m i n d s e t ‘the coaches manual’ · your body has given out on you and it doesn't fit....

MINDSET ‘The Coaches Manual’

(The Fundamental tools of mental strength)

By Gregg Swanson & Emma Hackett

Gregg Swanson and Emma Hackett co-founders of limitless Coaching

Limitless Coaching Academy-Mental strength certification

We have designed this manual and full course program for the committed

for great coaches striving to provide the highest level of development

to their Members and Athletes in sports and life.

developing the 3 pound of muscle that is the mind isn't a one-off

event its a process and this manual isn't a quick fix but a purposeful

results-driven educational tool for you as a coach to study,learn

practice and apply with purpose.

Our mental strength certification that is acknowledged by CrossFit HQ

is purposefully designed to give you the competence and confidence to

work alongside those committed to developing themselves in their

chosen sport.

From mental burnout to peak performance this manual will give you a

full insight and understanding to developing the mind for performance

in sport and life.

'You don't have to be sick to get better'

All the best

Gregg Swanson & Emma Hackett



with crossfit being such a new sport that attracts 100,000 of driven

humans world wide how do you even start defining who is an Athlete as

a crossfit coach you will work alongside many levels of talent,

potential and ability this manual is for those that want to develop

their awareness and knowledge and ability in assisting those that are

committed to competing in the sport as well as those committed to

developing themselves in life.

as in any sports, there are principles that form the foundations

Crossfit is a physical and mental fitness test designed on the Navy

seal program (see page 6 Perseverance)

The director of Crossfit and the man behind the creation of the Open

and the games is Dave Castro Ex former navy seal and navy seal trainer

this is no coincidence that Crossfit is actually designed with purpose

as a mental and physical fitness test. for the elite, it's peak

performance for the everyday CrossFit community it's self-development

both areas require Emotional intelligence and purposeful training to

reach our own full potential and as Coaches you are paving the way

within your own crossfit culture , community , development,knowledge

and education.

we are giving you access to the best and most accessible Mental

strength knowledge ,education and practical application that is

available with the purpose of developing competent coaches in the

field of self development and peak performance in sports & Life.

“The Mind Is our greatest asset and our worst enemy we must train it

well’



CrossFit multi-functional physical fitness 10 components

cardiovascular

stamina

strength

flexibility

power

speed

agility

coordination

balance

accuracy

our research also highlights there are 10 fundamentals of mental

fitness

Stamina-the ability to create and maintain intense Mental effort,

focus and resilience in a pressure situation

Flexibility-the ability to independently choose an emotional

response to a wide range of external circumstances



power -The ability to encourage self and others to pursue a worthy

goal ability to immediately generate intense state of motivation and

positive expectancy.

Speed-the ability to make IMMEDIATE command and decisions in the face

of adversity ,competition, challenge and uncertainty.

Coordination-the ability to invoke the most productive emotional

response a given time and place.

Agility- the ability to support the needs of others whilst ensuring

personal goals and challenges are fulfilled the ability to respond to

environment and circumstances with deliberate attitude and perspective

to achieve the desired end state.

Balance - the ability to maintain individual physical, mental and

emotional wellness. the ability to maintain a state of mind or

attitude regardless of outside influence ( stay in one's lane)

Accuracy -ability to set and work towards goals, the ability to

listen and correctly identify internal thoughts , emotions, and

energies.

Strength- the ability to overcome discomfort lean into challenges

and step out of the comfort zone with purpose.

Endurance- the ability to stay strong under challenging

circumstances



Mental Strength Tools

In this section we’re going to look at the four fundamental

mental strength tools. They are: goal setting, imagery, energy

management and self-talk. These are the foundation for

developing mental strength, do not take these lightly. Just

because you think you know them doesn’t mean that you DO know

them.

Table of Contents

Perseverance 3

Defining Mental Strength 5

Laws of the Mind for Peak Performance 8

Goal Setting for Success 11

Imagery 19

Relaxation and Energization 29

Relaxation 29

Energizing 32

Self-Talk 37



Perseverance

I like to look at mental strength as perseverance.

When you think of perseverance what comes to mind? Let me help you,

how about Navy SEAL’s?

Our U.S. Navy SEALs have the reputation of being the best commandos

ever created. A Navy SEAL is someone who has survived the most

challenging military training in the world.

SEAL stands for Sea, Air, and Land fighting, and these guys do it

all, from swimming underwater to jumping out of airplanes.

Those who pass the training demonstrate an almost superhuman ability

to keep functioning in very stressful situations. In other words,

they can keep functioning effectively when a normal person would be

totally controlled by their primitive fight, flight or freeze

reactions.

Like where things are blowing up and people are shooting at you.

Before I continue I want to tell you about a problem the Navy had.

You see, the selection process for SEAL candidates the training was

tough. But even when they had a batch of super qualified prospects,

they were losing over 75% of them during the first weeks of training.

This is a very expensive situation. Navy psychologists looked at the

failures and found something interesting.

The prospects who failed didn’t lack physical ability. Even though

the training ordeals were extreme the candidates were able to do the

job.

Nope, it wasn’t muscles – it was mental. And that’s interesting

because the average SEAL I.Q. is way above the military norm and many

of them have graduate degrees.

The ones who “washed out” didn’t control their instinctive reactions

to stress. They simply froze or folded when the challenges got too

demanding.

Mental strength. That’s what the Navy decided to research, so they

could keep more of these well-qualified candidates. Learning how to

use their “software” to control their bodies’ “hardware”.

Clearly, intelligent people get scared too. Maybe it’s even a mark of

thoughtful people, but fortunately smart people can learn more

self-management also.



The SEAL Command Psychologist, Commander Eric Potterat, listed four

key mental techniques that are now being taught to SEAL candidates.

He found that these mental techniques can be taught to any willing

person and they would increase an individual’s performance under

stress levels where most of us would just shut down.

The “mental strength” program was so effective that it increased the

Navy SEAL pass rate by over one third.

These skills are now being taught to college students facing exams,

fighter pilots, and key executives in some companies.

Here are the “Big Four” mental skills taught to Navy SEAL’s:

1) Goal-setting. I don’t mean “what are you going to do with your

life”. I mean, “How are you going to get through the next half hour”?

Turns out that this kind of close-focused goal-setting is a key to

peak performance anywhere. It doesn’t matter whether a person is on a

stage, in an athletic competition, or in the middle of a fire-fight.

It is simple, and proven. One major way to combat stress is to narrow

your focus to the immediate future.

2) Mental rehearsal, or Visualization. How often do you imagine

success doing something you may be anxious about? Take a moment now,

and give this a try. See what it will be like when you do that thing

successfully and easily. Notice how your body feels and what you hear

and smell. Do this over and over again and you are providing your

brain with extra experience of success.

3) Take Charge of Your Self Talk. We are constantly talking to

ourselves, at a rate that is many times the speed of normal speech.

So when you notice something negative say “Stop!” or “Cancel!” and

then create your own “cheering section” to be your encouraging

chorus. Have them (or your own voice, whatever works) say “You can do

it” – “This is easy!” “Forget that glitch – focus on the next one!”

4) Arousal Control. This skill is used to calm the physical symptoms

of a panic response. You know the sinking feeling in the pit of your

stomach, sudden cold sweats or hot spells.

You control this response with deliberate breathing.

You know your primitive brain will trigger reactions that might be

useful for escaping a hungry bear, but not so useful when you’re

trying to talk with your boss, negotiate through traffic, or working

through a family debate.



When you understand the power of your mind and use it to your

advantage, you can improve any are of you life!

Mental Strength Can Help You To:

● Manage anxiety

● Use visualization and imagery to improve your results

● Increase and maintain your confidence

● Improve and maintain your level of motivation

● Relax under pressure

● Set and achieve goals

● Manage your energy levels

● Use routines to be consistent in your endeavors

● Bounce back from injuries and setbacks

● Manage an address conflicts with other people

● Focus in critical moments and extend the duration of your

concentration

Defining Mental Strength

If you spent much time in the personal development world you probably

run across the term mental strength or mental toughness. Typically,

mental strength encompasses:

● Resilience and the ability to bounce back or deal with

adversity

● Motivation to do your best, regardless of the situation

● The ability to stay focused on the task at hand during

important moments

● The ability to remain poised when the pressure is on

Mental strength is predicated upon physical strength. In other

words, to be mentally strong, you first need to be physically strong

and in shape. It’s virtually impossible to be mentally strong when

your body has given out on you and it doesn't fit. So, if you want

to pursue mental strength you will need to get your physical strength

in order by getting in the shape of your life.

Mental strength can be defined as the ability to fight, challenge and

conquer yourself, to become better, especially during tough times.



Mental Strength Tools, Techniques and Skills

Mental Strength Tools:

Mental strength tools are those 4 critical aspects of mental strength

training that will develop the mental strength skills that will lead

to peak performance in any area of your life.

● Goal Setting

● Visualization

● Energy Awareness

● Self-talk

Mental Strength Skills:

Mental strength skills are those qualities that are developed by

using the mental strength tools and techniques that will lead to peak

performance.

● Motivation

● Energy Management

● Attention Control

● Stress Management

● Self-confidence

● Trust

● Focus

● Team Cohesion (if applicable)

Examples of Using Mental Strength Tools to Develop Mental Strength

Skills

Goal Setting

● Setting realistic and challenging short-term goals provides a

sense of direction, thereby increasing motivation as reflected

in increased effort and persistence.

● Challenging, realistic goals help a person get into their

optimal energy zone and direct that energy to the task at hand.

● Effective goals direct a person’s attention to what they need

to focus on to succeed.

● Although striving to succeed is important, focusing on

“winning” can create excessive stress.



● When a person can perceive the challenge not as winning but as

achieving their own realistically set of performance goals,

the challenge will always be near the individuals present skill

level and will create an optimal skill/challenge balance.

● Consistent goal attainment raises self-confidence

Visualization

● Teaching a person to visualize themselves attaining their goals

can help raise their motivation.

● By visualizing previous strong performances and outcomes, a

person can identify the optimal energy levels and strategies

for getting into an effective energy zone prior to taking on

the task.

● Using visualization effectively requires the ability to focus

on desired images and can be used to develop attention skills.

● Visualization can be used to help individuals manage stress.

People are less likely to experience elevated stress if they

have imagined themselves dealing effectively with obstacles and

unanticipated events that creates stress.

● Visualizing oneself succeeding can raise self-confidence.

Energy Awareness

● Learning to energize when feeling flat, and developing the

ability to relax went over-aroused can help build motivation.

● Relaxation energizing techniques can help individuals

consistently enter and stay in their optimal energy zone, which

is crucial to performing consistently at their peak.

● Being either over or under-aroused hurts a person’s ability to

direct their attention to the task at hand. Relaxation and

energizing techniques help people improve their concentration

skills.

● Learning to purposely relax when experiencing stress can help

individuals manage their emotions. And energizing techniques

can be used when low-level stress is preventing an individual

from getting into their ideal mental state.

● By learning to control their energy levels through relaxation

and energizing, individuals will develop a sense of control

which in turn enhances self-confidence.



Self-Talk

● You can use self-talk to help motivate yourself.

● Self-talk can either raise or lower energy. People can use

effective self-talk strategies to reach their ideal mental

state.

● Focusing on task relevant keywords can help people focus their

attention, or regain focus if they are momentarily distracted.

● Stress level is strongly influenced by a person’s perceptions

and interpretations of events that happened in the past.

Individuals can use self-talk to develop a positive outlook on

situations that normally results in elevated stress.

● Positive self-talk can be used to raise self-confidence, or as

negative self talk can lower it.



Laws of the Mind for Peak Performance

Law 1: What You Think Is What You Get

Any image placed into the subconscious mind develops into

reality with absolute accuracy. Life is not determined by only

outward acts or circumstances it is formed from the inside out.

Each of us creates our own life with our thoughts. A single

thought will neither make nor break your athletic career; a

habit of thoughts will. You cannot think defeat and be

victorious.

