THE QATSPY® Quintessential Athletic Training Sports PsychologY
By: Charles W. Boatright
Rule 7 of Subconscious Mind- Finding proofs to your beliefs strengthens them. Your Subconscious Mind Functions off of Time-Tested Results
I have to explain why my series on the Rules of the Subconscious Mind was interrupted for a short period of time. Even though I’m retired from a transmission utility company, we are occasionally called back in during hurricanes to assist in restoration efforts to repair or rebuild transmission lines, just like old times.
Such was a case here, as the day I wrote and posted my Subconscious Rule No. 6, Hurricane Laura made landfall near Lake Charles. Then on the heels of Laura, Hurricane Delta hit near the same area, east of Lake Charles. For two (2) months, I’ve been working storm restoration work.
But now, I would like to pick up where I left off with Rule No. 7 of the Subconscious mind and how it is applied in Sports Psychology. Rule No. 7 of the Subconscious Mind states: Finding proofs to your beliefs strengthens them. Belief is the same case as developing confidence in your abilities.
This is how the athlete, and especially the golfer, can take advantage of Rule No. 7 of the Subconscious Mind and Develop a real-defined Mental Imagery.
One thing to remember about your Subconscious mind is that it works off of your Five (5) Senses and not the mental thought process. Thinking in your training is useless in your performance on the field of play, as your subconscious mind is looking for proven tactics, based on your natural instincts.
Remember what Yogi Berra stated about the batter- How can you think and hit at the same time? Also remember what Ty Webb stated in one of the hilarious movies about golf, Caddyshack, and the Be the Ball quote! I will state Ty Webb’s complete quote later in this article. Because even though it is a comedy on golf, the Be the Ball quote is probably one of the most important approaches to incorporate Sports Psychology.
Why is it important to find proof in the athlete’s, or the golfer’s, performance? Proof develops a belief, and a belief develops knowledge, and knowledge (fact based) develops one’s confidence in one’s performance. Proof replaces an athlete’s doubt in their performance and forms confidence. There’s no substitute for confidence on the field.
HERE A CASE IN POINT– Take the situation of learning how to drive a vehicle scenario. At first, especially driving a manual transmission, everything is a thought process and awkward. But once you’ve established proof that you can drive in traffic, you started developing confidence in your driving skills and your driving became instinctive, even to a point that you didn’t even think about it.
What can occur to experienced drivers with years of driving experience is that they develop a high degree of confidence, based on very established driving skills that they can rely on.
For the experienced driver, driving along a scenic highway or familiar route, their subconscious mind kicks in where their instinctive skills are located. The conscious mind, because there is little to no thought process needed, turns over almost all driving tasks to the subconscious mind.
Driving Hypnosis- How to Apply Sports Psychology to Your Sport Training
WARNING– This situation is called Driving Hypnosis that is unsafe for driving a vehicle down the highway, but it works great for driving a golf ball down the fairway and onto the green.
These are the conditions that cause Driving Hypnosis that the athlete, or golfer, can use to heighten their performance:
- Normal and routine tasks and conditions must exist.
- Rely on a high degree of relaxation, confidence, and muscle memory.
- The conscious and subconscious minds are focused on two different situations.
I BOLDED the important key techniques that the athlete can use in their training for high performance.
Caddyshack– Be the Ball quote: (Ty Webb- played by Chevy Chase mentioned to Danny Noonan- played by Michael O’Keefe) I’m going to give you a little advice. There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball.
Breakdown of Be the Ball Quote for your Sports Psychology:
Force in the universe- The athlete’s subconscious mind (Condition No.1).
Get in Touch with it- Develop confidence in your capabilities (Condition No.2).
Stop thinking- Develop instinctive muscle memory (Conditions No. 2 and 3).
Let things happen- Trust your training, be natural (Condition No. 2)
Be the Ball- Focus on the ball, like a baseball batter does a pitch, as this gets the athlete out of their own way. Their subconscious mind can take over.
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PAST Subconscious RULES No. 1 Thru 6:
Rule 1 of Subconscious Mind, The Conditioning
Rule 2 of Subconscious Mind, Pace of Time
Rule 3 of Subconscious Mind, Early, Quicker
Rule 4 of Subconscious Mind, Thought & Reaction