The Game of Tennis...
as a "FUTURE MEMORY"
Dr Jill Ammon-Wexler, Peak performance expert

You're out on the court with a friend. She's been burning up the court with blistering serves. But you've hung in there, and won the set by returning some great shots.

But now it's your turn to serve.

You try to brush away the memory of the last time you played -- when your serve suddenly went "bad" on you. For some unknown reason, you just couldn't keep the ball above the net.

You bounce the ball a couple of times, then wind up and toss it up for a serve. But even before the strings touch the ball, you already KNOW what's going to happen.

You set your teeth as the ball slams into the net just like it did last week. You shake your head. "Not again." You moan. "What has gone wrong?"

And of course, your second serve is almost identical to the first. This is what tennis players, golfers, and other athletes call being "off their game."

Being "off your game" in any aspect of life is caused by what I call a "future memory."

** How Your Mind“Time Travels”
The term "future memories" may seem odd, but it's a natural mental process. A "future memory" is basically a picture of your self in the future. And the truth is, you're creating such memories virtually every day.

There's an old saying: "In life -- we get what we focus on." And now neuroscientists have discovered the truth behind that axiom.

If you feel that you are "off your game," you reinforce a mental expectation you’ll continue to be off your game!

Here's what's happening: Your subconscious mind automatically works to manifest your conscious mental "picture." Your picture of being "off your game" is seen as a direction from your conscious mind.

Your subconscious mind instantly "gets the picture" from stored memories related to that "picture." In effect, it creates a " future memory" of how you are about to respond -- then sends actual neural messages to your brain's "motor centers" to reproduce a tennis serve that will slam into the net.

This occurs because you subconscious mind does not "think" in the same sense your conscious, rational mind does. It basically takes "directions" from your conscious mind, and orders your body to carry out those directions.

** The Scientific Proof
It's important to appreciate the fact that "future memories" are a physical brain reality. This is not just a psychological construct!

Years of research by behavioral scientists has proven that mental rehearsal alone creates actual improvements in both sports and intellectual activities.

How can this be so?

Recent scientific PET (positron-emission tomography) scans have provided fascinating scientific proof of the power of mental rehearsal. Scans have been done of brain activity when only “thinking” about moving an arm. The scans show actual activation of the areas of the brain associated with “real” arm movements.

What does this mean? In practical terms, you can use mental imagery to "pre-program" your mind by "practicing" the positive effects you want in your life.

** What Happens in the Brain
Neuroscientists have discovered that our brains are not the " rigid structure" they were once thought to be. We now know that the brain is "plastic." It constantly changes to fit your current (and expected) environment.

Your subconscious mind is the product of your physical brain! If you consciously focus on "future memories" of success, they will be seen by your subconscious mind as actual instructions.

Your mind responds by building actual neural networks to hold those instructions. And the more often you send those "future memory" instructions -- the more stable those positive neural networks will grow.

** We truly ARE What We Think
So truly, we actually ARE what we think. Positive future memories can be used to create what you want in your life. This also has the effect of replacing any old neural networks holding memories of limitations.

Your daily "reality" is a direct reflection of your future memories. Whatever you focus on gains neural strength. This technique has been proven with PET scans to actually build stronger, more stable physical neural networks.

********************************
Take Control: 14 Steps to Smash YOUR Limits,
a 100-page downloadable e-course by the developer of SNAP (Substitute Neural Association Programming). A life-changing, personally empowering adventure! Solidly based on today's remarkable new knowledge about how your brain really works. http://www.thecassiopeia.com/selfsuccess.html

Get Your Free Millionaire Course

All of the significant battles are waged within the self.
Sheldon Kopp

Here you can Subscribe, Unsubscribe, see Article & Ad Submission Guidelines, Copyright & Reprint Guidelines