Vicarious Training

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on August 6, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

 

    Training clinics are great opportunities to learn tips and techniques from celebrated athletes in your sport. Similarly, you can improve your skill by watching and critiquing video-recordings of yourself training and discussing your observations with your coach. Finally, you can also learn a lot observing other members of your team when they are training or competing and listening to the coach’s advice or instruction to your teammates.

   One benefit of this kind of training is that you can observe what the athlete is doing and how he or she is doing it in terms of what the instructor is asking for. You will also have a firsthand look at how the technique looks when it is done correctly or incorrectly, accompanied by the trainer’s feedback to the athlete without the pressure of being in the spotlight yourself. You can focus on and mentally process these instructions and corrections in the context their being a (hopefully) supportive critique of your technical performance. You can then incorporate what you learned during this “lesson” into visualization and imagery exercises to improve your own execution of that or a similar technique.

   Another benefit of vicarious training is that you can test your skill at identifying those minute technical movements that facilitate the successful execution of a technique or an error. If the student makes similar mistakes that your coach has also previously called you on, listen closely to his or her suggestions to correct that error. Hypnotherapist and Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained why suggestibility can be a game-changer in how you perceive and process information. For example, a physical suggestible person learns best from direct and literal instructions or cues from the environment. This athlete will take in the instruction the moment it is given. However, an emotional suggestible learns from metaphor and inference. In addition to taking in the literal instructions, this athlete truly learns by projecting the coach’s corrections and tips for the other student onto his or her own athletic performance. This is one reason why vicarious learning opportunities such as viewing training videos, auditing clinics, and watching peers practice or compete in the sport are so effective in improving athletic performance.

   Finally, you are also likely to glean additional information about the sport, in general, and the specific technique or movement being practiced, during conversations between the instructor and the athlete. Even if you have heard it all before, as it were, it is beneficial to listen to this information again to reinforce the information you have learned about the techniques you are or will be working on. Furthermore, the coach may use different phrases or expression to clarify what the student needs to learn or understand. You never know, but this slight variation in the instructor’s language or communication technique may also resonate with you and deepen your understanding of the skill you have been training to improve.

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/

© 2023

 

 

Vicarious Training

 

 

                Training clinics are great opportunities to learn tips and techniques from celebrated athletes in your sport. Similarly, you can improve your skill by watching and critiquing video-recordings of yourself training and/or discussing your observations with your coach. Finally, you can also learn a lot observing other members of your team when they are training or competing, and listening to the coach’s advice or instruction to the other athlete.

                One benefit of this kind of vicarious training is that you can observe what the athlete is doing and how he or she is doing it, in terms of what the instructor is asking for. You will also have a firsthand look at how the technique looks when it is done correctly or incorrectly, accompanied by the trainer’s feedback to the athlete without the pressure of being in the spotlight, yourself. You can focus on and mentally process these instructions and corrections in the context their being a (hopefully) supportive critique of that athlete’s technical performance. You can then incorporate what you learned during this “lesson” into visualization and imagery exercises to improve your own execution of that or a similar technique.

Another benefit of vicarious training is that you can test your skill at identifying those minute technical movements that facilitate the successful execution of a technique or an error. If the student makes similar mistakes that your coach has also previously called you on, listen closely to his or her suggestions to correct that error. Hypnotherapist and Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D. explained why suggestibility can be a game-changer in how you perceive and process information no matter how clear and concise these instructions are. For example, a physical suggestible person learns best from direct and literal instructions or cues from the environment. This athlete will take in the instruction at the moment it is given during the training session when learning how to do the technique or correct a previous mistake. However, an emotional suggestible learns from metaphor and inference. In addition to taking in the literal instructions, this athlete truly learns by projecting the coach’s corrections and tips for the other student onto his or her own athletic performance. This is one reason why vicarious learning opportunities such as viewing training videos, auditing clinics and watching peers practice or compete in the sport are so effective in improving athletic performance.

Finally, you are also likely to glean additional information about the sport, in general, and the specific technique or movement being practiced, during conversations between the instructor and the athlete. Even if you have heard it all before, as it were, it is beneficial to listen to this information again to reinforce the information you have learned about the techniques you are or will be working on. Furthermore, the coach may use different phrases or expression to clarify what he or she wants the student to learn. You never know, but this slight variation in the instructor’s language or communication technique may also resonate with you and deepen your own understanding of the skill you have been training and vicariously learning more about.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2014

 

 

Preparing for Success

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

The more work and attention you put into your plan, the greater the
likelihood of accomplishing your goal.

                There are various paths to success. On the one hand, you can make a detailed plan about what you need to do then follow specific steps or a strategy to actualize your goal. Alternatively, you get an idea or feel inspired about something you would like to achieve and then wait and see how it will work out without you having to do anything else to facilitate the desired outcome. Sometimes success just falls into our lap; you are in the right place at the right time and good fortune falls into your lap. And then there are different combinations of these paths that yield varying results in actualizing your plan.

