Psycho Self-Imagery and The Old Testament.
Posted by: mindoversports on: July 12, 2009
Not being a biblical scholar, I was surprised to read where some of my ideas regarding performance enhancement also appear in the Old Testament.
In his excellent book, “A Gathering of Angels,” Rabbi Morris Margolies wrote: “My first schoolteacher provided his eight-year-old student with a commentary that I remember to this day. He compared us to innocents in the Garden of Eden…but he warned us that after we became adults under Jewish law, every one of our sins would create a devil or demon who would hound us at every turn. The serpents who would frighten us would be serpents of our own making, and they would poison our lives. On the other hand, he insisted that each of our good deeds would create a guardian angel at our sides to take us through fires and storms and sickness and heartache. The more good deeds, the more guardian angels. He was teaching us, at a very early age, that we create our own company, a very sophisticated lesson that has held up well over these many years of thought I’ve given the subject.”
The Rabbi went on to write the following: “Within every human there are two angels: the Angel of Light and the Angel of Darkness. The one tends to promote all that is good; the other, all that is evil. Every human deed strengthens the hand of one angel or the other. So personal salvation is something that can be won or lost by the works of the individual…the individual chooses his actions.”
My Psycho Self-Imagery process is in harmony with the good Rabbi’s teachings: When individuals take action and begin resolving conflict in their lives, when they do not suppress or withhold their feelings, when they bring (or begin the process of bringing) personal issues to completion, when they are highly spiritual, when they are helping others less fortunate than themselves and when their lives are in harmony, they will create positive events in their lives.
But when they have conflict in their lives, when they are suppressing their feelings, when they have personal issues that haven’t been brought to completion and are allowed to hover above them like a dark cloud, when they are not helping others less fortunate than themselves, when they are not spiritual, and when their lives are in disharmony, they will create negative events in their lives.
“SOCCER SHOCKER AS USA TOPS NO. 1 SPAIN.”
Posted by: mindoversports on: June 25, 2009
This was the headline that appeared in a recent issue of USA Today. It’s true that the US Men’s Soccer team “topped” Spain but I’ve always maintained that teams generally lose games rather than win them. The winning team, of course, takes credit for having played a fantastic game and the USA’s upset of Spain June 24th, 2009, might well have been a good example. But we have to remember that soccer players, just like all athletes, are human beings first and then athletic performers and they have issues just like the rest of us mortals. And if these issues are not addressed within the confines of a team meeting you can expect team players to perform below their skill levels, which is what could have happened if Spain’s Coach Vicente Del Bosque did not conduct a closed door session for players to air their issues and grievances.
A few years ago I wrote and recorded an audio book for The National Soccer Coaches Association of America with an audio tape for coaches and a separate one for players, and here’s a quote from the transcript: “Athletes who keep personal issues bottled up inside themselves negatively affect their own self-images. As their self-perception is lowered, they create psychological baggage that impacts their ability to focus. Athletes who are ‘stuffing’ their feelings inside themselves rather than acknowledging and resolving them are more susceptible to making errors. Before a game, you as a coach can give an inspiring pep talk to your team, but unless team members feel good about themselves and are open and honest with their feelings, they will not play up to their skill levels.”
Jim Sheldon, Executive Director of the NSCAA said the following about the tapes: “A must listen for any soccer coach or player. A valuable tool in developing player-coach relationships and team building. If you think winning is all about teaching techniques and tactics, think again and listen to these tapes.”
Though the tapes are no longer available, the 53-page transcript of the recordings (which includes coaches and players) is available and you can order a copy for just $22.00 plus postage by sending a check or money order to Marv Fremerman, Mind Over Sports, 669 West LaSalle Street, Springfield, Missouri 65807.
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY AND SPORTS PSYCHOLOGISTS: MYTH AND FACT.
Posted by: mindoversports on: April 23, 2009
Over the years, when working with athletes and sports teams, I’ve found that what takes place in the personal lives of athletes off the field dramatically affects what takes place on the field. Athletes’ personal unresolved issues and problems directly affect their ability to focus and often show up in the form of mental errors and mistakes during game competition.
So when I first wrote this, I wanted to find out the answer to this question: Unless a sports psychologist is also licensed as a counseling psychologist or therapist, is he or she prohibited from helping athletes with their personal issues and problems?
