asked her how she would describe the experience.  Her answer was a true gem:

“Hypnosis helps make your conscious and subconscious mind align around a common purpose or meaning.”

I typically conclude my Hypnotic Experience show by taking volunteers through a visualization designed to inspire confidence and self-esteem.  I reinforce this feeling by explaining that everything in life becomes sweeter when you realize the person you are is the person you are suppose to be.

Shannon and I are right in-step on the philosophical and spiritual approaches to wellness.  I find that incredibly gratifying.      

Holiday Hypnosis at the JCC of Northern Virginia's J Fest

It's the season of giving and I was fortunate to have an opportunity to entertain at a wonderful, family oriented community event on Christmas Day.

I attended the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia's "J Fest" and gave two performances of my Hypnotic Experience show.  The event's headliner was the comedian juggler Michael Rosman who was joined on stage by his two teenage children, both of whom are also accomplished jugglers.

Rosman is a talented performer who marries a quick wit and Vaudeville-style humor with impressive acrobatic and juggling feats.  During his career Rosman has performed for David Letterman and rock legend Bruce Springsteen.  He was a tough act to follow.

I think I pulled it off though, as I delivered two entertaining and informative shows.  The first attracted a larger crowd and included volunteers who ranged in age from 10 to adult.  I had two volunteers achieve a relatively deep level of hypnosis, which allowed me to introduce a couple of creative skits.  In particular, the scary monster bit drew laughs from the audience.

The second show which came after Rosman's performance closed out the event.  My volunteers were primarily under the age of 10.  When working with such a young group, I keep it simple and merely demonstrate a hypnotic induction.

Of course, my pre-talk is peppered with funny anecdotes to ensure the audience learns and smiles.

Many thanks to Laurie Albert and the staff at JCC of Northern Virginia for including me at this year's J Fest.  I had a great time and met an exceptional group of people.

The second show at J Fest attracted a young group of volunteers.

Here's the promotional sign the JCC of Northern Virginia posted.

When an Audience Smiles

Members of the Welcome Club of Northern Virginia enjoyed my entertaining anecdotes.

In the two years that I have performed my Hypnotic Experience show I have had the pleasure of participating at community festivals, street fairs, charitable fundraisers and parties with a group of exceptional entertainers.

I’ve shared the stage with comedians, musicians, dancers, clowns, magicians, puppeteers, sword swallowers, jugglers and…yes…even mimes.  The best of the lot have two things in common:  1) they are professional and well prepared; and 2) they know the audience.

I have taken this to heart and follow a well defined process when gearing up for a show:

1. Schedule a prep discussion with the event host to confirm logistics, audience demographics and size, and expectations.  For instance, the organizer of tomorrow’s “J Fest” at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia spent 30 minutes on the phone with me to ensure I am well set for success.

2. Based on the prep call, I map out the structure and content of the Hypnotic Experience show.  I’ll identify which jokes to use, skits to incorporate and, if needed, write new material.  I spiced up my recent hypnosis demonstration at Walter Johnson High School by writing a couple of “in good fun” jokes about a rival high school.

3. Prepare for the unexpected.  I sweated through my mid-July show for Professionals in the City because the temperature touched the high 90s.  At the Bradley Farm Haunted House show I encountered an audience younger than I anticipated.  There are curves at nearly every performance and you have to learn to roll with it. 

I love to perform and find positive feedback to be incredibly gratifying.   

However, the most important lesson I’ve taken away from other performers is that a successful show is about the audience.  When they come away with a smile and having enjoyed themselves, then it’s all good.