The subconscious mind responds only to mental images. It does

not matter if the image is self- induced or from the external

world. The mental image formed becomes the blueprint, and

the subconscious mind uses every means at its disposal to

carry out the plan. Worrying is the programming of the

image you don’t want. The subconscious, not knowing the

difference between a real or imagined image, acts to fulfill the

imagined situation and “the thing I feared the most happens.”

Law 2: Every Thought Causes a Physical Reaction

Your thoughts affect all of the functions of your body. Worry

thoughts trigger changes in the stomach that eventually lead to

ulcers. Anger thoughts stimulate your adrenal gland and the

increased adrenaline in the bloodstream causes many other

physical changes. Anxiety and fear thoughts change your pulse

rate. Hunger and thirst thoughts affect your stomach and

salivary glands.

Your personal body chemistry is guided and triggered by your

emotions. Thoughts lead the emotion. You can make yourself

sick, poor, and unhappy by your habitual thinking.

Many people don’t realize that it is a law that you become what

you dwell upon. The law of electricity must be obeyed before it

can become man’s servant. When handled ignorantly, it becomes

man set deadliest foe. This is the same for this law.

Law 3: Imagination is More Powerful Than Knowledge

Images are the property of the subconscious mind. Those images

will always overpower what you think. Reason is easily

overruled by imagination. In fact, an idea accompanied by a

strong image usually cannot be modified through the use of

reason. By subconscious reprogramming, however any idea can be

easily and effortlessly remove, alter, or amended.

Law 4: Your Habits Are Your Life



Much of your day consists of successions of actions that have

become more or less automatic. 98% of what you do, you do by

habit, spontaneously. Each separate act, good or bad, plays a

part in making you what you are.

Fortunately, it’s never too late, and you’re never too old to

change your habits. You can begin today. You can begin right

now, at this very moment. Remember that success is a habit and

failure is at. Repetition forms a positive habit as well as a

negative one.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words,

for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become

habits. Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Law 5: Negative Thoughts Breed Like Cockroaches

As you probably have learned through experience, the more attention

and power you give to your fears, the more they affect you and the

more likely they are to manifest themselves. If you continue to fear

play poorly, consequently talk about your nerves, tension headaches

and nervous stomach over time those organic changes will occur. Your

nerves will act up, you get tension headaches, and you will

experience stomach problems, all because you kept those negative

notions in your mind.

This is true with any negative thoughts. The more you concentrate on

messing up something, the more likely you are to mess it up.

In general, the more you allow fear and other negative thoughts to

invade your life, the stronger their presence will become. And once

they are firmly entrenched in your mind, your body will begin to

create behaviors to support them.

Law 6: Attitude is a Matter of Choice

And attitude is basically the way in which you look at life or your

performance. And as I’m sure you have experienced how your attitudes

affect your body and how your body performs. Fortunately you all have

the innate ability to choose your attitude in any given set of

circumstances.

The events that occur in our lives are purely neutral. They are not

positive until we have decided they are, and they are not negative

until we have decided they are. You can decide to view of upcoming

event as positive and challenging, while someone can choose to see

the very same event as negative and confusing.



Law 7: Reactions Must be Managed

This law is the corollary to the previous one. Just as you can

manage your attitude, you can manage your reactions. Again,

what happens in your life is purely neutral. But how you react

to what happens is not; it can and will affect your attitude,

outlook, health and energy.

The moment you “mess-up” something you have a decision to make,

and that decision will start a chain reaction. If you succumb

to your emotions and feelings of defeat, you will set yourself

up to go in one direction, but if you can manage those feelings

and set your sights on the bigger picture, you will go in a

different direction.

Law 8: Thoughts Must be Kept Alive

No thought is self-sustaining in the mid, it must be nurtured,

fed, and kept alive.

Only one idea can be entertained at one time.

This statement refers to how the conscious mind reorganizes an

idea as true, correct, and guiding. And that he cannot hold the

opposing ideas simultaneously.

The following are truisms about your thoughts:

● An idea, once accepted, tends to remain until it is

replaced by another idea or until it is forgotten.

● Once an idea has been accepted, there is opposition to

replace it with a new idea.

● The longer an idea remains, the more opposition there is to

replace it with a new idea.

● The longer an idea remains, the more it tends to become a

fixed habit of thinking.

● Therefore, if you wish to change your actions, you must

begin by changing our thoughts.

Law 9: Attitude of Gratitude

One of the laws of the universe is what you put forth comes back

to you, and usually when it does, it has gained massive

momentum. In other words, what goes around - comes around.

Therefore, if you develop an attitude of gratitude and you look

at your life in terms of what you have to be grateful for,

you’ll start seeing more to be grateful for, focusing on

positive things, and more positive things will be attracted to

you.



Goal Setting for Success

"The tough part is getting everyone to accept that each role as

important. Everyone needs to feel needed, that they are important."

- John Wooden

Just as a map takes you where you're traveling on a highway, so your

goals are a map for the road you're traveling in life! We all have

goals in the back of our minds, but we don't always bring them into

focus to achieve them. If you find you have goals that you think are

not obtainable, decide on the most important ones and set each step

of achievement in stages. Short-and long-term goals are important

toward success.

Success is unique to each individual, so your goals should be

personal and reflect you, and they will inevitably change over time.

While someone at one point in their life may want to achieve becoming

more assertive, happier in their career or having better

relationships, at another point in their life they may want to

further their education, have more financial security and more free

time, or improve their health. Goals will give you direction, focus,

and help you compose your world. You will receive from life what you

expect from it.

● Have you thought about what you want to be doing in five years'

time?

● Are you clear about what your main objective at work is at the

moment?

● Do you know what you want to have achieved by the end of today?

If you want to succeed, you need to set goals. Without goals you lack

focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows you to take control

of your life's direction; it also provides you a benchmark for

determining whether you are actually succeeding. Think about it:

Having a million dollars in the bank is only proof of success if one

of your goals is to amass riches. If your goal is to practice acts of

charity, then keeping the money for yourself is suddenly contrary to

how you would define success.

To accomplish your goals, however, you need to know how to set them.

You can't simply say, "I want" and expect it to happen. Goal setting

is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want

to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it. In

between there are some very well defined steps that transcend the

specifics of each goal. Knowing these steps will allow you to

formulate goals that you can accomplish.



Goal Setting: The Difference That Makes The Difference

I remember a famous Harvard business school story. They evaluated a

group of students in college, and then re-evaluated them 10 years

later. The study found out that the students who had been the most

successful in life weren’t the ones who had achieved the highest

grades. They were the ones who had specific goals, 10 years ago.

You can see that the big difference between successful people and

unsuccessful people. Successful people have their goals in mind. They

know where they want to go and finally they get there. So you need to

start with a target, a destination, a goal.

You may ask me: “How to achieve goals? It is easier said than done.”

You are right. Many people fail not because they don’t have goals,

they fail because they haven’t achieved their goals, giving up during

the journey. There is a long road from goal to success.

Don’t worry. I will be here to help you achieve your goals more

easily. Not only to set your goals properly, but also to achieve them

finally. You will achieve goal setting success in the end. Trust you!

Significant Achievable Outcome

Before we being into the goal setting section I’d like to discuss on

goal in particular and that is your Significant Achievable Outcome.

You can think of your Significant Achievable Outcome as your optimum

Wheel of Life, that is, how do you want your entire life to look like

in “X” amount of years, preferable 3 -5 years.

Your Significant Achievable Outcome is your driving force and

motivation to put into use everything you’ve read in this book. Your

Significant Achievable Outcome should not be confused with your life

purpose. Your life purpose is how you live your life; it has no

final destination and cannot be measured or seen directly.

Your Significant Achievable Outcome on the other hand can be

measured, it’s mostly physical, i.e. car, house, friends, income.

Having a Significant Achievable Outcome is the starting point of all

achievement. To be successful in any endeavor you must have a

Significant Achievable Outcome, SMARTER goals and an action plan.

A Significant Achievable Outcome is a stumbling block for

ninety-eight out of one hundred people because they never really

define or discover their Significant Achievable Outcome or develop

any personal goals. The choice is yours. You can choose to be a

victim of life or a victor in life. You can choose to be a winner or

a loser.



It may seem incomprehensible, but ninety-eight percent of the people

of the world are drifting aimlessly through life without the

slightest idea of the work for which they are best fitted. They have

no concept of the need for such a thing as a guiding Significant

Achievable Outcome to be lived out.

This is one of the tragedies of civilization.

You may be surprised to learn that of the thousands of people who

will study this program; only two out of one hundred will have

anything even remotely similar to a Significant Achievable Outcome.

It is this two percent who will succeed; they’re the people who do

not settle in life for anything short of what they want, will you be

one of them?

As a student and coach of mental strength, I encourage you to promise

that from this day forward you will not settle for anything short of

what you want in life.

It has been proved many times that if people are really determined

they can accomplish whatever they choose or get whatever they desire.

If you have the ambition to start making life payoff on your own

terms, this program will stimulate your thinking and awaken your

desire to identify a Significant Achievable Outcome for your life. It

will help you determine your SMARTER goals to help you live out your

Significant Achievable Outcome.

You can be anything you want to be if you believe with enough

certainty, take action and are willing to pay the price. However, you

must determine your life purpose and your Significant Achievable

Outcome.

There are eight important reasons behind have a Significant

Achievable Outcome, they are:

1. Having a Significant Achievable Outcome helps you to develop:

● Self-reliance

● Personal initiative

● Imagination

● Enthusiasm

● Self-discipline

● Concentration of effort

All of these are required for personal and material success.

2. The second advantage of having a Significant Achievable Outcome

(SAO) is specialization. Having a goal you focus upon

encourages you to specialize, and specialization leads to

perfection. Your success in life will depend a great deal on

your specialization.



3. The third advantage is the ability to budget your time and

money. Having a Significant Achievable Outcome will persuade

you to budget your time and money and to plan all of your

day-to-day activities so they will lead you closer to its

attainment.

4. The fourth advantage behind having a Significant Achievable

Outcome is that your mind automatically recognizes

opportunities. The person who understands and applies this

principle will discover profound courage to take action.

Concentration on a Significant Achievable Outcome alerts your

mind to recognize opportunities related to your goals and SAO,

and it inspires the necessary courage to act upon these

opportunities when they appear.

5. The fifth advantage behind having a Significant Achievable

Outcome is the development of making prompt decisions.

Successful people make decisions quickly, just as soon as the

majority of facts are available. Unsuccessful people tend to

make decisions slowly and change them often and quickly.

Remember, only two people out of a hundred are able to make up

their minds as to what they want from life. One possible reason

is that they cannot make decisions.

6. The sixth advantage of a Significant Achievable Outcome is that

it inspires the cooperation of others. Not only does a

Significant Achievable Outcome develop confidence in your own

integrity and character, it attracts the favorable events,

circumstances and people as well. When you know where you are

going and are determined to get there, you will always attract

and find willing helpers.

7. The seventh advantage is the greatest of all the benefits of a

Significant Achievable Outcome: it opens up the way to a mental

strength attribute known as faith. It makes your mind positive

and frees it from the limitations of fear, doubt,

discouragement, indecision and procrastination. Doubt usually

results in alibis, excuses and apologies for failure. Faith

looks for reasons why and how to’s.

8. The eighth advantage with a Significant Achievable Outcome is

the development of a success consciousness which protects you

against the influence of a failure consciousness. Through the

application of mental strength the mind becomes sold on

succeeding and refuses to accept the possibility of failing.



That covers a Significant Achievable Outcome, now onto goals.

Here are three types of goals you can set:

1. Outcome Goals

2. Performance Goals

3. Mental Goals

Outcome goals focus on the end results, i.e. make $100,000/year, find

my soulmate, loss x% of fat/weight. These are long-term goals, or

what I like to call “achievable outcomes.”

Performance goals are shorter-term and include goals that focus on

the specific actions to achieve the outcome goal. Some examples are;

give a sales presentation to 10 clients/ month (to make $100k/year),

go out to 5 new events/meetings this month (to meet soul mate),

exercise 5 times this week (for weight/fat loss).

Mental goals focus on improving your mental strength abilities, such

as committing to reading a PMA (positive mental attitude) book/month,

repeating affirmations daily; listen to a self-hypnosis/guided

meditation per day.