The answer I found was: Yes!
According to a psychologist I interviewed at a Midwestern University, he told me that the ethical practice of psychology involves not practicing outside one’s domain of expertise, and that psychological treatment for personal problems generally falls into the realm of clinical and counseling psychology. Sports psychologists not trained in clinical and counseling psychology would typically limit their practice to psychoeducational interventions related to enhancing sports performance and refer outside sources for mental health treatment.
When I interviewed Jon Stabler, co-owner and co-founder of GolfPsych, and husband to Dr. Deborah Graham, one of the country’s most successful sports psychologists who is also a licensed psychotherapist, he told that me that “unless sports psychologists are also licensed therapists, it is illegal for them to give advice or direction on personal issues or other issues outside of the sport. Unfortunately, we are aware of several instances where well-known sports psychologists have crossed that line and the advice has not been what a licensed therapist would offer. If the advice they gave resulted in adverse or damaging outcomes, they could be very liable for those results.”
In harmony with this point of view, I’ve found that when athletes are encumbered with psychological baggage (issues and problems) visualization and other mental techniques normally taught by sport psychologists, will be ineffective. Some sports psychologists believe an athlete can become focused just by blocking these issues out, but I disagree. Issues and problems cannot be “just blocked out.” They must be identified, addressed and dealt with before visualization will work. But for those athletes whose lives are in harmony, who have resolved (or begun the process of resolving) important issues and problems in their lives, the use of visualization can be highly effective.
One has to wonder why our colleges and universities continue to offer degrees in the field of sports psychology and not require an accompanying degree in counseling.
From a positive perspective, I’ve found that when athletes have a high sense of self-worth, when they are not repressing their feelings and emotions, when they are highly spiritual, when they are helping others less fortunate than themselves and when their lives are in harmony, they will actually create positive events in their lives, on and off the field of competition.
AS AN ATHLETE, YOU SHOULD NEVER REPRESS YOUR FEELINGS.
Posted by: mindoversports on: March 17, 2009
AS AN ATHLETE, YOU SHOULD NEVER REPRESS YOUR FEELINGS. CASE IN POINT: JOE TORRE’S NEW BOOK “THE YANKEE YEARS” AND HIS REFERENCE TO GARY SHEFFIELD
In the March 9th, 2009 issue of The New Yorker Magazine, writer Roger Angell reviewed Joe Torre’s new book, “The Yankee Years” and wrote the following: “Gary Sheffield, an established veteran outfielder with a muscled, violent swing, sulks and slumps in his first two weeks with the Yanks, then approaches Joe Torre to ask whether he’d really wanted him for the team, and not, as he had heard, the Expos’ slugger Vladimir Guerrero. Torre tells him that he preferred him for the short-term contract that he had signed, because of his bat, but might have picked Guerrero over a longer span, because he was younger. ‘Okay,’ Sheffield says, ‘I’m committed. That night, he has four hits, including a homer, and six runs batted in, and he goes on to bat .406 with seven homers in seventeen games. 
Torre calls him a great team player.” Had Sheffield not approached Torre to clear the air, he more than likely would have had a poor season. This is an example of why I believe teams need to have a built-in program to allow players to air their grievances rather than bottle them up inside themselves and sulk.
Tiger Woods’ newest Tiger cub!
Posted by: mindoversports on: February 10, 2009
- In: Golf| Sports
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If all goes well, this should be the year of the Tiger. With his knee repaired and the arrival of his second child, Charlie Axel Woods, look for Tiger to play phenomenal golf. Since he hasn’t played for quite some time, he may be a bit slow in starting but once he gets the feel of the course again, there should be no stopping him. His life is definitely in harmony and he will, according to Quantum Physicists, be creating those great drives and approach shots, not to mention those long, long putts. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes the first professional golfer in history to shoot 18 birdies in 18 holes. Many years ago Ben Hogan predicted someone would do it, and I believe Tiger is that someone. But as of this writing, he’s been slow in starting. I believe there was a good chance that some kind of issue was on his mind the first couple days of the Masters. But by the last day, he was going full speed. Could his caddy’s on-gong confrontation with Phil Mickelson be a problem that was exacerbated when he and Mickelson were paired up? If so, perhaps Tiger should consider a new caddy?
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