Don't drop the bike!

We'd just completed the classroom session and were on the motorcycle obstacle course.  With only the final slalom session left, we were told, "drive very slowly, don't put your foot down, and don't drop the motorcycle!"

The instructor had explained to us what "target fixation" is.  If you focus on what you don't want to occur, it certainly will.  

Example; Thinking DON'T HIT THE CONE = smashed orange plastic.

As my friend completed the last slalom, he suddenly dropped the motorcycle!  It was horrid - as was the language and angst that ensued.

I asked him later what was going through his mind.

"All I could think of was, Don't drop the bike! Don't drop the bike!" he said.

You get it.  When you fixate on a target - even if it is a negative of your goal - you will inevitably hit it.  (Golfers shooting over that pond know exactly what I mean.)  

If you hear the word "don't" you are already off.

Today, visualize on what success looks like instead - and let it live through you.  When you hear something negative today, reply with "Don't drop the bike!" Explain. Then re-frame.