5 Easy Steps to Overcoming Poor Performances - FREE Webinar!

Imagine a friend tells you that they recently paid to go and see a movie in the cinema. They got there and made themselves comfortable in their seat, ready for their movie. The curtains parted and the movie started. But wait...they didn't show the movie they had paid for!!

They got quite upset and sat there for a while watching this other dreadful movie and to make matters worse, the movie was on a topic that they just despise!

However, as much as they kept willing themselves to 'Get up and walk out!', they remained stuck, transfixed in their seat, unable to move. Their wonderful trip to the movies turned into a horror show!!!!

How would you feel if your friend told you such a story? Your heart just goes out to them doesn't it and you feel sorry for their plight? But you ask them "Why didn't you just get up and walk out? Why did you feel that you had to sit there watching that monstrosity? They shrug their shoulders and mumble "I dunno."  You say to yourself "That was foolish of them to act that way!"

Yes, it was foolish of them, wasn't it? But hold on a moment, I have to tell you something...that person in the cinema is YOU!!

Before you let me have a piece of your mind via the comments box, let me explain: What do you feel like when you don't get the outcome you planned for in life, whether its in your health, sport or personal improvement? Frustrated? Annoyed? Confused, right? And the more you try to overcome it, the more it stews in your mind, isn't it? I know exactly where you're coming from, I myself have been in that situation a few times and I meet many more who suffer the same fate. The poor experience plays over and over in your mind and you just can't manage to get rid of it, right?

Wrong!

As I explain to many of my clients, you are your own movie director, like Steven Speilberg. The reason you didn't get up and walk out of the movie is because you've created an unconscious over-powering, unhelpful strategy in allowing that movie to continue to play, uninterrupted. What you don't realize yet, is that you already have the resources to change the movie, you just need to learn how to get into the projector room to do so.

It's not easy to turn those powerful negative feelings and thoughts into more empowering, structural actions, is it? That's right, its not easy but then, its not impossible either. Learn how to get into the projector room. You know what has helped me overcome such moments? Some simple, easy to use strategies and techniques! Strategies and techniques that I will be revealing in our upcoming complimentary webinar.

The webinar is themed for sports people but believe me, the techniques are easily transferred to any and every lifestyle and background. I'll also be providing you with extra information and you'll stay tuned for that during the webinar.

The title is: '5 Easy Steps to Overcoming Poor Sporting Performances'. We already ran one just recently, which was a great success, so due to demand, we're running another very soon. You'll need to register for the complimentary webinar and you'll need to do so pretty promptly!

Click here for further details.

You won't want to miss this at all! Register now.


As always, feel free, and leave a comment.

Regards
Chris Thomas
Mind Performance Consultant
You Too - Mindbody Fitness

Low Self Esteem - How to Beat It...Today!

End The Suffering Today

Low self esteem is a soul destroying silent killer. In my time in mind performance consultancy I've met quite a few individuals suffering from low self esteem and confidence. Many times my client has no idea why they feel this way, where it all came from and cannot pinpoint when it started. It certainly is a pleasure when they are able to drastically improve their esteem and confidence and move forward with their lives.

Regardless of age, culture or gender, a lack of esteem will impact greatly on someones life, even to the extent of feeling trapped in one's own home. You may know of someone just like this or you may be suffering yourself.

I've seen a lack of self esteem & confidence touch many people, from differing lifestyles, i.e. sport, business and personal development. Negative expreiences from the past will still have a powerful emotional charge in your nervous system today, it's one of the factors why many people find it hard to shake off low esteem. The question is: how do you get rid of that and change it for a more helpful behaviour and happy future?

That question is this the reason behind why I spent efforts and time putting together a self esteem & confidence building program, to help others create the necessary changes, which will help them bring their lives back to a more congruent level.

The program contains 9 simple steps, that when applied, will break the bondages of low self esteem and re-engage your confidence. You'll find that the program doesn't focus on your historic reasons for the lack of esteem but strives to give practical advice, techniques and methodologies that can be put into practice straight away.

The self esteem & confidence program comes in the shape of an Ebook or MP3, depending on your preference. It's simple approach means that the material can be covered at your own pace, so as to fully enjoy the benefits of the program. Note that the MP3 can be uploaded to an electronic device, like an Ipod, so that it can be played at will.

Esteem & Confidence Building Program

As part of the etseem and confidence building program, I provide a weekly eLetter, with extra advice and steps to follow. Plus, I am offering the opportunity to receive FREE 3 one to one coaching sessions, upon request. However, this is open to only a small quota of people!

If you know of anyone that is having a hard time from a lack of esteem & confidence, that would welcome receiving the report, please let them know about it.


