MMA for the mind: six steps to leverage your subconscious and make success inevitable

Three-time triathlon champion Olivier Courret shares a six-step framework he thinks will leverage your subconscious mind

The Hong Kong-based Frenchman draws from a variety of psychological tactics which he describes as ‘mixed martial arts for the mind’

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New Zealander William Trubridge has broken 18 world records in freediving. He says: “I told myself I was not just going to do my best – I would make success inevitable. That word, ‘inevitable’, shifted my whole thinking process.” Photo: Alex St. Jean

Published: 5:00am, 14 Mar 2020Updated: 6:22pm, 15 Mar 2020

In the second deepest marine cavern, William Trubridge was 100 metres (328 feet) underwater on a single breath, steadily diving ever further. That day in the Bahamas, the New Zealand freediver hit 124 metres, breaking the world record.

Occasionally, we hear of tales of extraordinary achievements, but are major feats only possible for the select few?

Not necessarily, says Olivier Courret, a Hong Kong resident and three-time champion for his age category in the Asia Triathlon. When Courret connected with Trubridge seven years ago, he realised how much non-athletes can learn from sporting greats when it comes to reaching goals.

“I opened a sporting goods company in 2012 and met many elite athletes whom I saw as physically superhuman,” says Courret, 46. “But it was their mentality that made them champions.”

Olivier Courret with his daughter Pauline at the 2019 Asia Triathlon Championship.

The power of the subconscious mind has long been touted, from when it was first coined in the 1800s by psychologist Pierre Janet. However, leveraging the mind can be difficult without a framework.

Over the past eight years, through speaking with dozens of top athletes, tapping his own sports background, and delving into neuroscience and psychology, Courret formed Mind Your Brain, a programme that he believes can help unlock the mind’s potential.