All three types of goals should be a part of your goal setting

program.

What Is The Process For Setting Goals?

Begin by setting some goals based on what you want to accomplish in a

specific timeframe. I like a one year achievable outcome divided into

4 SMARTER goals at intervals of 1 month, 3, 6 and 9 months. Then

take a look at specific strategies (what you are going to) and

tactics (how you’re going to it) for each SMARTER goal.

What Are Some Guidelines For Setting Goals?

Goals should include the following criteria:

● Set specific and measurable goals.

● Set goals that match your ability (realistic).

● Set achievable outcomes (one year), mid-term (every three

months) as well as short-term. Again, think strategy and

tactics.



Finally, set “performance” goals (actionable goals) not just outcome

goals. Outcome goals are easy to set. What is harder is setting

performance goals that will help you accomplish the outcome.

Performance goals should focus on improving your weaknesses and

building on strengths. A performance goal may involve cold calling x

amount of people, saying “hi” x amount of strangers or counting the

numbers of times you say “can’t.” My philosophy is this: working the

process (setting performance & mental goals) is what creates the

results you desire. Good results flow from taking care of business on

each and every day!

Goal Achievement Process Part of staying committed to your dream is a relentless drive for

success through setting, evaluating, and reformulating your goals. In

today’s high-tech world, you need to take a multi-disciplined

approach to your personal improvement.

Part of your goal achievement program must include monitoring your

goals to help you stay committed to your dream and to keep you on the

right track. Below are examples of areas that you can apply goal

setting if you take a multi-disciplined approach to improving your

self and life.

● Performance Goals: These are set to help you strive for success

and to better your “techniques.”

● Performance Statistics: Measure the various areas of your

performance goal. These could include calls made vs.

appointment, presentations made vs. sales, asked out on a date

vs. actual date.

● Practice Goals: Define the time per week, quality of practice

that make up your practice plan. This is especially important

if you’re involved in any sports.

● Mental Game Goals: These you set to improve things like

confidence, focus, trust, composure, etc.

● Physical Fitness Goals: These are set to improve strength,

flexibility, stamina, and other fitness measures to improve

your overall game and health.

● Nutrition Goals: Type and quantity meals per day, grams of

protein, fat, carbs and fluid intake.

● Game Management Goals: If you are involved in sports, whether

recreational, profession or armature, this is critical. This



can include the study of the course/field; pick targets, game

plan, etc.

In summary, setting goals is important for the following reasons:

1. To enhance your motivation and commitment.

2. To help you stay focused on what to accomplish.

3. To assess your strengths and weaknesses so you can structure

practice accordingly.

4. To keep track of your performance improvements and progress.

Setting goals alone will not guarantee success. It will help you

create a plan for improvement. You then have to follow through on the

plan with desire, dedication, hard work, hours and hours of practice,

and commitment to your goals.

Quality practice is focused, goal-oriented practice. If you practice

the wrong way, you just get good at the wrong thing.

Performance improvement does not happen overnight. I’m often asked

how long it takes to make a change. The answer depends on the person

and how much time they devote to practice. Most “experts” agree that

it takes at least 21 days of continuous action to create a new habit.

Others suggest that it takes 3,000 repetitions to form a new habit.

You can’t expect to make significant changes overnight, or in a week

for that matter. It’s hard to change habits, you have to extinguish

the old habit and replace it with the new one.

This is harder to do than to learn something new in which you have

not formed any bad habits. That’s why children are such good

learners; they haven’t had enough time to learn bad habits. But with

appropriate short and long-term goals, you will focus on the correct

steps.

You must have the patience to know that all the hard work will pay

off eventually. You must stay committed to improving on a daily

basis. In addition, you must be dedicated to the goals you set for

your life.

It’s easy to overdo anything in life, especially if you are a

perfectionist. The goal of this section is to help you play better

and win at the game of life by setting relevant goals and working

smarter!

Perfectionist’s live for what was presented above because it gives

them another task to master. You can burn out on the game of life by



maintaining high expectations for yourself and not seeing returns

instantly.

You will need to rest and ―smell the roses along the path to your

dreams. All work and no fun makes a dull and boring life. Use this

information to develop clear, specific, measurable, and relevant

goals to improve your life.

Significant Achievable Outcome Process

To help you reach your Significant Achievable Outcome and establish

your SMARTER goals I’m going to go over the format for each. It’s

fairly self-explanatory and you can contact me if you are confused.

So let’s begin…First ask yourself “What do I want?” Really…what do

you really, really want? When developing your Significant Achievable

Outcome as well as you SMARTER goals according to the formula for a

“well formed outcome” you’ll be better prepaid to manifest your

desires.

The outline for your Significant Achievable Outcome is as follows:

1. Stated in the positive

a. What you want

b. Moving toward

2. Self-initiated, self-maintained and in my control

a. Am I doing this for myself or someone else

b. Does the outcome rely solely on me?

3. Specific evidence procedure (SMARTER goals)

a. How will I know that I am getting (or got) the outcome?

b. What will I be doing when I get it?

c. What will I see, hear and feel when I have it?

4. Context clearly defined

a. Context of goal clearly defined

b. Where, when, how and with whom do I want it?

5. Identify needed resources

a. What resources do I have now?

b. What resources do I need to acquire?

c. Do I evidence of achieving this (or similar) before?

d. What would happen if I act as if I have all the resources

required?

6. Is it ecological

a. Good for me, good for others, good for “community”

b. Who else will be affected by this?

c. What do I want to keep the same?



d. What is the real purpose why I want this?

e. What will I lose or gain if I have it?

f. What will happen if I get it?

g. What won’t happen if I get it?

h. What will happen if I don’t get it?

i. What won’t happen if I don’t get it?

7. Identify the first step to take

a. “The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single

step” Lao-Tzu

Often when we establish our Significant Achievable Outcome we get

very excited about the possibility of achieving them. In order to

take significant steps towards the realization of you Significant

Achievable Outcome we’ll the SMARTER process as follows.

SMARTER is an acronym that stands for:

S = Make sure you goal is very Specific and Si mple understand and

explain.

M = Your goal has to be Measurable and Meaningful to you.

A = Is your goal Achievable (has anyone else achieved this at

anytime? What one can do, anybody can do) and Act as if you now have

this goal and consider how this affects All areas of your life.

R = Is your goal Realistic for you (have done something like this or

similar in the past, do you have all the resources required and is it

Responsible (ecological)?

T = Timed, when are you going to accomplish goal and is it moving

Towards what you want?

E = Evaluate and Examine the results you are getting. Make sure your

track and record what you are doing the results so you can evaluate

if what you are doing is working, or not.

R = If after evaluating the results, you are not getting closer to

your goal it's time Regroup and Revise what you are doing. If what

you’re doing isn’t working, do something else.

The key element here is to say it the way you want it! Remember, you

get what you focus on, so focus on what you want!

Keep in mind that during the course of accomplishing anything worth

while you’re going to face some obstacles, hurdles and set-backs.

It’s when you hit these times there’s a tendency to get frustrated



with the lack of progress and sometimes you’ll backsliding mentally

and emotionally.

That’s OK; everyone experiences these issues when going after their

goals. The thing to do when you hit these speed-bumps is to take a

close look at your resources; those that you have, and might not be

using and those that we need, and have not acquired.

Every successful person takes stock of what they had in resources,

i.e. physical capabilities, mental capabilities (intelligence),

connections (they’re network), etc.

So I’d like to emphasize once again that before you begin to charge

after your goal take a deep breath and really think about your

resources.

Some questions to ask are:

● What’s it going to take to accomplish this goal?

● Am I capable of doing it all myself?

● What else do I need to learn?

● Who else can help me?

● Have I ever done something like this before?

● Who has done something like this before?

● What’s the most important resource needed to achieve this goal?

These are just some questions to get you going. This is where a

personal coach comes in VERY handy. They are natural about your goal

and will ask you the tough and deep questions to uncover additional

resources you may have missed.

Let’s face it, if you go to your friends they be divided into two

camps:

Camp 1: Of course you can do this all by yourself; you’ve got what

it takes!

Camp 2: Are you crazy, you’ve never done anything like this before!

Both camps really don’t provide the required feedback and insight

that will help you in achieving your personal goals.

That’s why this process is so important. It will give you some

forethought about all the resources needed to reach your goal.



Imagery

(Also known as visualization)

Have you ever heard of visualization? Of course you have. Everybody’s

heard of visualization and everybody partakes in it whether they

realize it or not. How it works though is an altogether different

matter. I want to take an overview look at the mechanics of why

visualization works without necessarily delving into concepts and

theories that cannot be proven.

The brain has great difficulty in distinguishing between what’s true

and what’s imagined. There is an oft-cited example of an experiment

conducted by Australian Psychologist, Alan Richardson. He took some

basketball players and split them into 3 equal groups. One group was

told to practice their free throw technique twenty minutes per day.

The next group was told to spend twenty minutes per day visualizing,

but not attempting free throws, and the final group wasn’t allowed to

either practice or visualize. At the end of the test period the group

that had done nothing remained as they were, but both the other

groups showed similar degrees of improvement. The people who only

visualized playing basketball were able to perform almost as well as

the ones who had actually practiced.

“How can that be so?”

Firstly, the people practicing would miss some shots. Each time they

missed they had in effect, practiced how to miss. The people that

were visualizing would be hitting every basket so they were building

up the feelings and memory of how to be successful.

Forging a Path Through a Meadow

Imagine walking home from a new job. You suddenly realize that there

is a meadow of long grass that will cut 20 minutes off your walk. If

you live in San Francisco, you're going to need a great imagination

for this one.

The first few times you can barely see which way you had walked the

previous day. However, after 10 or 20 times you can clearly see a

pathway starting to form, and after 100 times all the grass is worn

away and there’s a farmer with a shotgun and large dog waiting for

you at the end. Let’s presume our gun-toting friend is a big softie

and he allows you to use that route as long as you want. What are the

odds that next time you try a slightly different direction? Slim to

none would be my guess. After all, you know this way works and you

have a lovely easy path.

On the other hand, if Farmer Giles starts taking pot shots at you and

sportingly lets the dog try and shoot you too, before releasing it to



sink its teeth into your rear end, then you’ll probably find a new

way home once you’re released from the hospital.

The next time you’re walking home you opt against reacquainting

yourself with Fido and spot another meadow further along the road.

The same process then begins to take place only this time the

original path you made has started to grow back.

How We Create a Path in Our Mind

That is what happens when we form thoughts in our mind. The first

time we have a new thought it is a weakling of a thought that has

sand kicked in its face by stronger thoughts and beliefs.

Each time you re-think it though it grows in strength as the physical

pathway becomes more and more well defined. Not only that, but if it

is a belief that contradicts one you already hold, the older belief

starts to atrophy and die.

This also explains why we have the same thoughts over and over again

and why people have difficulty snapping negative loops of thinking.

The pathway has been established and it’s just easier to continue

following it than trying to think about something new and form a new

connection in the brain.

Making Visualization Work For You

Visualization is an incredibly successful and simple way of speeding

up the process by fooling the unconscious into believing that you

have already done something before you have. That’s what the

basketball visualizers were doing, fooling their own unconscious into

thinking they know how to hit the basket after basket. Of course this

in and of itself will not turn you into an NBA star, you do actually

have to practice as well, but it will help you succeed more quickly.

All you need to do to be successful at this is to visualize yourself

doing something, as you would like to do it. Profound stuff, huh?

Seriously though, that is all there is to it. How long you do it each

day will affect the speed of change and it’s really not advisable

visualizing your success for 20 minutes per day and then spending 10

hours worrying about failing and replaying negative stuff in your

head. It kind of defeats the object.

You can also incorporate the ‘fake it till you make it’ method in

with your visualization to help speed up the process. This is simply

a matter of pretending you are already proficient at something before

you really are. Again, it’s simply a way of tricking your unconscious

and getting it to do what you want it to do.



