Cognitive neuroscientist LeDoux performed a series of experiments on rats. His work has improved our understandings of how emotions affect our thoughts, moods, motivations and behaviour. In one such experiment he put rats in a cage, and sent a mild electric shock through the caged floor with the sound of a tone. After a few repetitions, the rats would freeze in fear from the sound of the tone, without a ‘shock’ being present (very much along the same findings as Pavlov’s dogs studies in 1903). The sound of the tone acts as an ‘anchor’ – an emotional trigger causing a specific response.

Where do you continually focus your attention without you being aware of it? Pay attention to what you think about the most and you’ll soon realize why that thing keeps on happening to you.

Action is the key to unlocking the subconscious part of the brain. Neural programming, affirmations, and vision boards are all important exercises for building momentum towards our life goals.

I believe in training my team’s brains…showing them how they are in control of their situation and their view of their situation. Mind Gym by Gary Mack is a great book for individuals and teams to challenge themselves to develop their mental games. While it may not supply your athletes with new and unique ideas about the mental aspects of sports, it will give them real life examples of folks who’ve been successful using the techniques mentioned in the book. It’s also a bulletin board’s friend, because it’s full of great quotations.

Obsession is two halves of the same coin. The dark and the light. The good and the bad. Generally, the word’s degraded to mean that at best there’s something wrong with someone: “That’s all he ever does. Plays with his trains. He obsesses about them.”