                Oprah Winfrey once said: “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” This philosophy empowers and encourages us to achieve our goals by planning and doing the ground, grunt and glory work, as it were, to facilitate this success. Luck or serendipity may play a part in this outcome; but the most important component of your success is what you are willing to put into it. The greatest risk (or guarantee) of failure or a sub-par performance is when you slack off or stop paying attention to what you need to do to realize your dream. Here are some examples of these behaviors and outcomes:

·         “Perfect practice makes perfect performance.” This is a popular training motto among athletes and performers, but it’s obviously applicable to every area of our lives. I lost count of how many martial artists repeated this mantra when I wrote training and technique articles about them for Black Belt magazine (www.blackbeltmag.com). For example, kickboxing champions train to connect all of their techniques in practice; otherwise, they risk pulling a punch or kick during a competition that could cost points or even the match. Michele Krasnoo, an actress and kickboxing champion, once explained how she studied video-recordings of each of her training sessions and competitions. She explained that she was looking for errors in her technique; moreover, she said, if she didn’t find a mistake (or ten) then she hadn’t been looking hard enough and would re-watch the footage. Right away, I loved her humility and dedication to improving her game and adopted this philosophy in my dressage training.

·         “You can’t win the Lottery of you don’t buy a ticket.” This quote is actually from an episode of Chuck Norris’ hit series Walker, Texas Ranger. The point is, if you don’t show up mentally, emotionally and physically and put in the effort to achieve your goal, you will not succeed. Winning the Lottery has more to do with luck and chance than skill, but you won’t be able to collect that multimillion-dollar jackpot if you don’t hold the winning ticket.

·         “Buy a cheap suit, get a cheap suit.” This quote from Pet Shop Boys (http://www.petshopboys.co.uk) front-man Neil Tennant says it all about the direct relationship between quality of workmanship and quality of your product. While he was referring to the cost of clothing and the quality of its materials and manufacture, this philosophy could also speak to the metaphor about self-worth. When you don’t believe (or perceive) that you have value—i.e., low self-confidence and low self-esteem—your motivation to continue to grow and strive takes a hit, as does the “products” that you create at work, hobbies, etc. If you don’t make your best effort and employ your skills and expertise in the project, if you don’t use the finest-quality materials or technology, the quality of your product will suffer. I teach my clients about the Mental Bank Concept to help them appreciate and increase their self-value and self-esteem. As these perceptions increase and they start taking actions to “attract” what that they want, these opportunities and goals become manifested in their actual lives. You can learn more about the Mental Bank Concept and how it will prepare you for success at http://www.hypnosis.edu/streaming/#Mental-Bank-Program.

 

 

 Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

Tuning It Out

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

In hypnosis, you can teach your mind to focus on
what you want to notice--or not.

  

                As the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, are drawing to a close, I continue to marvel at the athletes’ incredible physical and mental prowess. To even qualify to participate in an Olympic event, they must be at the top of their game—a national or even a world champion or finalist in their sport. (Hard as qualifying to compete in the Olympic Games must certainly be, qualification seems like it would be the “easy” part.) Once these athletes make their nation’s Olympic team, they must all face off against similar-ranked competitors of other nations—and then then their teammates—on the world’s stage. There is no time to be excited about the honor of being an Olympian, representing and earning medals for their nation. There is no room in their training regimen (nutrition, rest, training, training, training, competition, etc.) for feeling nervous. No matter what is going on around them, whether they feel sore from yesterday’s competition or are elated and excited about having earned a career “best” in the preliminary round, these athletes must remain focused on the job ahead of them. They must continue to give their all (and a lot more) to score that winning goal, do the most/highest/longest jumps, the most beautiful spins, the fastest runs down the mountain slope, half-pipe or chute until they have completed their last event. There is no time to ruminate over mistakes they have just made or whether the triple-triple jump combination in their ice-skating program has sufficiently intimidated their top-ranked opponent. So, how do these athletes keep it all together to bring home the gold or silver or bronze?

                When I work with hypnotherapy clients to help them achieve their athletic goals, the first thing I do is reinforce and/or build their self-confidence about their skills and talent in the sport. If a person has won prizes or championships in this sport before, and/or had to qualify to participate in the upcoming event, I incorporate this information into the hypnotic script. I teach breathing techniques to help the person learn to relax his or her physical body; then, I introduce guided-imagery so the person has an opportunity (or several) to rehearse the event and even work through various competitive scenarios. If appropriate, and with my client’s permission, I may also invite the coach or trainer to help me incorporate sports-specific jargon or instruction about a technique that the person is working on, in the script. I also reinforce suggestions about continuing to follow a healthy lifestyle to support the client’s athletic program (e.g., eating nutritious meals, drinking plenty of water and getting enough rest and a good night’s sleep).

Equally important, I help my clients to tune out distractions during the competition, such as camera flashes, cheers or applause, or being in an unfamiliar environment. In these cases, I use imagery and systematic-desensitization techniques to not only “desensitize” the person to these stimuli, but to create an association in which these stimuli will actually help to increase their confidence in their athletic prowess and double their focus/concentration on what they need to do to succeed in the event. Many athletes are distracted and affected by negative self-talk; some receive discouraging or disparaging comments from opponents or even teammates, friends, family members or a coach/trainer. In these instances, I first desensitize the person to these kinds of negative messages. Then, I help my client to create powerful imagery to deflect and virtually shield the individual from others’ negative comments/energy, and to dissolve and dissipate negative self-talk before the person even knows or notices that it is going on.

                While the client in hypnosis, I include a final suggestion about muscle memory: “Allow the athlete inside of you to give yourself permission to trust your body. Trust your training and all of those previous experiences of success doing [this sport], which you have been doing for so long. Allow your body to do what it does well, and you are doing it even better than you ever have, before.”

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2014

            While the client in hypnosis, I include a final suggestion about muscle memory: “Allow the athlete inside of you to give yourself permission to trust your body. Trust your training and all of those previous experiences of success doing [this sport], which you have been doing for so long. Allow your body to do what it does well, and you are doing it even better than you ever have, before.”

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2014