Some people have difficulty with this process and tell me it’s being

unrealistic. Well yeh, maybe they’re right, but who cares? If you

want to be shackled by the chains of realism then go ahead, knock

yourself out, but let me tell you this. There are few highly

successful people out there that haven’t used this method or

visualization at one time or another. In fact, successful people

don’t care too much for reality; it just gets in the way and slows

them down.

What Really Is Imagery?

● Mental imagery involves the individual imagining themselves in

an environment performing a specific activity using all of

their senses (sight, hear, feel and smell).

● The images should have the individual performing successfully

and feeling satisfied with their performance.

● Imagery is also called visualization or mental rehearsal

● Imagery means using all of your senses (e.g., see, feel, hear,

taste, smell) to rehearse and experience event, process or

outcome in your mind.

Imagery Can Be Broken Down Into 2 Perspectives:

● First Person: Looking through your eyes

● Second Person: Watching yourself (as if looking at a movie)

What Can Mental Imagery Be Used For?

Mental Imagery can be used to:

● Familiarize an individual with upcoming events such as a

speaking engagement, athletic competition/practice, etc.

● Motivate the individual by recalling images of their goals, or

of success in the past.

● Perfect skills or skill sequences the individual is learning or

refining.

● Reduce negative thoughts by focusing on positive outcomes.

● Refocus the individual when the need arises e.g. if energy is

feeling sluggish, imagery of a previous energized time can help

get things back on track.

● See success where the individual sees themselves performing

skills or processes correctly and the desired outcomes.

● Set the stage for “performance” with a complete mental run

through of the key elements of their performance to set the

individual's desired feelings and focus.



Why Should You Use Imagery?

To help you get the most out of you and any training and practices.

Top individuals use imagery extensively to build on their strengths

and help eliminate their weaknesses.

To be engaged more effectively. Imagery not only helps individuals to

regulate the anxiety they may experience, but also helps individuals

to stay confident, focused and mentally strong.

To speed up your progress to achieving personal success.

Individuals who have reached the highest levels in their

specific area of life have used imagery consistently throughout

their endeavors.

To help stay motivated along the way. Imagery is also a tool

that can help individuals to maintain a vision of what they

would like to achieve in life. Individuals can also use imagery

to assist them in setting their daily goals, as well as to stay

motivated during tough time periods.

To keep in top form when training is not possible. Injuries will

inevitably occur during an individual’s careers, which will

cause them to miss time at the tasks at hand. In these

situations, individuals can use imagery to help them to maintain

their abilities during the rehabilitation process and to help

them cope with their injuries. Imagery can even help the healing

process to move along more quickly.

How Do The Best Individuals Use Imagery?

From studying how the best individuals use imagery, we know that

imagery is most beneficial when it is:

1. Vivid and detailed

2. Incorporates all senses (see, feel, hear, smell, and taste)

3. Occurs in "real-time"

4. Has positive focus

Visualize Your Way to Success



You may think about being successful all of the time, but your

brain may have a different idea. Here's how to bridge that gap.

Advertisers spend millions of dollars to motivate us into

purchasing things that we probably don't even need.

Think about automobile commercials. In them, you virtually

experience the speed, smell, and luxury associated with owning

the car of your dreams. This kinesthetic experience may be very

real, even pleasurable, for the 30-second duration of the

commercial. But if you continue to think about owning that

pricey vehicle it will create something in your brain called

cognitive dissonance. This is the feeling of discomfort that

results from holding two conflicting beliefs; the belief that you

really want and deserve that car and the belief that you simply can't

afford it.

You experience a similar tug of war all of the time: You work

tirelessly, for long hours, hustling for a dream you are not yet

living.

What many people don't realize is that we have the power to program

our subconscious minds to assist us in getting what we want. It may

seem too simple; for some it may seem too "out there," but the act of

visualizing your dreams can make them more achievable.

Why is visualization so powerful? As you can see and feel images that

portray your desired outcome, the cognitive dissonance in your brain

increases. But this is a good thing. The increased discomfort sends a

message to your brain that you are not giving up on this goal. The

brain wants to create balance so it will change directions to figure

out ways to make your success happen.

As we routinely and intentionally visualize a desired outcome, and

step into the belief that it is possible, our brains increase the

motivation to make it happen. We become more and more determined to

do whatever it takes to achieve our goals.

In addition to increased motivation, you will begin to get creative

ideas that will help you to achieve your goal. You may wake up at 3

a.m. with a brilliant thought, or experience a download of pure

genius while in the shower. This is because visualization prompts the

brain to "wake up" to messages and resources that it previously shut

out. Now that it's well aware of your goal it assists you in becoming

more aware and open to finding the answers.

At the beginning of his career Jack Canfield, best-selling author and

one of our earliest champions of peak-performance, had never earned



more than $8,000 in a year. When he began daily visualization,

focused on the goal of earning $100,000 in a year, ideas began to

surface after only 30 days. These ideas were always available to him

but had never occurred to him before. When he began to program his

mind through visualization, his brain found the solutions to his

$100,000 problem. Canfield achieved this goal in less than one year

and has continued to increase his income, happiness, and success over

the years. He even created a hugely successful career in teaching and

inspiring others to do the same.

"Your brain wants to solve your problems," says Canfield. "When you

are 'stuck' it simply means that your mind isn't open to the

solutions. Visualization releases this resistance and allows the

brain to do its job and make you happy."

So what have you got to lose? Better yet…what do you have to gain?

Use these simple steps to incorporate visualization into your daily

routine for 30-60 days and see what happens!

Decide exactly what you want.

Your goal must be very clear and specific. Let's say that you want to

increase profits by 30%. Don't get caught up in the "how and why,"

those will come to you. Simply get very clear on your goal and make

it believable, yet just out of reach. As you become an expert at

visualization you will naturally set your sights higher.

Choose an image.

Choose at least one image to hold in your mind's eye as you go

through your daily visualization process. How will it feel to

increase profits by 30%? How will you know that you have succeeded?

Capture a visual of your celebration or of taking that vacation that

you've put off for five years.

Visualize daily.

After you become skilled at visualization you will be able to do it

anywhere, but in the beginning a quiet space is a must. Make

yourself comfortable and focus on your breathing. Relax. Now see that

image of success and allow your mind to wander with the image.

See yourself on that vacation. Imagine taking those checks to the

bank. Step into the feeling and power of this image; make it very

real. It's important to hold this heightened feeling for at least 20

seconds, but 10-15 minutes is ideal.



Be consistent and don't give up. And then come tell us about how you

made your dream became reality!

What Are The Benefits?

Mental Imagery itself can be useful in a number of circumstances

including:

● Developing self confidence.

● Developing strategies to cope with new situations before they

actually encounter them.

● Helping the individual to focus his/her attention or

concentrate on a particular skill he/she is trying to learn or

develop the competition situation.

When Combined With Relaxation It Is Useful In:

● The promotion of rest, recovery and recuperation.

● The removal of stress related reactions e.g. muscular tension.

● Establishing a physical and mental state which has an increased

receptivity to positive mental imagery.

● Establishing an appropriate level of physical and mental

arousal prior to competition

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Tips for getting started

1. Practice makes perfect. Imagery is a skill, and, just like any

skill that you perform, you will need to practice in order to

be perfected.

2. Quality…not quantity. Because imagery is a mental skill, you

will need to concentrate on creating and controlling your

images, which can be tiring when you first get started. For

this reason, it is best to begin your imagery training by

imaging high quality images for short periods of time, and then

gradually increasing the time you spend imaging.

3. Set the scene. Try to make your imagery as realistic as possible

by re-creating important details in your mind’s eye. By

including details like the colors, sounds, feelings (both

external and internal).

4. Plan your imagery. Images of many goals and desires can

frequently pop into your head, but to really benefit from

imagery, you should plan the content of your imagery to meet

your current needs.



Mental imagery should not focus on the outcome but on the actions to

achieve the desired outcome.

Using PETTLEP Imagery – A Sports Perspective

All though imagery and visualization can be used in area of life I

wanted to give a specific application in the sports arena. Please,

when reading the following ask yourself, “How can I apply this to ….’

(fill in the blank). Every mental strength tool discussed can be used

in any and all areas of your life. Since physical fitness is

essential to personal success, I wanted to give you an example that

you can use to enhance your physical prowess.

Imagery is a key psychological skill, with an impressive array of

published studies testifying to its efficacy in enhancing motor skill

performance. Given the piecemeal nature of the imagery literature,

which has been published in many different sport psychology,

mainstream psychology, cognitive psychology and neuroscience

journals, it has not been easy in the past for applied sport

psychology practitioners, coaches and athletes to piece all this

together and make use of it in their work.

Realizing the need for a theory and research-based model of

imagery to help guide practitioners’ use of imagery, Holmes and

Collins (2001) devised the PETTLEP model.

This model is based on theory and research findings from sport

psychology, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and aims to

provide practitioners with a set of practical guidelines to aid

their imagery use.

PETTLEP is an acronym, with each letter representing an

important factor for practitioners to consider when implementing

imagery interventions, as follows:

Letter Component

P Physical

E Environment

T Task

T Timing

L Learning

E Emotion

P Perspective

The components of the PETTLEP model

P – Physical. This is arguably the most important PETTLEP

component. Rather than conceptualizing imagery as something



entirely different from physical practice, here imagery is seen

as a physical process with measurable physiological outcomes.

For optimal benefits, imagery should be as physical an

experience as possible. One obvious way of achieving this is to

laden the imagery instructions with the performer’s

physiological responses.

Indeed, research has shown that response-laden imagery

instructions are more effective than ones lacking kinesthetic

cues (Smith et al, 2001).

Other ways of making the imagery more physical include wearing

the same clothes as during performance, and holding any

associated implements (e.g. tennis racquet, golf club).

E – Environment. This relates to the place where imagery is

performed. According to PETTLEP this should be as similar as

possible to the performance environment.

Indeed, we have found imagery to be most effective when it is

performed in the actual competitive arena (Smith et al, 2007).

Of course, this is unlikely to be a practical option for most

people’s regular imagery training, and therefore the use of

video and audio may be useful in aiding mental simulation of the

venue.

Be innovative, as improvisation can pay great dividends. For

example, in one study (Smith, Wright & Cantwell, 2008) we had

golfers image their bunker shots whilst standing in a tray of

sand. The golfers liked the fact that they could feel their golf

shoes contacting the sand and that their posture was identical

to that adopted in the actual bunker. This was very effective in

enhancing bunker shot performance.

T – Task. The content of the imagery should be appropriate to

the skill level and the personal preferences of the athlete. For

example, given that the attentional focus of athletes in

different sports and at different performance levels may differ

in a number of ways, the content of the imagery needs to be

specific to the performer.

Indeed, we have found it very useful to quiz the athlete

regarding his or her attentional focus during performance when

planning the imagery intervention.



T – Timing. This refers to the speed at which imagery is

completed. Given that timing is often crucial when performing

sports skills, the suggestion here is to have the athlete

perform the imagery in ‘real time’ most of the time. We have

found this approach effective with a wide range of athletes in

various sports.

However, more research is needed on the possible uses of slow

motion imagery as there are some interesting questions that

remain to be explored, such as whether slow motion imagery could

be useful in correcting errors in form-based skills.

L – Learning. This emphasizes that the content of the imagery

should be adapted in response to learning, as the cognitions and

feelings experienced during movement will change as an

individual becomes more skilled.

This PETTLEP component has not received a great deal of research

attention to date. However, in a recently completed study

examining the effects of imagery on muscle strength, it has been

found that a longitudinal intervention involving the regular

updating of imagery content to reflect the progress participants had

made – was very successful in enhancing performance.

Also, without such updating, the imagery will very quickly cease to

effectively replicate real life. For instance, changes in physical

condition, skill level and physical fitness can all be incorporated

into the imagery.

E – Emotion. Sports performance is a very emotion-laden experience,

and therefore imagery needs to be too if it is to be realistic.

Indeed, Smith et al. (2007) found the PETTLEP interventions in their

study to be more effective than imagery that was preceded by

instructions to relax.

The inclusion of realistic emotions in the imagery instructions makes

the imagery much more evocative of the real-life scenario, and may

therefore lead to a more vivid imagery experience.