To benefit from this opportunity, you do need certain qualities:

Your sport, health, fitness or business is doing well, but you know it could do much much better,

You're utterly intent on taking your life to the next level - fast.

You long for the day when your life can run on autopilot to create better strategies for you and your family.

You don't have anyone to dicuss your issues with. You can't go to work colleagues or neighbours for advice.

You are willing to invest time, money and energy in making your personal wellness, business, health, the success it deserves to be, but you need help with the psychological mental toughness.

You know that expert advice, help and mentoring will make it easier for you to achieve your goals much faster.

Visit the website today and discover more

This unusually generous offer will not last. Why not accept it now, the minute you finish reading this? But if you are the kind of person I suspect you are, you will waste no time responding.

Remember to leave a comment, I welcome them!

Chris Thomas
Mind Performance Consultant

Peripheral Vision - See The Bigger Picture!

"I was seeing the ball clearly", "the goal just seemed so much bigger!", "I felt I couldn't miss a shot, with the way I was seeing everything".

Researchers have long known that perceptual awareness is vital if you wish to improve your game.

Cognitive psychologists tested athletes by asking them to look at circles of different sizes and pick which ones matched the size of an ordinary ball. Those that performed better in their sport tended to choose circles that were larger than the actual ball size. However, the poorer performing chose circles smaller than the actual ball size. 

The question rose: During a game are the better performers actually seeing the balls larger than they really are, thus able to strike the ball better?

Athletes actually stated that when playing well, they are seeing the ball much clearer and larger! This shows that performance is linked to perception and also suggests that the interaction between the mind and body are indelibly linked.

The same test was conducted with golfers. What were the findings? Research shows golfers that performed well were indeed seeing the cup larger than what it really was.

The Use of Expanded Awareness

Are You in Foveal Vision?

During play, even if you are not having a poor game, you are most likely using foveal vision or tunnel-vision, meaning that you will not be using the outskirts of your visual field.

When in foveal vision you activate the fovea centralis, which is situated in the centre of the retina, at the back of the eye. Because foveal vision is likely linked to the autonomic nervous system, which triggers adrenalin, its no wonder you will feel anxious, breathe shallow, have an increased heart rate and generally feel uneasy. Objects may appear smaller, you will likely expreience a low mood state and you will find it hard to judge distance, etc.

On the other hand, when you are using peripheral vision or expanded awareness - the outer extremes of your visual field - you are more like to have a much better experience.

The Much Sought After Peripheral Vision

It is my belief that the better performers mentioned above were most likely were in peripheral vision. It is very much the opposite experience of foveal vision. You will experience a calmness of mind, you'll see objects like balls as larger, you'll become more aware of your surroundings, and your body will feel more relaxed than when in foveal vision.

There is eveidence to suggest that you are in peripheral vision when you enter the 'flow state' or 'the zone'. And it makes sense, as those who describe being in the zone mention all the attributes of being in peripheral vision.


It's not an easy state to get into without practice but it can be achieved.

Learn how you can quickly get into peripheral vision and encourage flow state to improve your sport. Being in peripheral vision is vital if you wish to control nerves and anxiety, even outside of sport.

You can pick up my guided audio "State & Mind Control Sports Program", which takes you step by step, through each of the much sought technique. In no time you'll be able to quickly get into peripheral vision and raise your game to a completely different level.

• Easy Ways To control your anxiety as and when it happens
• How to spend Less Time worrying about nerves in sport and more time living your life
• The little know trick to increasing your confidence in seconds
• The one thing to avoid if you ever want to overcome caving in to pressure
• And much. much more

Sports & Health Performance Program

My program isn't just for those involved in sport, as the system can be used in health and business too. As an extra bonus, I have also included other techniques that you can combine and utilise alongside the peripheral vision program.

Imagine being able to rid yourself of  negative feelings and instantly becoming more productive, motivated and focussed, what would that be like for you? To have the ability to shake off a poor performance in your sport, what would you be saying to yourself? Imagine seeing how you would handle a tough situation at work, in a much more controlled effective way? Well, this will really be a fantastic opportunity for you to begin a journey into perception and state control.

The techniques discussed quickly help you to change your state and mindset, regardless of what situation you may find yourself in. It reaches into your unconscious mind to create the mindset you need to be that person you know you can be  by changing the structure of your perceived experience. See how this program will change your perception...instantly!

Click here to visit the downloads page and within minutes you can be listening to it. Plus, if you opt-in to my eLetter, you will also have access to a FREE gift.

