Conquer Pre-Match/

Game Nerves

Pre-game nerves can get so bad that they make you feel sick, unable to concentrate and full of self-doubt.  In short, pre-game nerves can make you feel like a loser instead of a winner.  Effectively dealing with pre-game nerves, worries and pressures can spell the difference between a bad performance and a great one.

Even professional players have emotional and psychological issues, on and off the field of play, which hinder their performances.  The really great ones learn either how to still their emotions, or how to channel them in such a way that they boost their performance.  The fact that you nave pre-game nerves shows that what you are about to do is important to you.  But too high a level of nervousness can become counter-productive.

High anxiety is there to get you running blindly from threat.  It’s a survival mechanism.  So it stops you thinking and gets you acting – which is why it stops concentration!  It can make you clumsier because only the major muscle groups (the ones you need for running away) work when you are highly anxious.  And it can make you feel like your bladder is bursting at the most inappropriate times!  High pre-competition nerves, if extreme, can also make you feel frozen to the spot, as if you can’t move or do anything.

You can think of nerves and anxiety as a sort of fuel.  Like fuel, anxiety can be wasted and misdirected.  It can leak energy and leave you feeling exhausted before you even start.  On the other hand, you actually need a certain level of tension to get the best from yourself.  Pre-game nerves need to manifest themselves as intense readiness, focus and intense energy building.  Think of a crouching tiger about to spring with all its might.  It doesn’t feel nervous, although it can’t be said to be relaxed either.  It has what we might call supreme attentiveness, and an absolute energetic and controlled focus of attention.  And what’s more, as it approaches its prey, this supreme focus and controlled energy builds.  In just the same way, your focus and energy can build as your competition approaches, instead of wasteful nervous energy.

Nervousness cannot be allowed to hinder your performance.  Pre-competition nerves need to be refined to just the right level so they work for you, not against you, building positive energy and an expectation of success.

This hypnosis session will reprogram your instinctive responses to feel controlled, building up your energy before the match and extending your focus and drive during your game!