For example, Wilson, Smith, Holmes and Burden, (2010) found that

personalized, emotion-laden imagery scripts led to greater muscle

activity and higher self-rated imagery vividness compared to more

generic interventions.

P – Perspective. This refers to the viewpoint of the performer during

imagery. This can be internal (first person, i.e., through the eyes

of the performer) or external (third person, i.e., seeing oneself

performing as if watching on TV).



Holmes and Collins recommend an internal perspective for the most

part as it mimics the visual perspective experienced during

performance, but recognize also that for some form-based skills, such

as gymnastics, the external perspective can be very effective. Also,

the issue of individual preference is absolutely crucial for

successful interventions.

While it may be theoretically desirable, for instance, to adopt an

internal visual perspective in many cases, some athletes may find

internal imagery difficult or just prefer external imagery. In such

cases, it is always preferable to accommodate the athlete’s wishes as

far as possible so that the athlete is comfortable with what he or

she is being asked to do.

So what are the key take-home messages for practitioners from the

last decade of PETTLEP research?

The most obvious one is that PETTLEP imagery can be a potent means of

enhancing sports performance. We have found it to work well with

novices and experts, children and adults, and in other contexts too,

such as in helping student nurses perfect their nursing skills.

Research also strongly suggests that PETTLEP works best when used as

an integrated whole rather than when only some components are used.

Findings also show the clear importance of personalizing imagery

interventions, and of incorporating all the senses into the imagery

experience. Current lines of research include trying to answer the

questions of how much imagery is needed, and how often it needs to be

performed, to produce optimal performance benefits.

Below is a summary of key practical recommendations based on the

PETTLEP model, the research testing it and our experiences applying

it in the field.

Some of the ideas discussed might seem rather ‘way out’ and, indeed,

when first trying out some of these things you may be slightly

skeptical regarding the potential benefits of some of the PETTLEP

recommendations. However, experiences in research and applied

practice have convinced demonstrated that the approach has strong

merit, especially when compared to the traditional ‘lie down and

visualizes’ approach that some practitioners advocate.

Perhaps most interesting, and in keeping with the importance of

personalizing the imagery intervention, some of the most innovative

ways we have found of employing PETTLEP have been suggested by the

athletes themselves.



For example, in the bunker shot study mentioned above, the idea of

using the tray of sand came originally from one of the participants

in the study. Be innovative and creative, and involve the client very

much as a partner in your endeavor to produce a useful and exciting

imagery intervention, and you will find it well worth the effort.

Practical Recommendation

● PHYSICAL

The athlete should stand in the correct stance, wearing the same

clothes, and holding any implements that would be used during

performance.

● ENVIRONMENT

If possible, the athlete should complete the imagery in the same

environment where the performance or task will take place.

Where this is not possible, videos, photographs, or a similar

environment can be used as a substitute, e.g., a rugby player

standing on grass in his or her back garden.

● TASK

The task being imaged should be identical in nature to the task

actually being performed, and this should be altered as the

skill level of the athlete changes.

● TIMING

The imagery should be completed in ‘real time’ and should take

the same length of time to complete as physically

performing the task.

● LEARNING

As the athlete becomes proficient and autonomous at the task,

the imagery should be updated in order to reflect this and

remain equivalent to the physical level of the athlete.

● EMOTION

Any emotions associated with performance should be incorporated

into the imagery. This can be aided by the use of stimulus

and response training.

● PERSPECTIVE

The imagery should usually be completed from an internal

perspective (i.e., through the athlete’s own eyes). This

can be controlled by the use of a video to aid the imagery.

However, external imagery may be useful for some form-based

tasks and personal preference should also be taken into account.



References:

● Holmes, P. S., & Collins, D. J. (2001). The PETTLEP

approach to motor imagery: A functional equivalence model

for sport psychologists. Journal of Applied Sport

Psychology, 13(1) 60-83.

● Smith, D., Holmes, P., Whitemore, L., Collins, D., &

Devonport, T. (2001). The effect of theoretically-based

imagery scripts on field hockey performance. Journal of

Sport Behaviour, 24, 408-419.

● Smith, D., Wright, C. J., Allsopp, A. & Westhead, H.

(2007). It’s all in the mind: PETTLEP-based imagery and

sports performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology,

19, 80-92.

● Smith, D., Wright, C.J. & Cantwell, C. (2008). Beating the

bunker: The effect of PETTLEP imagery on golf bunker shot

performance. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport,

79(3), 1-7.

● Wilson, C., Smith, D., Holmes, P., & Burden, A. (2010).

Participant-generated imagery scripts produce greater EMG

activity and imagery ability. European Journal of Sport

Sciences, 10, 417-425



Relaxation and Energization

I think it’s safe to say that many of us have no problem with

energizing ourselves. With coffee, Red Bull, 5 Hour Energy, etc

there is an abundance of ways to become energized ...but I’m

talking about is self or internally induced energizing.

First though let’s talk about relaxation.

Focused relaxation is vital in just about everything you do. It

helps you solve problems, get insights and be inspired.

Inspiration and insights come only when your mind is calm.

What person doesn't love to be inspired? When you are relaxed

and focused, your conscious mind relaxes while your creative,

problem-solving (unconscious) mind becomes engaged. Short

moments of meditation can give you this much-needed calm.

If it's hard for you to relax when you need it, take a look at

various brain/mind synchronization audios, there are a few at my

Warrior Mind online store.

Relaxation

Albert Einstein and Focused Relaxation

If you love Einstein, it may be because unlike other scientists,

he acknowledged God and the Universal Source as his inspiration.

He knew the significance of inspired focus in his work.

Hasn't that happened to you too?

You tax your brain for hours or days thinking of a way to do

something. Then in your sleep, in a dream, walking the dog or

washing dishes, the solution comes to you - in a flash!

Aging will gently force you to relax a little every day. If you

think of each day as a precious, never-to-come-again gift, you

may want to give relaxation a higher priority. You will want to

create brief moments in your day to become quiet, calm and

centered. Your chattering mind can't ever bring you there; only

your relaxed mind. You'll like it a lot! You'll want to own a

calm mind rather than more stuff.

It's often said, "You can't make something new with the same old

mind." You tap your creative mind by going beyond your thinking

mind. You may be here when you're sick and tired of being sick



and tired…of being sick and tired…Now you're ready to bring on

the relaxation!

The Skill of Focused Relaxation is Promoted in the Media

In 2004 the movie "What the Bleep" may have amazed you. It

revealed how unlimited you are. You often can't choose what

happens to you. But you can choose how to respond to what

happens.

So you have a choice about how to feel and act…you can make your

career, marriage and everything in your life truly great. Still,

you'll need to be relaxed and focused to stay on track.

You may want a visualization script for relaxation or to find

out more about meditation and stress relief right now.

Grab the wheel and steer your life with greater ease, happiness

and clarity!

Guided meditation is a perfect way to increase your focused

relaxation throughout your day. Like Einstein, it connects you

to your creative Source, it empowers you.

Physically, while listening to a guided meditation, you may

notice pleasant body sensations, such as warmth or energy

circulating throughout your body…or you may see light or an

image, such as a crystal or a rose. When you start to experience

these very enjoyable moments, you want to meditate for focused

relaxation again…and again.

Relaxation Can Contribute to Your Success

Guided meditation deeply relaxes and frees you from living in a

tight box. It helps you know your oneness with people, animals

and nature. That's very much like the oneness experienced during

giving birth. Meditation melts away the illusion of separateness

and differences.

You'll still have all your talents, preferences and uniqueness.

It's the love and serenity in you that's the same in everyone.

Just knowing about it intellectually is not enough. It's your

experience of focus and relaxation at the same time that expands

your mind-set. It's a core change. The world needs this from



you. You'll make more of a difference when you come from

stillness and from your heart.

Your intuition will become very strong with practice. If you do

one meditation a day for only 1-5 minutes, you'll notice big

changes. Your communications will improve. How you relate to

people will become warmer. People will tell you, "I like your

calm energy" or "I can feel your peace" when you get in the

habit of relaxing every day.

Over one million people are using focused relaxation and various

creative visualization strategies just like the ones provided on

this website. They make it easy for you to do it... and it just

feels so good!

Children know how to be focused and relaxed at the same time…it

comes naturally to them. But around four or as they become more

outwardly focused, it begins to disappear. They are told to pay

attention and 'listen up'.

This is how you lost your connection to focused relaxation. And

now you can re-learn it!

What is Relaxation?

● Relaxation is the ability to decrease unwanted muscular

tension, reduce excessive activation of the autonomic

nervous system (ANS), and calm the mind by eliminating

unwanted thoughts.

Relaxation Response

● The process of learning how to relax your muscles and

reduce autonomic activation symptoms when needed.

Basic Relaxation Model

● Total Relaxation

o Use any technique you want. o Take as long as you need to reach an “8” or above.

● Conditioning

o Pair relaxation “cue word” with deep levels of

relaxation (i.e., “8” or above).

● Rapid Relaxation

o Use cue words and deep diaphragmatic breathing to

trigger relaxation in 3-5 seconds.



Benefits of Rapid Relaxation

● Help individuals perform better.

● Promote better arousal control.

● Deal with pressure and let go of mistakes.

● Prompt a more unconscious, trusting attitude.

● Focus on the present and feel more in control.

● Conserve energy.

● The deeper the trance, the more likely it is that suggestions

given under hypnosis will be effective.

● General arousal techniques are more useful than specific,

pin-point suggestions.

● Hypnosis will not force anyone to do anything they do not want

to do or that is against the client’s moral fiber or moral

position.Increase enjoyment by reducing tension and stress

Benefits of Total Relaxation ● Alleviate chronic stress and enjoy life more fully.

● Promote recovery from workouts and injuries.

● Enhance the quality of sleep, particularly before

competition or on the road.

● Develop rapid relaxation skills.

Common Relaxation Techniques

● Diaphragmatic breathing.

● Imagery relaxation.

● Progressive muscle relaxation.

● Self-directed relaxation.

● Biofeedback.

● Hypnosis.

● Music.

Anxiety Reduction Techniques

Hypnosis:

An altered state of consciousness that can be induced by a

procedure in which a person is in an unusually relaxed state and

responds to suggestions designed to alter perceptions, feelings,

thoughts, and actions.

Facts About Hypnosis

Although researchers and practitioners don’t always agree on the

definition of hypnosis, they agree generally about the following

aspects of hypnosis:

● All hypnosis is self hypnosis



● The more open individuals are to receiving suggestions, the

more likely they are to benefit from suggestions given

under hypnosis.

● Positive suggestions are effective in facilitating performance,

regardless of whether the individual is hypnotized.

● Negative suggestions almost always cause a decrement in

performance.

● Hypnotic responsiveness depends more on the efforts and

abilities of the individual being hypnotized than on the skill

of the therapist.

● The ability to experience hypnotic phenomena does not indicate

gullibility or personality weakness.

Relaxation Tips

● Smile when you feel tension coming on.

● Have fun—enjoy the situation.

● Set up “practice” stressful situations during the day.

● Slow down; take your time.

● Stay focused on the present.

● Come prepared to a critical situation or event with a plan.

Choosing a Relaxation Strategy

● Effective – relax as much as need to ensure you perform your

best. ● Fast – lower tension levels quickly in 3-5 seconds or less. ● Personalized – individualized strategies to maximize enjoyment

and meet your specific needs.

Energizing

Napoleon Hill defines enthusiasm as "a state of mind that inspires

and arouses one to put action into the task at hand." According to

Hill, enthusiasm is the most important factor in personal success.

Enthusiasm will make work far less difficult and boring. Hill states

that enthusiasm is a vital force that can be developed and used. The

procedure to develop it is simple – do the kind of work you like and

make sure your actions are leading toward the achievement of your

purpose in life.

According to Hill, the main power of enthusiasm is that it is

contagious – which magnifies its power. Hill mentions that’s not so

much what you say as it is the tone and manner in which you say it

that makes a lasting impression.

Enthusiasm makes all the difference in the world.

To enthuse others, you must first enthuse yourself. Quoting Napoleon

Hill: "No one can afford to express, through words or acts, anything



that is not in harmony with their own belief - and if they do, they

must pay by their loss of their ability to influence others."