Feel free to leave a comment below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Chris Thomas

The Mind Coach
You Too Mindbody Fitness

Boys v Girls: Boys Get Greater Rush from Caffeine Than Girls

Boys 1 - Girls 0

Coffee Girls?

It's official: Boys are better than girls! I know what you're thinking ladies...but I can't write those thoughts here. The age-old question goes on: Are boys better than girls? Well, that's not quite the question under review here...or is it? Among the many differences between girls and boys, add the effects from caffeine -- physiological, behavioral and subjective -- to the list.

Results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response study of the response of youth to caffeine found that, in general, boys get a greater rush and more energy from caffeine than girls.

Boys also reported they felt that caffeine had a positive effect on their athletic performance. Girls didn't report on this issue.

The study, conducted by Jennifer L. Temple, PhD, a neurobiologist and assistant professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the University at Buffalo, appears in the current (December 2010) issue of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.

"Our findings from this study and from our previous study suggest that boys and girls respond differently to caffeine," Temple says. "We are hoping that our findings from our studies on caffeine will help us to determine why males and females differ in susceptibility to drug abuse and respond differently to treatment."

The study involved 26 boys and 26 girls between the ages of 12 and 17. To take part in the research, the teenagers were required to have previous experience with caffeine but no adverse reactions, and not using hormone-based contraceptives, not smoking, not on any medication that could have adverse interactions with caffeine (e.g., methylphenidate) and were willing to visit the laboratory four times for 90 minutes each.

Participants were instructed not to drink caffeine 24 hours before each visit and to eat nothing or drink nothing but water for two hours before each visit.

On the first visit, participants completed a 24-hour dietary and physical activity recall, including how many caffeinated drinks they consumed, while parents completed a demographic questionnaire. Teens provided a three-millimeter saliva sample analyzed to make sure they had abstained from caffeine as required and weren't taking steroid hormones.

After researchers took baseline heart rate and blood pressure, participants drank a beverage containing 50 mg, 100 mg or 200 mg of caffeine, or one with no caffeine that served as a placebo. The order was randomized across the four visits for each participant.

Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were taken every 10 minutes during the first hour. The teens completed the behavioral checklist again and munched on snack food. After the fourth session, participants had their height and weight measured, and were debriefed about the study.

In addition to the general findings, the study revealed several differences in response to caffeine between girls and boys. Diastolic blood pressure increased and heart rate decreased as percentage of caffeine increased in males, but not in females. In addition, boys who were regular "high consumers" of caffeine showed greater increases in blood pressure than low-consuming boys.

"Caffeine is known to increase blood pressure, but the fact that it caused an exaggerated response in high-consuming males was a surprise, since at the time of measurement the amount of caffeine consumed by boys and girls was the same," says Temple.

"We would have predicted that high consumers would have developed some tolerance to the effects of caffeine and would have reduced responses."

When researchers examined eating behavior as a function of chronic and acute caffeine use, they found that high consumers of caffeine consumed more calories, protein and fat in their typical diet, and ate more high-sugar snack foods in the laboratory, compared with low-caffeine consumers.

The third and perhaps the most important question in this investigation focuses on the effect of caffeine consumption during adolescence on later use of legal or illegal drugs. That paper currently is in preparation.

University at Buffalo (2011, February 18). High-caffeine-consuming boys get greater rush from caffeine than girls. ScienceDaily. Retrieved

Leave a comment today!

Chris Thomas
The Mind Coach 

youtoo.mindbodyfitness.co.uk

First Friday Frenzy - Sports Practitioner Certificate Course April 2011

Normal Price £1550

For 24 Hours Only 
£100 Discount

You Pay £1450!

It's First Friday Frenzy!! As part of my gift to you, you can receive a discount of £100 off my NLP Practitioner Certificate Course, starting 15 April 2011. This offer is for 24 hours only, commencing at 3:50pm (GMT)  Friday 4th February 2011.

OK, I'm gong to be frank with you. Often when people offer these kind of discounts they'll try and blind you with a million persuasive words as to why you need to buy whatever it is they're selling. I'm not going to do that! 

I'm looking for the right kind of people for the certificate course, and yes, I want you to join because it is a great course and you will discover much about how your and others "thoughts" affects your outcomes (mind=thoughts=behaviours=outcomes) and how you can get your mind performing even better for you, on autopilot, whether in sport, health, family, business or personal improvement. That's it!

You'll need this code to receive your discount: firstfridayfrenzy_4april

Just copy & paste the code, it's simple.

Remember, this is valid for 24 hours only,

commencing at 3:50pm (GMT) Friday 4th February 2011

After that, it goes back to the Original Price

Click Here To Enter Your Discount Code

But hold on, that's just part of the gift we're giving you today. After all, this is First Friday Frenzy. It wouldn't be much of a 'frenzy' if I offered just the discount, now would it?

