Reach for the Gold, with Hypnosis!

By Matt Sison, C.Ht.

Last night some friends and I decided to do something off the cuff for all of us. We went ice skating! The funny thing is, is that none of us have ever skated more then 3 times in our lives. So what a site it was to see us all bumping into each other like bumping cars in Disneyland. But, we all noticed one particular little girl with pony tails skating about the ice as if nothing else mattered. Her lines were fluid and graceful and moreso, you can tell that she was simply enjoying herself! This gave me a flash back to the 2002 Winter Olympics when the whole world witnessed an underdog by the name of Sarah Huges win the Gold over predicted winner Michell Kwan. Do you remember Sarah Huges?

This inspired me to pull out an article I wrote that year for Divas Fitness magazine. Enjoy!

Sarah Hughes won the hearts of millions as she gracefully skated to Gold at the Winter Olympics in 2002. Although she did a marvelous job, however, a small part of Sarah's success can be attributed to the uneasiness that Michelle Kwan faced going in to this same Olympic show down.

When the cameras were filming Sarah's routine, it looked as if she had the confidence of a veteran twice her age. She skated with an ease and grace that mesmerized everyone watching her that night. Everybody was pinned to watching her routine as if completely spell bound by her charm. Unfortunately, after Sarah's wonderful routine we got were watching Michelle Kwan being her routine, and what we saw on her face and body was a complete opposite of the confidence and calm exhibited in Sarah's routine.

From the start of her performance, you could instantly notice a tightness in Kwan that was not evident during her warm ups. I'm no expert in the field of skating, but I am an expert in with understanding the subconscious mind, and in my opinion, I have an idea of what kept Michelle from reaching the Gold.

When I saw Kwan's first jump even I noticed an uneasiness that was quickly corroborated by the comments of the announcer on Television.

When you get to this top level, you have to have everything in order to win the Gold. That includes, eating well, sleeping enough hours and preparing your mind. Michelle Kwan seemed to have everything, however, she may kept with her a voice that has plagued her since the Olympics in Nagano, Japan 4 years earlier.

So what might have happened that night with Michele?

I mean she must have done those jumps at least a thousand times before. However, those moments failed at her attempts couple with her "failure" in Nagano, Japan, might have brought back all that pressure this particular evening as she attempted to go for the Gold. That pressure could have whispered, "Oh no, here we go again."

Many of us hear a negative hypnotic voice in our heads. For example: think about the many times you may have started a diet and exercise program only to have failed because your little voice was too over powering: "It's too hard to stay away from that doughnut, it's too hard to cook my own meals, it's too hard to make time for exercise" any of that sound familiar?

Where does this voice come from?

That annoying voice has actually, in a twisted way been trying to protect you from feeling bad. Only thing is it did such a good job that it kept you from even trying in the first place so that you wouldn't feel bad (I'll discuss this in more detail in volume 3 of this article)

The obvious problem in this predicament is that with repetition and/or the right circumstances you accept that little voice and it becomes your reality no matter how much conscious effort and analytical thought you put into trying to change your behavior.

In fact you may even strengthen this behavior with rationalizing thoughts like: "It's just not possible to look like that, they were born that way" or "my husband or boyfriend loves me for who I am so I'm comfortable with myself", and my all time favorite "I'm just too old."

So what can you do to break this repetitious cycle? Well, this is where Hypnosis comes in. Hypnosis can help you replace the energy of those self-limiting thoughts with new suggestions for positive change.

First, you'll need to arm yourself with some knowledge of the conscious and subconscious mind and how they work with each other, or in this case apart from one another. In the next installment of this article you'll learn about the conscious mind.

In chapter 3, I'll talk about the subconscious mind and it's relation to hypnosis so you can learn self-hypnosis.

After understanding how the conscious and subconscious mind works, you'll learn a method utilizing affirmations to help you "clear out your cup" before putting "fresh water" back in it for "drinking."

However, before we get deep into hypnosis and what it is, for now just know that your thoughts will create feelings, your feelings will create perception and your perceptions will create beliefs and onto behavoiurs. So stay aware of what you're thinking and feeling!

In the next installment of this article you will be armed with what it takes to reach the GOLD!

Matt Sison, C.Ht. is an acknowledged hypnosis practitioner and is often heralded for his talent to take his clients (which include celebrities, professional and Olympic athletes) to their next level of success. Read more about Matt Sison and visit the following site to read about and listen to some samples of his hypnosis and weight loss CD program.