He illustrates this by describing a lucrative opportunity presented

to him by a foreign government to visit their country and write

favorable impressions and opinions about their political system. The

money offered was more than he could ever hope to spend in his

lifetime – yet he refused because he did not believe in the political

system of the country. Therefore, he knew his writing would be

ineffective.

Hill instructs us to write out our life’s purpose, in clear, simple

language and read it nightly before retiring. This allows enthusiasm

to build. Hill states that "enthusiasm is the mainspring of the mind

that urges one to put knowledge into action".

Enthusiasm is absolutely necessary if you ever want to accomplish

anything of value. You need a larger-than-life excitement in whatever

it is that you are doing for it to be successful. You can amass

incredible enthusiasm within your life when you simply follow the

suggestions below:

Be Passionate

You have to have a passion for what you are doing if you want to

build enthusiasm for it. You need to be excited about it as you wake

up in the morning and as you go to bed at night. This passion is what

will keep your enthusiasm high, even during rough patches, which we

all go through. Simply put, love what you do and enthusiasm will

follow. You might want to go back and review your life purpose. If

this doesn’t get you going, you might not have discovered your true

purpose.

Be Grateful

One of the ways that I build my enthusiasm with my work and my

business is that I always remind myself everything that it has given

me. I express gratitude for all that I have and this helps me become

even more excited about what I’m doing. As we go through the daily

grind, it is very easy to forget about all the little things that

make our life easier and more comfortable. Remember all the good

things that you have going on in your life and be grateful for being

who you are today. This is a wonderful method to create powerful

enthusiasm in your life.

Be Positive

Enthusiasm cannot survive in a negative environment. If you always

have negative thoughts and are always looking at the glass as half

empty, you will find your enthusiasm dissipate very quickly. You need



to be positive for your enthusiasm to thrive. Look at the silver

lining. Look on the bright side of things. Take away positive lessons

out of seemingly bad situations, and you will find yourself submerged

by a wave of amazing enthusiasm that will help carry you along the

way towards your goals.

Be Proud

Whatever it is that you want to build enthusiasm for, make sure that

you are proud of it. Talk about it with your peers, discuss it with

your friends, and mention it to your family. Pride is very important

to create lasting enthusiasm, as anything that is worth being proud

of, is worth having enthusiasm for. Talking about anything that you

are proud of builds a terrific excitement that only helps in the

continuation of it in a positive direction.

Be Creative

You can never have enough creativity. Enthusiasm generates creativity

and creativity triggers enthusiasm. Be innovative and creative in

whatever you are doing and watch your enthusiasm skyrocket. Always

look for better and newer ways to go about it, always look for an

easier path, and always think outside the box. Being creative is one

of the fastest and most effective ways to create enthusiasm.

Be Proactive

When you are the initiator, the one that makes things happen, you

transform your dedication to enthusiasm seamlessly. Being proactive

creates massive enthusiasm in that you promote something that you

have a vested interest in, perhaps something that you are passionate

about. I’ve discussed above how passion helps with enthusiasm. This

follows along the same line. Be the captain of the ship. Be the

leader, be an inspiration, and you will notice your enthusiasm get

higher and higher.

Be Reasonable

The quickest way to destroy any momentum and your enthusiasm along

the way is to be completely unreasonable. Be realistic and

understanding…this will ensure that your enthusiasm sticks for the

long haul. Being unreasonable leads to guaranteed disappointment and

thus create an aura of negative energy. Building enthusiasm in such

an environment is pretty much impossible. So be sure to stay logical

& reasonable for your enthusiasm to survive.

Be Patient

Following from my previous point about being unreasonable, the same

applies to patience. Being impatient and expecting everything right



away will only crush your enthusiasm when reality slaps you in the

face. If you want to have long lasting enthusiasm, it is required of

you to be very patient. The more patience you have, the more solid

your enthusiasm will be. After all, what we want is enthusiasm that

lasts a lifetime, so learn to have patience in your endeavors.

Be Enlightened

Believe it or not, but you can build incredible enthusiasm with

stillness. You can have amazing enthusiasm with full peace within

your entire being, and living in the never-ending present moment. You

do not need to be agitated to feel excitement.

You can be completely still with calm and still enjoy unparalleled

enthusiasm. I suggest you get your hands on the book The Power of Now

to understand what I am referring to here. Eckhart Tolle explains

this masterfully in his writings. Find your enlightenment and you

will pick up enthusiasm along the way!

Be Evolving

Understand that life is all about improving yourself and that you are

in a constant state of evolution. Knowing that you are, each and

every day, getting better and better is a wonderful way to create

sheer enthusiasm. Being aware that each step, each moment has a

meaning & a purpose is incredibly rewarding and builds a solid

foundation on which you can stack up your enthusiasm. Always evolve,

and never look back.

As you can see, each of the methods complement each other. Adding

each one of these to your life will begin to create enthusiasm and

become more energized and aroused.

Now here are additional tips for energizing and arousal.

Self-Awareness of Arousal

● You must increase your awareness of your psychological states

before you can control your thoughts and feelings.

● Once you are aware of your optimal arousal, you can employ

arousal regulation (reduction, maintenance, induction)

strategies.

● How individuals cope with anxiety is more important than how

much anxiety they experience.

● “It’s not a case of getting rid of the butterflies, it’s a

question of getting them to fly in formation”—basketball coach

Jack Donahue

● Compared to non-elite individuals, elite individuals see their

anxiety as facilitative rather than debilitative.



What is Energization?

● Energization is the ability to arouse the body by increasing

muscular strength and power or stimulate the nervous system.

Energization Response

● The process of speeding up heart rate and respiration,

increasing sweating, stimulating greater blood flow to the

muscles, and enhancing automated brain activity.

Signs of Underarousal

● Moving slowly, not getting set.

● Mind wandering, being easily distracted.

● Lack of concern about the task at hand.

● Lack of anticipation or enthusiasm.

● Heavy feeling, no bounce.

Basic Energization Model

● Total Energization

o Use any technique you want. o Take as long as you need to reach an “8” or above on a

scale of 1 – 10.

● Conditioning

o Pair energization “cue word” with elevated energization

levels (i.e., “8” or above).

● Rapid Energization

o Use cue words and quick, psych-up breathing to trigger

energization in 3-5 seconds.

Benefits of Energization

● Provide a performance advantage.

● Control arousal.

● Enhance concentration.

● Elevate confidence, particularly when tired, when encountering

adversity, or dealing with low energy levels.

Common Energization Techniques

● “Psych up” breathing.

● Imagery energization or Energy machine energization.

● Music.

Choosing an Energization Technique

● Effective – energize as much as need to ensure you perform your

best. ● Fast – raise energy levels quickly in 3-5 seconds or less. ● Personalized – individualized strategies to maximize enjoyment

and meet your specific needs.



Self-Talk

Self-talk refers to the thoughts and words individuals say to

themselves and usually in their minds, but sometimes out loud as

well. Self-talk phrases (or cues) are used to direct attention

towards a particular thing in order to improve focus or are used

alongside other techniques to facilitate their effectiveness.

Research suggests either positive or negative self-talk may improve

behavior, suggesting the effectiveness of self-talk phrases depends

on how the phrase is interpreted by the individual.

What we think has an effect on how we feel, which, in turn, has an

effect on what we do. In sports, negative thinking has been shown to

have a negative effect on performance, so it makes sense that

negative thinking and negative self-talk will affect your behavior as

well.

When self-talk is negative, it produces both negative feelings, like

anxiety, as well as physical tension.

It also takes your focus away from what you should be doing, which

makes it more likely that you will miss something important or make a

mistake. So, when we talk negatively to ourselves, it affects other

important mental skills such as intensity regulation, confidence, and

concentration.

When these mental skills deteriorate, behaviors are likely to be

affected, which serves to reinforce the self-talk, (e.g., you prove

to yourself that, “I really do stink at this”) creating a vicious

cycle.

Many times we are unaware of our self-talk; therefore, it can

sabotage our behavior without our even realizing it. At its worst,

our self-fulfilling prophecies of poor behavior in certain situations

lead us to label ourselves negatively (e.g., “loser”) which makes it

even more difficult to break the negative cycle.

Just as negative self-talk can hurt behavior, positive self-talk can

improve it. The key to using self-talk for behavior enhancement is to

be able to recognize what you say to yourself so that you can control

your self-talk and use it to facilitate an improved behavior. Staying

positive in negative situations is the hallmark of a mentally strong

individual.

With practice, individuals can learn to change their self-talk so

that they will get the maximum benefit from their successes and learn

from their failures without being overly self-critical. The uses of

self-talk are varied – it can be used to improve behavior, psych

yourself up, cope with anxiety, increase motivation, strengthen



confidence, elevate mood, focus your attention, prepare for an event

or situation, break bad habits, and acquire new skills.

The Power of Self-Talk

They say there’s nothing wrong with talking to yourself, but when you

start answering back, it’s time to worry. They’re wrong. Talking

aloud to yourself in public isn’t a sign of mental health, but

holding an internal dialogue is quite normal and very useful.

In fact, inner conversations have a powerful impact on emotional

well-being and motivation. Becoming aware of exactly what you are

saying to yourself about yourself can help you understand But don’t confuse positive self-talk with mindless positive thinking,

happy affirmations or, even worse, self-delusion. For example, if I

were to tell myself that I’m no good at artistic endeavors, my

self-talk would be negative but not flawed. The truth is, I have

difficulty drawing a straight line. On the other hand, if I say I

can’t do anything right, that would be flawed, over generalized

thinking.

What you want is accurate, logical self-talk. There are times,

though, when you start hearing a chorus of negative messages from

your inner voice. Then it’s time to correct them by using so why you

react the way you do to events and people in your life. It can also

give you a handle on controlling your moods, repeating your successes

and short-circuiting your shortcomings.

Positive self-talk can do a lot to give you the confidence that frees

you to use your talents to the fullest. If public speaking makes you

nervous, use your inner voice to reassure yourself: “You can do it.

You’ve done it well before. Why else would have asked you to do it

again?” Behind your nervousness may well be negative thoughts such

as: “There are 300 people out there! I’ll never hold their

attention.” Since self-talk has a way of becoming self-fulfilling

prophecy, encountered negative thinking can spell trouble. That’s

why it’s so important to monitor your inner voice.

me of the techniques I’ll be describing. The key is to recognize the

logical flaws and self-sabotaging messages and replace the errors

with more rational and appropriate thinking. In high-tech terms, it

helps you uncover the bugs in your mental computer and reprogram your

mind with better software.

Take the case of a 39-year-old mother who has persistent feelings of

depression. Her inner voice tells her: “I’m lost. I feel like such

a failure. I know I should be more patient with my kids, but they’re

such losers. I’ve given up even talking to them. It’s just not

fair. My friends’ kids are perfect but mine are a mess and so is my

life.” These ruminations are a garbage bag of negatively loaded



words and labels (“failure,” “losers); errors in the way she

processes information (“My friends’ kids are perfect”); faulty

assumptions (“It’s not fair – neither, of course is life), and

guilt-inducing expectations (“I should…”).

This mother needs to identify these errors and distortions and

develop a more accurate internal dialogue (“I know I’m not a perfect

mother, but nobody is perfect. I do the best I can with my kids, and

they’re not perfect either. But, if I work on being more patient and

communicating better, maybe the problems we’ve been having can worked

out”). The revised self-talk improves her mood and motivation,

diffuses her anger and directs her toward actions that can address

some of her difficulties. This can eventually lead to positive

changes in her behavior that will improve her relationship with her

family.

Self-Talk Trouble: Three Tip-Offs

Negative self-talk can trip you up any time, but these three common

situations are particularly good times to monitor your inner voice

for negative thoughts.

When what is happening to you doesn’t jibe with what you expect or

predict, flawed self-talk may be the cause. Think of a newly

divorced woman who goes to a party expecting men to approach her,

with no effort on her part to attract them. When it doesn’t happen,

she feels confused, insecure and depressed. If she’d examined her

self-talk before the party, she might have realized she was operating

on an outmoded idea, “nice women don’t start conversations with

strangers, so I should wait for people to come to me.”

