I’ve been working hard at improving my performance in darts competitions.  Perhaps the one aspect of my dart game that needs the most work is my mental approach to playing.  Simply put, I lose too many games I should win because I all too frequently have my head up my ass.

Having identified the problem, I set about looking for fixes.  And through the miracle of the Internets (thank you Al Gore!) I came across this CD:

And for $9.99 on iTunes it was mine!  Did I mention that I was desperate?

The author, Joseph Clough, is a self described “best selling author, international Trainer, Celebrity Coach and Hypnotherapist.”  He promises to “help each person achieve their full potential” through “advanced techniques of Neuro Linguistic Programming with Time Line Therapy™ and Hypnotherapy.”  He invites his clients to “Be Your Potential.” His basic premise is that we allow our subconscious mind take control and hold us back through negative thinking.  And he purports to be able change our subconscious thought process through the power of…hypnosis.

Now, I’ve been hypnotized before which was a rather strange experience.  I had never been hypnotized by listening to a CD.  I’m pretty sure I still haven’t because throughout the 50 minute long hypnotherapy session my subconscious was saying “you know this is bullshit, right?”  To which I responded “yeah, I know.  But I paid ten bucks for this so shut up and listen!”

It remains to be seen if I derived any benefit from my recorded session with Mr. Clough.  I did find his British accent somewhat off-putting, but the best darters in the world are from the UK, so who am I to judge.  Clough encouraged me to envision myself as the successful darter I aspire to be and to identify five behaviors that would allow me to reach my full potential.  I got my subconscious to play along and we came up with these:

1.  Cool.  I throw better darts in practice than I do in bar league play.  I throw better in bar league than I do in big tournaments.  And really the only explanation for this is I let myself get uptight and intimidated.    So, I’m resolved to approach whatever level of competition I face with the same coolness I approach my practice sessions.  In darts, it is always you against the board.  So just relax and play your game.

2. Calm.  Being emotional during a match is always counterproductive.  Getting mad at your opponent (or yourself) won’t help you win games.  You can’t control what the other guy throws, but if you stay calm you can control how well you throw.  And in the end, that is all that matters.

3. Confident.  This is a big one for me.  I know I can throw a strong dart game because on occasion I have done so.  I need to remember that I am capable of replicating that success on a more consistent basis.  This kind of gets into that whole power of positive thinking thing.  Instead of standing at the line thinking “for god sakes, don’t miss this!” I want to be more “you’ve done this before, let’s win the game right here, right now!”

4. Focus.  Sometimes within a match I start getting sloppy with my darts and making mental mistakes.  So I need to maintain a laser-like focus, concentrating from the beginning dart to the winning dart, planning my shots, working the board one dart at a time, and playing a strategically smart game.

5. Forgiveness.  When it comes to darts, I’m my own worst enemy.  When I have a bad throw I jump all over my ass and call myself some really awful things.  Which usually results in a loss of cool, calm, confidence, and focus.  So, I’m resolved to forgiving myself after a mistake, and not letting that mistake effect darts I haven’t thrown yet.

Alright, that all seems simple enough.  Are you listening in there subconscious?