Emil Coue, an eminent hypnotist of the early 1900s, also

advocated general suggestions. To him the end

result was the only thing that counted. Dr. Kroger relates that
Coue "emphasized that a general, nonspecific
suggestion was best, since it would be received uncritically. He
became famous for a phrase he urged his
patients to say to themselves several times a day, 'Everyday,
in every way, I am getting better and better.'"[17]
Note that Coue's phrase does not enter into details about how
the person will get better and betterjust that
he will. Does the phrase work, though? In many instances, yes.
Coue enjoyed enormous success with his
patients, who responded most favorably to the general
autosuggestions they gave themselves. This was no
accident, for clinical studies by psychiatrist John Hartland and
associates of his confirm the effectiveness
of the general autosuggestion approach. [18] From this it
should follow that what works for people in the
area of health most certainly will work for them in the area of
.sports
When to Give Yourself Suggestions
Probably the most convenient time to give yourself
.autosuggestions is on the same day you compete
Obviously, you do this minutes or hours before the competition
begins. By waiting until the day you
compete: 1) you should know who your opponent will be, and
perhaps have a chance to gather intelligence
about his strengths and weaknesses, and 2) you should know
what the weather will be like, whether or not
you will be playing before a hostile crowdin short, better
understand the playing conditions that might
affect your performance. Knowing these variables, you will be
able to give yourself tailor-made
autosuggestions. For example, if you know the crowd will be
against you, you can give yourself the
suggestion, "During the entire game I will play with total
concentration no matter what!" This kind of
suggestion will go a long way toward eliminating the crowd as
.a factor
Another excellent reason to give yourself autosuggestions on
the same day on which you compete is that the
suggestions will be fresh. Studies indicate that the more recent

the autosuggestion, the more likely it is that

you will carry it out completely. Reports Dr. Kroger, "A
posthypnotic suggestion may last for months to years. It is
agreed, however, that it may remain effective for
several months. During this period, decrement occurs in the
quality of the posthypnotic performance."[19]
There is nothing wrong with giving yourself autosuggestions a
couple of weeks or months before a big
game or match; in fact, it is highly commendable that you do
this. To be on the safe side, though, give
yourself reinforcing autosuggestions on the day of competition.
[20] You want to do this in case the effects
.of your earlier suggestions have waned
Ideally, for a major upcoming competition, you should give
yourself autosuggestions every day in the days
or weeks preceding the contest, as well as on the day you
perform. If you do this, about the only way you
can lose is if your opponent is physically and/or technically
superior to you. (You try to be sure that such is
not the case by working on your physical fitness and the
technical aspects required in your sport.) Some
people believe constant reinforcement will render an
autosuggestion "stale" and ineffective; actually, the
opposite is true. Dr. Kroger notes: "Periodic reinforcement
tends to increase its effectiveness; repeated
elicitation does not weaken it."[21] Therefore one should not
.worry about too much reinforcement
So, the answer to the question, "When do you give yourself
autosuggestions?" is (1) especially on the day
you compete, and (2) preferably on the days and weeks
.preceding the competition as well
Giving Yourself Autosuggestions during Competition without
Anyone Noticing
Having developed the ability to instantly enter and exit the
hypnotic state, you quickly can give yourself
suggestions and "awaken" yourself, thereby wrapping up the
session without making it some sort of grand
.production
I have also mentioned that you can develop the capability of
playing your sport while in the hypnotic state
By giving yourself .(this is something I have done occasionally )
the suggestion to "act normal but still

remain under hypnosis," you can compete in your sport, carry

on a conversation, and so on without others
being the wiser. Perfecting this capability takes a little extra
practice, and one's first attempt sometimes
.betrays a lack of spontaneity and monotone-sounding speech
In any event, competing while in the hypnotic state has no
great advantage over giving yourself
autosuggestions beforehand, and during breaks and time outs.
But, you wonder, how can I give myself
suggestions during breaks and time outs? Obviously, quickness
developed from practice is the key. And
quickness is imperative because the rules do not permit you
much time during breaks and time outs. In a
tennis match, for example, you are allowed but one minute to
rest and towel off between the change of
sides. So, to use self-hypnosis during competition you must be
able to rapidly enter the hypnotic state, give
yourself suggestions, and "awaken" yourself; all this must take
,place in a minute or less. Once again, though
this capability is not that difficult to develop. Many athletes
acquire the necessary speed after just a couple
.of self-hypnosis practice sessions
By giving yourself autosuggestions quickly, you escape
attention and do not attract stares. This is an
important point because most of us are self-conscious to some
degree. Your opponent and the spectators
really will not look at you twice as you sit on the bench during
a break with your eyes closed (or however
else you appear while giving yourself autosuggestions). At
most they will say, "Oh, he's resting" or "He's
concentrating." Even if there is an expert on self-hypnosis in
the crowd, he will not know for sure what you
are doing. He would have to ask you afterwards if you were
using self-hypnosis or meditation during the
breaks to confirm his suspicions. Despite outward
appearances, you are not "resting" or merely
".concentrating"
Through self-hypnosis you are actually laying the groundwork
for your victory and your opponent's
downfall. Of course, your opponent does not know that. In fact,
afterwards he will probably wonder what hit
.him, what kind of dynamo he just ran up against

Sometimes your opponent or the spectators will be too

gregarious. During breaks you might be unable to
give yourself autosuggestions because of people, or your
opponent, talking to you; or, some other
interruptions might arise. There is little you can do about this.
Just make sure that before you arrive for the
.competition you have already given yourself suggestions
Summary of Important Points
To become proficient in the use of self-hypnosis, and also a
:mentally tough athlete
Practice self-hypnosis as often as possible. Spend 2 to 10 (1
minutes for each practice session. Attempt to
acquire the instant self-hypnosis capability