29 Sep Why You Should Access The Subconscious Mind Before A Game

To access the subconscious mind, we have to understand what it it.

” The power to move your world, is the hands of the subconscious mind. “

When it comes to getting ready for competition or performing to the best of your abilities- the power to set your mind to focus and be in the zone stems from the subconscious mind. So whenever you have an off day and you’re wondering how it all went wrong- you have to ask yourself one thing: What did I do to train my mental skills as an athlete?

Most professional athletes attempting world records or eyeing the gold, now recognize the benefits of mental preparation and the natural correlation between the mind and the body, crucial to  producing optimal performance.

What role does the subconscious mind play in all of this? The conscious mind is the mind that analyzes and decides things for you- like strategies for your game or race or event. The subconscious mind acts based on the information you stored in your brain when you are a child. So impressions of your capabilities, your views and beliefs etc, are all based on the subconscious mind. Sometimes it can even alter reality. So if you give into your negative subconscious thoughts, your confidence can take a huge hit.

Because the subconscious mind is so deep within you, it’s almost impossible to rewrite it. That’s where mindfulness can come in. It has the ability to re-wire your brain.

If you take a closer look at our mental state, every emotion, thought, feeling ( approximately 50,000 per day)  has the ability to affect us physically, both negatively and positively. What goes on up there, will influence not only our determination and perceptions, but also our bodies.  How many times have you found yourself being attracted to a certain individual because of “gut ” feeling. All long term characteristics, mental perceptions of others and ourselves belong to the subconscious. Basically, you will choose it over logic. When it wins, there is conflict inside the brain. Have you ever felt a strange urge to puke or freeze when something dramatic happens to you? An overwhelmingly beautiful girl/guy asks you out and your lost for words? Part of your brain will try to analyze the compatibility and the other half will ask you to dive right in because of your long term preferences. Similarly, even if you know that logically you’ve worked hard and trained your a** off, you’ll be second guessing yourself when it’s time to go.

Now that you know how your mind affects you physically, let’s look at what you can do :

VISUALIZE,  VISUALIZE, VISUALIZE

Certain meditations call for the visualization technique and it really helps to rewire our subconscious mind. The visualization or imagination is very important to train the mind and condition it for future events. Once we enter the visualization approach, we can begin to build confidence from within through the process of imagination. Once the subconscious mind can get habituated to that, your real self-belief will start to manifest.

How to do this: Rehearse mental events through imagination. Take up an Aware energizer on Visualization and allow your mind and body to experience the emotions. You might feel your heart beating faster, sweating on your palms. But the more you get comfortable within chaos. This approach builds confidence as we remind the subconscious to believe what we want to see even though it’s just imagination. That’s how powerful visualization is. It’s a deep connection with the other side of fear.

When it’s time for you to perform, you can anchor yourself with that positive visualization, even if it’s just for a second or two.  Practicing visualization is a sure way to get you to perform well, precisely when it matters.

Nehita Abraham

Nehita is a mindfulness expert who writes extensively on lifestyle management, wellness and ways to lead a healthier and a happier life. She is a part of Aware’s expert team on meditation. She is also an avid artist who spends most her time dribbling amazing stories through art.