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Practice Makes Permanent: Why Instruction Matters

By Michael Greaves, Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist, 1You, Caulfield North. Published 19 October 2026.

Repetition strengthens whatever pattern is being repeated, whether or not it is effective. Practice makes permanent, better to practice perfect.

Golf coach observing a player practising a swing and providing technical feedback

What does good instruction look like
A golf coach might change the sequencing of a swing. A running coach might recommend a change to cadence or posture. A physiotherapist might prescribe a movement as part of a rehabilitation programme. In each case you practise the instruction, assess the result and adjust. The quality of the guidance decides what you are learning, which is why every rehearsal I build starts with your coach.
Can mental practice help?

Yes. Mental rehearsal lets you revisit a movement without performing it. The meta-analysis by Driskell, Copper and Moran (1994) found a positive effect of mental practice on performance, with the size of the effect depending on the task and the length of practice. Alongside physical practice, it gives you more repetitions of the right movement between sessions, when you would otherwise be waiting for your next lesson.

Where does hypnosis come in?

A sports hypnotherapy session gives you a structured period of deeply focused rehearsal. You and I first establish what your coach wants you to practise. The rehearsal then concentrates on the intended sequence, rhythm, timing and bodily sensations, and it changes as your coach’s feedback changes.

This matters most when you are replacing a familiar habit with a new movement. The old pattern feels natural because you have practised it for years, and the new one feels unfamiliar. In trance, we rehearse the new movement slowly and in detail until it stops feeling foreign. Then you take it back to your coach and test it in training.

How to tell whether practice is working

If repetition is not producing a visible or measurable change, look at the instruction and the feedback before adding more repetitions. The method is in Build a Mental Rehearsal Plan for Your Sport.

Ready to start?
Bring your coach’s instruction to a first session and we will build your rehearsal from it. See sports hypnotherapy in Melbourne to book.

Research & Further Reading

Driskell, J.E., Copper, C. and Moran, A. (1994). Does mental practice enhance performance? Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(4), 481 to 492.
Ericsson, K.A., Krampe, R.T. and Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363 to 406.

More in this series

To find out whether this approach suits your sport, see sports hypnotherapy in Melbourne.

Part of the series on mental rehearsal in sport. Return to the guide.