So in addition, and upon request, a small quota of people will receive 3 FREE mind performance consultancy sessions.

I know what you're thinking, "Supposing I live in Alaska and you can't get to me, what then?" That's not a problem. I offer the simple service of telecoaching, which costs you & I £0, absolutely nothing at all!

If you would like to take advantage of the free sessions just send an email to themindcoach@youtoo-mindbodyfitness.co.uk, entitled "First Friday Frenzy Free Sessions". Now there's a mouthful!

This offer must expire at the same time as the discount offer above and is only open to a small quota of people.

Of course, if you just want to join the course, without requesting the free consultancy, that's fine, please go ahead and book your place today. Or, if you just fancy receiving the free sessions, without booking the course, all well and good - just send me an email, as mentioned above.

Normal Price £1550

For 24 Hours Only 
£100 Discount

£1450!
Book Now

 firstfridayfrenzy_4april

Copy the above code

Follow the link below

and paste the code in, it's simple.

Remember, this is valid for 24 hours only,

commencing at 3:50pm (GMT) Friday 4th February 2011

After that, it goes back to the Original Price

Click Here To Enter Your Discount Code

Claim your place at 3:50pm (GMT) Friday 4th February 2011. 

That's all for this First Friday Frenzy, until next time! Thanks for stopping by.

Chris Thomas

The Mind Coach

Failure - What's Your Strategy?

You're feeling great. You notice that there's a bounce in your step, as you walk down the road. You're feeling much happier than normal. Then...you find yourself slowing down as you pass your most favourite location...the bakery shop. You can smell the wonderful aromas, wafting from inside, as you stare longingly at your favourite pastry. Without realising, you end up walking into the shop and before you know it, you've bought yourself not just one item but many. You don't know why this happens. It's not like you mean to do it!

You wake up and it's another day, just like any other, except your alarm clock has mistakenly gone off an hour earlier than normal. Laying there, you try to clear the cobwebs from your mind and try to figure out whether it's a weekday or the weekend. Alas, it's a weekday! And it's then you remember that you promised yourself you'd go for an early morning run to start your day. Amongst other things, you picture yourself half asleep running around your neighbourhood, as everyone else is tucked up in bed and it doesn't fill you with excitement. In fact, half an hour later you're still in bed in the land of nod again, after resetting the alarm to a more 'reasonable' time. You wake up feeling bad that you didn't stick to your plan and wonder why this always happens?

You have a presentation and just the thought of it fills you with dread. On a scale of 1-10, ten being 'Ok, I'm about to faint', you're at a 11! Your stomach begins to make noises, and tightens up. You begin to sweat as disquieting thoughts fill your mind. 'I can't do it!' you say to yourself. This upsets you because you really thought you could hold it together this time!

Have you ever been in a similar situation as the above? Not great is it? Why is it that when you want to do whats right, you seem to fall back into an old habit or way of thinking? How can you ensure that you'll not crack next time? The answer: Change your strategy!

Now, I'm not talking about walking down a completely different street, so as to avoid the bakery shop or changing your morning run to a lunchtime or evening one. I'm not even saying that you should seek help with your presentation. But hey, if you those kind of strategies help, then go ahead and do it.

No. The kind of strategies I'm talking about are the unconscious kind. The strategies that you've created that will lock you into the type of thinking and behaviours as loosely illustrated above. That they are unconscious means that we abide by them, often without a second thought, which can be dangerous. I've successfully helped clients change their strategies and they've found it of great benefit removing poor habits that they previously had, which they've desperately had tried to shift, but never could.

As you may have already discovered by other posts in my blog, we all absorb and filter information and experience through our senses, i.e. visual , audio, kinaesthetic, olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste). How we perform and think about things are stored as strategies, using one or more of our senses.

For instance, using the example of the bakery shop above, you stand looking into the shop window (visual). You catch a waft of the aroma coming from inside the shop (olfactory). In your mind you may even feel like the pastry is literally 'calling' out to you (audio). Your tongue may actually begin to water (gustatory), as you continue staring (visual) at the food. Then finally you might say to yourself (this is self-talk) 'I need that pastry', so you walk in. When inside, the aromas (olfactory) of the cooked pastries may intensify, etc.

The same applies to the other two illustrations given. We run these strategies unconsciously and it's why we wonder 'why do I keep doing that?'. So, what's the solution? Change your strategies! How do you do that?