It might have been more helpful had her self-talk been more along the

lines of “I’m an intelligent, attractive woman. I have plenty of

interesting things to talk about. I’ll look for chances to start

conversations with the people I meet.”

The next sign that it’s time to check on your self-talk is when you

sense in yourself a pattern of negative behavior towards others. For

example, a man suspects that he’s falling into a pattern of ignoring

orders from his superiors at work, or conveniently “forgetting”

meetings he should attend. Listening closely to what he tells

himself about his bosses and his work might forestall career

stagnation or a firing.

Does he fear his bosses dislike them, envy them – or is he unsure of

his own skills? Whatever he hears, it’s time to come up with a more

realistic evaluation of what’s happening. He needs to consider his

own strengths and figure out the best ways to use them to deal with



what’s really bothering him at work and is causing him to avoid

dealing with his superiors.

A third signal that it’s time to pay attention to self-talk is a

stressful life event or a personal transition of some kind. Because

crises often mark turning points, old ways of looking at the world

can become obsolete under the new conditions that are changing your

life. Take a woman who has been a company’s token woman executive.

She’s come to expect not to be listened to or taken seriously by her

superiors. If she then moves to an organization that respects

women’s abilities and expects them to perform well, she may find that

her views about dealing with management need to change – and with

them the way she presents herself to others on the job.

Capturing Your Self-Talk

How do you tune into your self-talk to analyze and correct it? Some

people seem inherently more aware of their inner conversations than

others and have little difficulty mentally “turning up the volume.”

One of my clients is notable in this regard. When she was a child,

her abusive parents administered both physical punishment and

emotional isolation. Now, as an adult, instead of reporting what

she’s thinking or feeling the way most people do, the woman

self-talks out loud.

In one session, she answered a question about how she felt after a

confrontation with a coworker this way: “Susan [her own name], you

don’t have to get your feelings hurt over what this guy did. You’ll

be much worse off if you start to cry now, so just keep yourself

together.” Susan had apparently learned as a child to rely on her

own company and self-talk to comfort her and calm her down. Now

accessing it is second nature.

Most people, though, need ways to capture their inner dialogues.

There are several techniques that can help. First, at random times

throughout the day, ask yourself, “What am I saying to myself right

now?” Then, if you can, write down your thoughts along with a few

notes about the situation you are in and how you’re feeling. Your

goal is to refine your self-talk to make it as accurate as possible.

Before you begin, it’s essential to record your self-talk without any

censorship.

You can use uncomfortable emotions or moods – such as stress,

depression and anxiety – as cues for listening to self-talk. When

this happens, identify the feeling as accurately as possible. Then

ask yourself, “What was I saying to myself right before I started

feeling this way?” or, “What have I been saying to myself since I’ve

been feeling this way?”



Situations that you anticipate might be difficult for you are also a

good time to access your self-talk. Write down a description of the

coming event. Then ask yourself, “What am I saying to myself now

about the event?” If your thoughts are negative, think about how you

can use your strengths to turn these disruptive feelings into more

positive ones and help make a potentially difficult experience into a

success.

It’s useful to compare your self-talk predictions (what you thought

would or should happen in a given situation) with what actually took

place. If the reality conflicts with your predictions – as it often

does when your self-talk is in error – pinpoint where your inner

dialogue needs adjustments to fit reality.

You’re bound to have a purely subjective view of your own thoughts.

So it’s helpful and often necessary to enlist the help of a

sympathetic but objective friend, mate, coach or therapist who is

willing to listen, collaborate in the assessment of your experience

and help identify the ways your self-talk may be distorted.

Using Your Inner Voice

How you respond to your self-talk makes all the difference. First,

remember the positive elements and use them in other situations where

your thoughts are negative. For the negative thoughts you’ve

uncovered, first identify how they are wrong. Then argue actively

with yourself to correct the errors. Construct challenging arguments

to your erroneous assumptions and beliefs (“If I’m such an unlikable

person, why do my old friends still call me to get together?”).

Next, change your inner dialogue by replacing flawed ways of talking

to yourself with better ways. Remember that you’re after accuracy

and rationality, not self-hype or excessively positive ideas; such

mindless optimism is equally distorted.

Flawed self-talk, by its very nature, is often best captured when you

are feeling down on yourself or depressed. Unfortunately, since your

bad mood had tilted your thinking this is precisely when you’re least

able to be truly objective and rational. So it’s especially valuable

at these dark times to adopt the perspective of someone else you feel

confident is on your side. Try to look at yourself the way they

would and use that perspective to come up with accurate self-talk

that fits reality and points you in a new and positive direction.

Since thoughts are fleeting, writing them down as they occur to you

will help the process along. Try a triple-column technique to

analyze them for errors and construct rational rebuttals: First,

divide a sheet of paper into three columns. Then think back to an

event that has elicited negative feelings. In the first column,



write down your “automatic thoughts” – the samples of uncensored

self-talk you’ve gathered.

Next, with the list of flawed thinking as a guide (“10 Cognitive

Traps” below), scrutinize your thoughts to see if they mirror any of

these errors. Note errors in the second column. Last, write a

rebuttal for each flawed thought in the third column.

For example, let’s assume you’re upset because you didn’t do as well

as you had hoped in a job interview. In the first column, the

self-talk you have recorded might read something like, “I always mess

important things up this way. I’ll never get that job…. I probably

won’t ever get any job. The interviewer just hated me, I could tell.

What a bozo I am.”

In the second column you identify various thoughts as errors of

overgeneralization, or jumping to conclusions, or labeling, and so

forth. In the third column, your rational rebuttal might read, “OK,

I didn’t do so well in answering a few questions because I was

anxious. But I did answer a lot very well.

“Actually, I don’t know the man at all, so I can’t really judge his

reaction to me. If I have the opportunity for a second interview,

I’ll make sure to add the information I left out. If I don’t, I’ll

have learned from the experience and I’ll do better next time.”

This may be a lot of writing, but it’s the best way to get started.

You’ll soon be skilled enough to do it in your head without writing

it down.

Moving from Talk to Action

The real power of self-talk lies in how it changes behavior. Simply

correcting your internal programming will improve your mood, but it

won’t do the most important job. The ultimate purpose of examining

what is going on inside your head is to change actions that are

self-defeating. Thinking correctly does alter your negative moods,

but enduring change comes only with modifying your behavior.

If, for example, your self-talk tells you, “I can’t break up this

relationship because I can’t stand being alone, even though the

relationship is harmful to me,” you’re likely to stay locked in the

same unhappy situation. To make yourself-talk more accurate, you

might say, “I feel anxious about breaking up and facing the idea that

I might be alone for awhile. But if I really want to give myself a

chance for the kind of relationship that will make me happy, I must

let go of the one I’m in.”



Now comes the clincher: To activate the full power of your self-talk,

you must follow the path that your new, accurate inner messages

point. In the example, you would need to actually terminate your

current relationship and, with the aid of further encouraging and

supportive self-talk, get back into social situations where you can

meet new people and begin forming new relationships.

To find the behavior that goes with your new self-talk, ask yourself

these questions: What behavior has my erroneous self-talk generated?

How has it hindered me from reaching my goals? What actions does my

corrected self-talk suggest? How will my life be better when I

change? When and how will I start to change?

Accurate self-talk should enable you to know how your behavior needs

to change. And behavior is what counts. As an old proverb advises:

“To know and not to act is not to know at all.”

The Psychology of Self Talk

The methods described in this section – using self-talk to elevate

your moods and change your behavior – have their basis in cognitive

therapy. The best-known proponents of talking to yourself are

psychiatrist Aaron Beck and his colleagues at the University of

Pennsylvania, who developed cognitive therapy. David Burns

popularized the technique for the treatment of depression in his

best-seller, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy.

The guiding principle of cognitive therapy is that beliefs and

thoughts, as represented by your words and assumptions, have the

greatest impact on your emotions, behavior and state of mind. So by

directly assaulting self-hindering thought, you can profoundly

improve your emotional well-being and overall functioning.

In brain-dominance terminology, cognitive therapy is pure left-sided,

since it relies on rational, analytical methods. But self-sabotaging

self-talk can be attached and corrected from a right-brain

perspective as well.

Personal Mythology theory (archetypes) provides a symbolic avenue for

changing self-talk by focusing on the stories you tell yourself about

your place in the world; indeed, about the purpose of life itself.

Contrary to what its name implies, personal mythology does down mean

false beliefs. It refers to the sum total of your self-talk

statements and how they are integrated into full-blown belief

systems. The stories that embody these beliefs – stories derived

from larger culture myths – strongly affect how you interpret what

happens to you, and therefore how you choose to feel and behave.



Understanding your personal mythology and whose story you’re living

can help you discover how outmoded myths block your personal growth.

You learn to revise these myths with new guiding beliefs about who

you are, new myths that serve to help you grow toward the goals you

seek.

10 Cognitive Traps

1. All-Or-Nothing Thinking: You see things in black-or-white

categories. If a situation is anything less than perfect, you

see it as a total failure.

2. Overgeneralization: You see a single event as a never-ending

pattern of defeat by using the words always or never when you

think about it.

3. Mental Filter: You pick out a single negative detail and dwell

on it exclusively. One word of criticism erases all the praise

you’ve received.

4. Discounting The Positive: You reject positive experiences by

insisting they “don’t count.” If you do a good job, you tell

yourself that anyone could have done as well.

5. Jumping To Conclusions: You interpret things negatively when

there are no facts to support your conclusion. Two common

variations are mind-reading (your arbitrarily conclude that

someone is reacting negatively to you) and fortune-telling (you

assume and predict that things will turn out badly).

6. Magnification: You exaggerate the importance of your problems

and shortcomings, or you minimize your desirable qualities.

This is also called the “binocular trick.”

7. Emotional Reasoning: You assume that your negative emotions

reflect the way things really are: “I feel guilty. I must be a

rotten person.”

8. “ Should” Statements: You tell yourself that things should be the

way you hoped or expected them to be. Many people try to

motivate themselves with shoulds and shouldn’ts, as if they had

to be punished before they could be expected to do anything.

9. Labeling: This is an extreme form of all-or nothing thinking.

Instead of saying “I made a mistake,” you attach a negative

label to yourself: “I’m a loser.”

10. Personalization And Blame: You hold yourself personally

responsible for events that aren’t entirely under your control.



Common Problems With Self-Talk

● Focusing on the past or future. For example – “I can’t believe I

messed up!” or “If I’m going to succeed I can’t let him pass

me.” All you can control is what you do in the present.

● Focusing on mistakes or weaknesses. For example, “My reading

suck’s.” or “I hope they don’t ask me about ____ (fill in the

blank), I hate to talk about ____.” Acknowledge areas in need

of improvement in your personal development plan or to your

coach, but beating yourself up, especially in public, will

erode your confidence.

● Focusing only on outcomes. For example, “I have to get this” or

“I have to meet her.” You can only control your own behavior,

not the behaviors of others. Concentrate on what you can do.

● Focusing on things out of your control. For example, “I hate

going to work in the rain.” or “Why did he have to show up –

now I’ll never get my work done.” This takes your mind off of

what you can do to improve your behavior.

● Demanding perfection from yourself. For example, “I must get

this sale.” or “I have to make this presentation perfect.” This

can set you up for frustration.

Self-Talk Assessment Techniques

Before you can change your self-talk, you have to know what it is.

There are several ways to become more aware of self-talk and each

have their own advantages and disadvantages.

• The “Paper Clip” Technique – Take a pocketful of paper clips and

put them in your left pants pocket when you get dressed in the

morning. Each time you have a negative thought during the day, take

one out and put it in your pants pocket. When you get undressed at

night, count the paperclips in you right pocket. Repeat this exercise

for four or five days. This is a quick and simple technique that can

help you discover the extent of your negative thinking, although it

doesn’t provide you any details of the content of your thoughts.

• Recall Through Imagery – Take a deep breath, close your eyes,

slowly exhale and relax. Imagine an especially good event where your

behavior was supportive. Imagine it as vividly as possible, that is,

what it looked like, how it felt, and what you were thinking. As you

relive this experience in your head, become aware of your self-talk.



