About a month or so ago I was working with one of my clients who routinely produces exceptional results. I have been working with this particular client for more than 3 years and his growth as an athlete has been nothing less than remarkable. He has achieved a level of mastery over his physical skills so that now the bulk of his 60 minute lesson is spent on the mental aspects of the game. Oh sure, we usually take some time to make sure everything is working like it should and we run through a few drills that get his body ready to perform. Mostly however, I take time putting him in different mental scenarios that challenge his mind which in turn effects his physical performance. Our goal is to get him to achieve the same level of mastery over his mind as he has over his body. Once this happens the results that this athlete will produce will be scary!
During this particular lesson my client was struggling with repeating his mechanics. He had just witnessed another one of my clients (who is substantially bigger than him) hitting the ball with amazing force and velocity. I realized that his swing was being effected by his mental desire to hit as well as my previous client. This was causing him to produce much more effort than he normally does. As a result his mechanics were breaking down and he wasn’t hitting anywhere near like he normally does. What he didn’t realize is his normal, everyday, swing produces the same result as my previous client but his lack of confidence in his own abilities was causing him to produce a worse result.
Immediately I recognized the cause of his breakdown and approached him with an idea. I made his step out of the batter’s box, close his eyes, and imagine how he would swing if there was no other alternative but to succeed. I asked him, “How would you swing if it were guaranteed that you would hit the ball just as hard as my previous client?” How would you swing if it were guaranteed that you were going to hit the next ball harder then you ever have?”
With his eyes closed I could see a level of calmness come over him. Once he opened his eyes I looked at him and said, “For these next 10 pitches I want you to swing like there is no other alternative but success.” I have to say the results were astounding. Not only were the next 10 swings perfect but each pitch was hit in an identical way. Each pitch was hit harder then I had ever seen this athlete hit and each swing was executed with far less effort then he had shown in the past.
You see guys, when we produce effort in our mechanics we are coming from a place of doubt. You are saying that if I don’t try real hard then I won’t succeed. If I don’t swing as hard as I can then I won’t produce any power. When you are in that place mentally then you give power to failure. You make it more likely to happen and you are interfering with your subconscious mind’s ability to perform mechanics.
Think of it this way.... Your subconscious mind is responsible for all the movement in your body. Your heart beating, your breathing, your digestion, and your swing mechanics. Since we already know that in order to produce power we must execute good physical mechanics and since we know that our goal is to produce a repeatable mechanically sound swing then it’s important that we put ourselves in a place where we are allowing our subconscious mind to tell our body what to do. Any doubt, fear, or anxiety will inhibit the subconscious mind’s ability to produce the result you desire. So if effort is coming from a place of doubt then you can see why it will inhibit your ability to produce results.
What if you never experienced failure? What if your mind knew nothing but success and never knew what a bad swing was? You wouldn’t have any mental blocks and your ability to execute your mechanics would be easy. Dr. Joseph Murphy states in his book “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind”, “To use mental force or willpower is to presuppose that there is opposition. But, the act of imagining opposition creates opposition. If your attention is focused on the obstacles to obtaining what you desire, it is no longer concentrating on the means to obtain your desire.” In other words, by acknowledging in your mind that this swing might not be perfect or by acknowledging opposition in any way you are creating this opposition because then your mind is unable to completely focus on producing perfect mechanics.
Do yourself a favor. Only focus on the positive. Work and play as though there were no other alternative but for you to reach your goals. Keep your thoughts focused on the execution of perfect mechanics. Swing as though you will succeed. See yourself in your mind performing not as you think you can but as you desire to perform. Then get to work as though there was no other option but for you to realize this level of performance. You will be amazed at the results you produce.
