Happy Friday to you all!

I hope you are enjoying some of the sunshine today and looking forward to a great weekend ahead.

Please be aware that Ill be on leave, overseas, as of next Friday (17th April) and will return back to work on Tuesday 28th so if you are keen for a session before I go, I do have some availability next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, otherwise we can catch up after the 28th, so email me or log into the website and make some booking requests that suit you.

Until our next session...

I’m sure you’ve all at some point in your sporting life been in the situation where you’ve repeatedly made the same mistake, like watching the scene of a bad movie, over and over again. And I’m even more sure that you were pissed off about this, and so you started to get negative about you and your game.

An essential part of being a human is the experience of emotions. But what needs to be very clear, is that…

…nothing makes us emotional, it is ourselves that make us so by interpreting what happens to us.

Then there is the human body, a truly amazing machine, and so from my Blog way back in July last year (sorry for the delay!) you should now be familiar with how your body reacts to different emotions. The next step in being able to manage your mental and physical state when triggers in your external world set off the sabotaging thoughts and emotional tension is to RELEASE yourself from them when they first spark.

By acknowledging this spark in its beginning stages, with a bit of discipline you can “put out the fire before it burns down your house”.

So when you realise you have said something negative to yourself after making a mistake during performance, disrupt it by using a STOP SIGN. This sign could be:

• Verbal     (e.g. “aahh!”, saying the word “STOP” to yourself or out aloud)
• Visual      (e.g. writing the word STOP on your hand and looking at it!)
• Physical (e.g. snapping a wristband, clapping hands)

The key is to apply the STOP SIGN constantly and without interfering with your performance. The STOP SIGN allows you to be released from the control of the negative thoughts and energy.

What would your STOP SIGN be?

Away from the sporting arena, I encourage my clients to release themselves from any built up physical tension created from their emotions around their sport and life by using VENTING strategies. For the 3 different emotions, namely anger, anxiety and sadness, there are different ways to vent. Lets have a look at some that you might like to try…

To view the rest of this article and obtain more practical advice, click on the RESOURCES page and purchase the related NEWSLETTER.

I get so much pleasure out of helping others to understand themselves better, let go of the "heavy" past, define their dreams, and take action towards achieving success or a better life, and so it is always gratifying to receive feedback such as this email:

"Thank you Leah, I cannot tell you how much yesterday’s session helped put me at ease with regards to how I’ve been feeling, and also set me up in a more positive frame of mind for the upcoming weeks with my own journey….you always help me work through things and get me out of my own way to get on track to where I want to be!

Thank you, also, for our work together this year. You were the biggest silver lining to come out of what has been a trying and difficult period in my life and I cannot thank you enough for that – I would not have made it through intact without you, and I truly mean that!”