Take several minutes to do this, then open your eyes and write down

what you were thinking and what was going on with you and around you

at that time.

Repeat this exercise, but now imagine one of your behaviors was not

supportive. For even more detail, try recalling two or three best and

worst events, and then compare your self-talk.

This technique can be done rather quickly and has the advantage of

focusing on particular behavior, although it does presume you are

competent at imagery.

• Self-Talk Log – In your success journal, make a page with four

columns with the headings “Positive,” “Negative,” “Distracting” and

“Situation.” As soon as possible after a situation or event, write

down the date, where you were, and what the event or situation was.

Write down what you said to yourself under the appropriate columns.

Next to each thought, in the “Situation” column, write down what you

were doing and what was going on around you at the time.

Pay special attention to when your behavior was supportive or when

your behavior was not supportive to see if your thoughts differ at

these times.

Journaling is probably one of the most comprehensive and accurate

ways to assess self-talk, but it does take a good deal of preparation

and time to complete.

• Using Video and Audio – If possible the use of video and audio

recordings can augment many of the above assessment procedures. For

example, replaying a video of an individual’s performance (speaking,

presenting even participating in a sport) can help in the recall of

self-talk at specific moments.

This can assist in recalling self-talk with imagery or in completing

a self-talk log. Using a small digital recorder and external

microphone, individuals could talk out loud in preparation for an

event or situation to record their self-talk “live.”

Taking Charge Of Your Thinking

After you have assessed your self-talk in various situations and

developed an understanding of the connection between your thoughts,

feelings and behavior, the next step is to take charge of your

thinking and use it to maximize and enhance your behaviors.



Research has shown that the best individuals are able to stop their

negative thinking and quickly change it to more positive and

productive thoughts without beating themselves up. Two of the most

common and easily learned methods to help you take control of your

thoughts are thought stopping and thought replacement.

• Thought Stopping – This procedure involves three steps: (1) Identify the Thought. The first step in changing negative

thinking is to become familiar with what you say to yourself so you

can recognize it quickly. After you’ve assessed your self-talk you

should be able to recognize it when it starts and even anticipate it

as you get into situations that typically bring it on.

When bad things happen it’s normal to have some feelings about it, so

it’s OK to have a negative thought or two. In fact, discharging some

of the negative feelings is important to help you move on. What you

want to do is prevent yourself from spiraling down into a black hole

of negative self-talk. To do this, you must first stop the negative

thoughts.

(2) Stop the Thought – Think of a signal that will tell you to stop.

For example, picture of a stop sign, imagine yourself or someone

yelling “STOP!” imagine hearing a buzzer or shake your head “NO.”

Choose any stop signal that works best for you. Every time you notice

yourself having a negative thought, immediately use your stop signal.

(3) Practice. To become effective, you must practice this technique

over time. As a way to begin, try imagining yourself in a situation

that typically produces negative thoughts and rehearse thought

stopping in your imagination.

Continue doing this over time until the process becomes automatic. If

you have a verbal stop signal, it’s best to say it out loud at first.

This will make you more conscious of stopping the negative thinking.

Remember that old thoughts, old habits die hard. Don’t become

discouraged if your negative thoughts take time to stop.

If you get to the point where you are beating yourself up for beating

yourself up, it will only make the situation worse. The best attitude

to take is to be supportive of yourself and treat yourself like you

would treat a friend struggling with their self-talk.

• Thought Replacement – A stop signal is necessary to stop negative

thinking, but insufficient to keep it from coming back. At times

telling yourself not to think something can backfire - it’s like

trying not to think of a white rhinoceros…see you did it!



Therefore, after stopping the negative thoughts, you need to replace

them with thoughts that are more productive. Think of alternative

thoughts that are both more positive and realistic.

To help with this, use the list of negative thoughts you created

during the assessment phase. Next to each one, write down at least

one positive and realistic alternative thought. For example, if you

thought, “I suck at talking to people.” You could replace the thought

with, “I’ve improved in many areas through hard work and fun. As I

stick with it, I’ll improve this skill too.”

Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones will help you stay

motivated and refocus your attention to what you need to do right now

that you can control.

Finally, since negative thinking can produce anxiety and physical

tension, it can be helpful to use a quick relaxation technique (like

diaphragmatic breathing) between stopping the thought and replacing

it.

Making Positive Self-Talk Even More Positive

Six rules for self-talk for improved performance:

● Keep your phrases short and specific

● Use the first person and present tense

● Construct positive phrases

● Say what you want (not what you don’t want)

● Say your phrases with meaning and attention

● Speak kindly to yourself

● Repeat phrases often

Other research has shown that incorporating personally-meaningful

metaphors into your self-talk (e.g., “I am taking action like a

rhino” or “I sprint like a cheetah.”) can be especially effective in

enhancing behavior and performance.

Practice Make Perfect

As with any mental or physical skill, practice is required. Use the

following as a guide to incorporate self-talk into your sport. First

try the technique out in imagery. Practice using the technique

successfully in situations that typically produce negative thinking.

Strive to master the technique so that is can be used without

thinking or hesitation. The goal is to make it automatic. Next, try

the technique out of context. For example, if you tend to think

negatively before and during a presentation, practice the technique

in these situations in a casual conversation.



Do it several times in several different situations that you’ve found

lead to negative thinking in the past. Next, practice the technique

in simulated competitions, like during group training. Finally,

incorporate the technique in a competition.

You may wish to try it first in a “B-race,” that is, a competition

that is less important, so that you can evaluate the effectiveness of

the technique and make any necessary changes before using it in an

important event.

What’s Your Motivation?

I know this covered in an early section and I wanted to provide a

higher level view, since motivation is behind all action.

Motivation is not mental strength tool, but a byproduct of developing

mental strength using the tools in this section, it’s important to

know and understand your motivation. Motivation is essential to

achieve any type of success whether it’s in business, health and

fitness, relationships or even a simple hobby.

Without motivation nothing happens.

Motivation is generally defined as a "force, stimulus, or influence"

that moves a person or organism to act or respond. According to

Webster's Dictionary, motivation is "the psychological feature that

arouses an organism to action;" and "the reason for the action."

Normally when we think about motivation we think about being excited

about doing something or not. Well, if you’re going to want to reach

your goals on a regular basis, you’re going to have to comprehend and

use the power of motivation.

Motivation relates to the internal processes that "move, impel,

induce, or incite," people to do the things they do. It is "the call

to action" that stimulates us to initiate behaviors in the world

around us.

"Needs, drives, and desires" are typically cited as internal motives

of our behaviors. "Incentives, rewards and reinforcement" are

considered motivations derived from external sources.

One of the earliest theories of motivation was proposed by the

ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle suggested that

motivation was the result of an "appetitive" function, which always

operated relative to some result or end. According to Aristotle, this

"end" was provided or created by the thought processes of ongoing

perception, memory or imagination.



Modern cognitive theories of motivation also mirror Aristotle's

model, proposing that motivation is primarily resulting from internal

maps or "expectations" of the potential consequences of specific

actions. So, expectations relating to the projected outcomes of one's

behavior can be seen as a primary source of motivation.

From this view, how people feel, and what they do, depends on the

value that they attach, and the causes they attribute to, anticipated

consequences. Strong "positive" expectations, for instance, can

consequences that are perceived as "negative," on the other hand,

will lead to either avoidance or apathy.push people to put out extra

effort in the hope of reaching some desired outcome. Expected

Many people experience problems around the process of motivating

themselves or others. This is often because, as Aristotle pointed

out:

“Appetites run counter to one another, which happens when a principle

of reason and desire are contrary and is possible only in beings with

a sense of time (for while mind bids us hold back because of what is

future, desire is influenced by what is just at hand: a pleasant

object which is just at hand presents itself as both pleasant and

good, without condition in either case, because want of foresight

into what is farther away in.”

The Four Questions of Motivation

An initial question that is applicable for motivation is what can we

do to be productive, efficient, effective and happy?

Basically, what can we do to be able to reach our goals and feel good

about it?

Our lives are filled with a never-ending variety of things to do and

experience. To the greater extent we create these choices of

experiences. So the question is, how can we, through our motivated

behavior, create experiences that are happy, fulfilling, and

productive as possible?

There are four aspects associated with motivation: the whether, what,

why, and how of motivation.

1. To what degree are you motivated to act, expend effort, or other

resources in pursuit of a goal? Decide whether or not you are

motivated.

2. What is it you are motivated to pursue, what is your goal or

desired outcome?



3. Why are you pursuing this goal?

4. How will you achieve your goal?

Understanding the “Why” and “What” of Motivation

Self-determination theory ("SDT") is concerned with the motivation

behind the choices that people make without any external influence

and interference. SDT focuses on the degree to which an individual’s

behavior is self-motivated and self-determined.

The SDT approach to motivation, pioneered by psychologists Ed Deci

and Rich Ryan, is centrally about the “what” and “why” of motivation,

supplying powerful concepts founder standing positive (and

not-so-positive) motivation.

Two Types of “Positive” Motivation

Intrinsic Motivation

The concept of intrinsic motivation is the desire to do something

just for the experience itself. Intrinsic motivation is everywhere –

it is seen when people are doing a jigsaw puzzle, when they are

making love, when they are trying to master the art of flower

gardening, and when they are absorbed in a fascinating work project.

Intrinsic motivation is present in babies just learning about the

world, and provides the impetus for much of people’s cognitive

development thereafter; from the teen years through old age.

When we are intrinsically motivated we are fully engaged, pushing the

limits of our current abilities, and often experiencing states of

“flow,” or being the “zone” in which we are totally absorbed by

optimal challenges (such as learning a new piano piece, mastering a

new computer program, or striving for victory in a hard-fought tennis

match). Intrinsic motivation is a big part of what makes life worth

living!

Identified Motivation

You can’t lose what you never had — so maybe you didn’t lose your

intrinsic motivation because you never had any in the first place!

Maybe nothing could ever induce you to enjoy opera, ballet, or

watching foreign films. Even so, might you at least have come to see

the topic’s importance, even if you still didn’t enjoy it?

For example, the ballet you originally hated, maybe you began to see

the athleticism in it and you started to find how they trained and

then incorporated some of their training into your routine.



Maybe you did come to realize that there were aspects of watching

ballet that were useful, and found these motivating, even if you

never rose to that intrinsic level where the class was inherently

fun.

This subtle difference represents a whole different type of

motivation.

The Dark Sides of Motivation

To keep a “balance” if there are two “positive” types of motivation

there are also two “nonpositive” types as well.

External Motivation

External motivation is easy to understand: these are the activities

you are forced to do, for which you see little value, and are not

particularly fun (this should not be confused with external goals

which will be discussed later). Redundant paperwork, some required

trainings at work, attending regular meetings where nothing is ever

accomplished – these are just a few of these often aggravating

activities that are the products of external motivation.

Introjected Motivation

Introjected motivation is similar, only in this case it is you,

yourself, who is doing the requiring, pushing, and guilt-tripping.

You can probably call to mind activities that you thought were

neither enjoyable nor very valuable, and yet feel you “ought” to do

them, or “should” do them.

Chances are you dragged yourself off to complete them just the same

as if there had been a supervisor, military sergeant, or concerned

mother looking over your shoulder.

Both of these types of motivation involve some sense of

unwillingness, of being controlled by forces one does not fully own

and endorse. Introjected motivation is not as problematic as external

motivation, because at least we have begun to internalize the

motivation into our sense of self.



‘Mindset The game plan we install in ourselves’

suggestions from your coches Gregg and Emma

print your Coaches manual out Highlight areas you want to focus on

developing for yourself or your Athletes.

even after completion of course and ebooks referring back to your

manual will continue to develop your competence and confidence

working alongside others to develop their strength in sport and life.

for mentorship,121 coaching or access to more resources seminars,

webinars head over to limitlesscoachingacdemey.com

follow us, tag us in your Mindset journey and development on

instagram and facebook at limitless coaching academy.

Go well

Gregg Swanson & Emma Hackett



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