Just because your strategies are unconscious, it doesn't mean that they cannot ever be changed to serve you better. However, the process of doing so takes some skill. The secret is to find a strategy that you currently run, that works great for you, and replace the 'bakery shop' strategy (or whichever unhelpful one) with the more resourceful one.

It might sound complicated...and it is! I'm not going to lie to you. It involves eliciting each step of your behaviour, and using the mind to switch the strategies. But once accomplished it will bring you much joy, and peace of mind, as you create better unconscious 'autopilot' strategies.

We have strategies for many parts of our lives such as: love strategies, motivation strategies, buying strategies, strategies in sport and business, etc. 

So gone will be the strong desire to stop at the bakery store and the desire to buy some pastry. Gone will be the procrastination you used to have at the dawn of the day. Gone will be the intense feelings and thoughts you used to have when you had to deliver a presentation. Hmmm...What would that be like?


The Mind Coach

Feel free to leave a comment below. I welcome and appreciate your time!

Horizon: The Secret World of Pain - 31 January 2011

Horizon aired this programme about how pain relates to the brain and the mind and explores cutting edge technology that enables scientists to help people who experience either no pain or whose bodies are flooded with pain. Makes for intriguing viewing. The programme is an hour long but I've just given you the last 20 minutes, as it relates more closely to pain perception.

The excerpt begins with a young man who had a motorcycle accident and suffered severe burns. In the show he is undergoing physiotherapy, which causes him much pain. However, by distracting his mind from the procedure, he experiences less pain!

In my world of mind performance coaching, we follow a procedure called 'pattern interupt', which breaks unhelpful thought patterns & behaviours, whilst the client relates a specific experience. This can be used to remove an emotional charge of negative intrusive thoughts and behaviours. The procedure that you will see in the Horizon programme reminded me of this. What's your thoughts?

Feel free to leave a comment

Enjoy!

Click here to watch

The Mind Coach

www.youtoo-mindbodyfitness.co.uk

NLP Sports Practitioner Course - April 2011

I'm happy to tell you that you can now register for our NLP Sports Practitioner Course, taking place April 2011.

This course is for people who are looking to start a career in mental performance coaching, sports coaches, sports performers, psychologists, parents, teachers, agents, referees, managers and anyone who is interested in learning about Neuro-Linguistic Programming and its applications in the sporting arena. The course involves a mixture of home study and 8 days of seminars held in the charming Queensgate hotel in Peterborough. 

Click here for further details.

Use The Cognitive Distortions Combat Technique - A Complimentary Gift For You!

Many times throughout the day we process negative 'self-talk' thoughts, that create unhelpful behaviours. You may not even be aware of such thoughts but trust me they're there and they are often not rational!

"I'm rubbish", "I always make that mistake", "Everyone thinks I'm a loser and it's true." Such internal dialogue will keep you locked into a very disempowering state of mind! How can you take more control over your self-talk to improve your mood and outcomes?

Complimentary Cognitive Distortions Combat (CDC) Technique

Follow the simple instructions in our FREE gift and turn your distortions into productive responses...immediately.

Download your copy now!

This will have a major impact on your productivity and outcomes!

Obtain Your FREE Copy Now

STOP Panic and General Anxiety Attacks!

As a mind coach I may not be able to reach out and help you in person with your panic and general anxiety problem. I use a horde of techniques to help individuals overcome disturbing feelings, including my eye scrambling integration technique.

Eye scrambling or eye movement integration, is a powerful technique that helps people lessen the effect and strength of intruding thoughts and feelings, which gives them anxiety and stress. It has been used for PTSD and many other distressing symptoms. Click here to discover more and to view a fascinating YouTube video showing the technique in practice.

To change bad experiences you have to change the meaning that you put to the event.All this is performed in your unconscious  mind. But today I'm here to talk about one specific technique which caught my attention and is making impressive strides in helping people overcome their panic and anxiety problem.

Having suffered an anxiety attack some years ago, I appreciate the anguish that many of you go through and I love to help others with this problem. Now, at times it's physically impossible for me to be in person with all of you to help you and it's for this reason I began researching techniques that you can use when it's not possible to meet...and I finally found one!

Panic Away
In helping 54,000+ individuals, the Panic Away technique is a powerful, fast solution to breaking through the panic and anxiety problem.

It is not a NLP technique but it uses the principles of mind coaching to help people end their panic and anxiety problem, which is why I like it. It teaches powerful techniques such as the 20 second rule, in taking firm control of a panic attack, quashing the intensity and duration of an attack.

Click here to learn much more about the technique and to gain access to a FREE information video detailing the symptoms you need to look out for, to know if you are experiencing a panic and anxiety attack. This information can help your friends and family too, so please pass it on.

The Mind Coach