I was out this weekend ice skating with some friends, and what a funny site it was to see a bunch of us bumbling our way through the ice, falling around like bowling pins on a bowling alley. However, amidst the clashing of elbows and buttocks hitting the ice every few minutes or so, there was a little girl skating with amazing beauty and grace. Watching her, we all could tell that she was fully involved and having fun while skating with an ease that reminded me of 2002 Winter Olympics gold medal winner, Sarah Hughes. Do you remember her?



Well, as we watched her skating it encouraged me to put out an article that I wrote for a fitness magazine that year.

Sarah Hughes looked amazingly graceful as she skated to Gold in the 2002 Winter Olympics. It was incredible watching her as she looked smooth with the grace of a professional ballerina on stage. Although, she was beautiful to watch, part of her success may have been a result of the nervousness that was evident in Michelle Kwan during practice.

When Sarah Hughes stepped on the ice rink it seemed as if we were watching a little girl on the ice pond skating for the love and enjoyment of skating. The pressures of Olympic Gold were not evident from the flowing lines and the dynamic jumps she so naturally exuded on the skating rink. It was as if she was all by herself just having fun. Minutes later we saw a complete antithesis of that calm and ease from the predicted Gold winner, Michele Kwan.

Right from the get go, Michelle's routine was filled with unease that was the complete antithesis of what we saw in Sarah Huges. I'm definitely not a professional skater, but I am an expert in understanding the subconsciuos mind and I think I may provide some clues as to what happened to Michelle that night.

Immediately within moments of taking that first jump, you can tell that Michelle's face showed a nervousness that was trying to be masked by a facade of confidence.

When you get to this top level, you have to have everything in order to win the Gold. That includes, eating well, sleeping enough hours and preparing your mind. Michelle Kwan seemed to have everything, however, she may kept with her a voice that has plagued her since the Olympics in Nagano, Japan 4 years earlier.

So what in God's grace could have affected Michelle that night?

After all, Kwan successfully completed those jumps hundreds and maybe even thousands of times before she stepped onto the rink. Unfortunately, the times she tried and failed those jumps in practice might have subconsciously brought back all the pressures of her previous failed attempt at the Gold, and that brought back a little voice inside of her that whispered, "too much pressure, I can't do this".

Many of us hear a negative hypnotic voice in our heads. For example: think about the many times you may have started a diet and exercise program only to have failed because your little voice was too over powering: "It's too hard to stay away from that doughnut, it's too hard to cook my own meals, it's too hard to make time for exercise" any of that sound familiar?

Why is this voice here in the first place?

That annoying voice has actually, in a twisted way been trying to protect you from feeling bad. Only thing is it did such a good job that it kept you from even trying in the first place so that you wouldn't feel bad (I'll discuss this in more detail in volume 3 of this article)

The obvious problem in this predicament is that with repetition and/or the right circumstances you accept that little voice and it becomes your reality no matter how much conscious effort and analytical thought you put into trying to change your behavior.

However, unwittingly you may have enforced this nagging little voice with conscious rationalizing thoughts about not being able to lose weight, like, my whole family is heavy, I come from line of big boned individuals, 1 percent of the population has a true genetic defect that can't make them lose weight and maybe I'm one of them."

So what's the answer to finally breaking these old patterns that have been ingrained inside of you for so long? HYPNOSIS - using this amazing tool you can access the deep parts of your subconscious mind to release the resistance you've had in the past to create new changes in the way you think and behave.

First, you'll need to arm yourself with some knowledge of the conscious and subconscious mind and how they work with each other, or in this case apart from one another. In the next installment of this article you'll learn about the conscious mind.

In the 3rd installment of this article, you'll grasp an understanding of the subconscious mind and how it works according to hypnosis concepts and techniuqes.

After understanding how the conscious and subconscious mind works, you'll learn a method utilizing affirmations to help you "clear out your cup" before putting "fresh water" back in it for "drinking."

For now, just remember to be aware of your thoughts, because thoughts are energy that will manifest themselves with enough repetition and/or the right circumstances in your subconscious mind.

In the next installment of this article you will be armed with what it takes to reach the GOLD!