If you want to be AVERAGE, you have many choices. If you want to be GOOD, you have few choices. Want to be great? You have no choice. You have to put in the work.
Leading YOURSELF is more important than leading OTHERS. If you lead yourself well, others will benefit from your direction & discipline.
Self-leadership is a mindset. Challenge yourself this week to show great self-leadership.
Adapting to a situation is better than simply showing grit. Like a great boxer who is constantly adapting to win the match, how can you wisely adapt to your situation this week?
Consistency of healthy habits makes us successful. Those who can tolerate the boredom of consistent habits and put in the time & effort necessary will reap the rewards of their labor.
Elite performers are experts at saying "No". "No" is a powerful word that requires awareness, courage, and commitment.
What will you say "no" to this week that will help you narrow your focus to achieve what you're working toward?
In mental training, self-talk and what you say about "you" is more important than what anything else says about you. Control your inner conversation.
You will always have LESS than you want and MORE than you need. A victim mindset won't be helpful to you even if it's true that the odds are stacked against you.
2 questions:
- What CAN you do?
- What's your RIGHT NEXT STEP?
The decision to reduce and eliminate negativity in your speech is completely within your control. Negative speech hurts and inhibits you more than anyone else.
Let's eliminate negative speech this week so we can be at our best.
The process of elimination is the first step to any serious improvement.
Your outcome has already been pre-determined by your behaviors. Without winning behaviors, a winning outcome is impossible.
3 step plan:
- Determine the desired outcome
- Make goals
- Identify winning behaviors
Mental Weight: Elite performance isn't just about excellent habits and behaviors you add. It's taking off the mental chains that weigh you down.
Anger? Unproductive distractions? Social media? Overwhelmed?
Simplify for performance.
PROGRESS requires a PLAN.
What area of your life do you want to experience PROGRESS? You'll need a PLAN. A PLAN to start. A different PLAN to keep going. Yet another PLAN to be at your best.
This week, make a PLAN. Studies show you'll by 83% more likely to achieve your plans and goals if you write them down and track them.
High performers master their emotions. There's a perfect time and place to address your emotions. While you can acknowledge your emotions in a moment, there may be a better, later time to express them than in the heat of a moment.
This week, try scheduling your emotions when it's the optimal time to deal with them.
It's not over.
It's not too late.
We will often self-sabatoge our aspirations thinking it's too late to start or get back on track. It's just negative and self-defeating inner dialogue.
This week, what can you get back on track with? As a team, performer, or an achiever, just get back to what has made you successful in the past.
A heavy mind weighs you down.
Everybody is carrying mental weight. While you can get mentally tougher, why not get mentally smarter and relieve yourself of some things that are weighing you down. Don't underestimate the power of letting go for elite performance.
This week, ask yourself what mental weight you can unburden yourself with.
As a mental trainer in the field of performance psychology, the #1 obstacle that I encounter with high performers is they under-value a good plan. A plan to follow makes progress much more attainable.
This week, where do you want to see progress? WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?
Take a moment this morning to write it down and make it visible every day.
What's the big W.I.N. you want to see this week?
"W.I.N." means "What's Important Now?" Things change. Circumstances change. Dynamics change. What was important a month ago might not be important now.
This week, identify and focus on one big WIN that could be a game-changer for you. Write it down somewhere so you can see it daily. Now go for it!
Elite performers arrange their lives around the rhythms that make them successful. It provides the boundaries for your day. Trying to balance too many things is an exercise that has no end.
Today, don't try to "balance" everything. Simply identify the healthy RHYTHMS that makes you successful. Make your rhythms your priority.
We are often encouraged to "LET GO" of unhelpful thoughts that affect our performance. But letting go will leave us without something to grip. "EXCHANGING" unhelpful thoughts for more useful ones fills the void.
This week, be mindful about the difference between "letting go" & "exchanging".
In the hierarchy of mental skills, motivation is superior to all others. Without perpetual motivation, even elite performers won't put in the work necessary to achieve their goals. Never de-couple from your #1 motivation — it holds effort and reward together.
This week, re-engage your #1 motivation.
When our DESIRES and AMBITION outpace our INTEGRITY, our leadership is compromised. Elite leaders trust themselves and are trustworthy. Trust is the lubrication of every great team, organization, or business.
This week, practice integrity by being exceptionally on time, honest, consistent, dependable, and prepared.
TALK to yourself. Don't LISTEN to yourself. Elite performers know how important it is to gain the upper hand and take control of their thoughts. Talking to yourself gives you control over the message you want to tell yourself for peak performance.
This week, intentionally speak empowering messages to yourself that bring the best out of you.
You don't have to work on what's wrong WITH you before you work on what's right FOR you. Putting in the work to take positive actions positively effects the things you struggle with.
This week, focus on doing what you know is good for you instead of waiting for the worst of you to get better.
Elite athletes and performers "reset" often to focus on "What's Important Now" (WINs). They turn down the volume of ALL emotions to focus on being their best in the present moment.
Start this week by identifying areas that you can RESET. Don't overcompensate, just RESET.
Cognitive Behavioral theory explains the process of how we can change by thinking differently in a way that changes our behaviors. But high performers know the opposite is just as true--we can change what we think and how we feel by taking action and doing FIRST.
This week, what ACTIONS can you take that might change what you think and how you feel that benefits you?
Nothing feels as good as progress. No matter where you find yourself today, default to action. Having an activity bias removes excuses, negative self-talk, fear, and feeling stuck. You will build confidence because you'll be making perpetual progress.
What can you do this week to feel like you're making progress in the areas that matter most to you?
It's easy to be so focused on where you want to be that it robs you of the joy of where you are now.
This week spend some moments finding joy in how far you've come.
Having a lot of choices create circumstances, but decisions pave your future.
80% DECISION RULE: Fighter pilot Commander David Fravor said when you've got 80% of what you need to move forward, go for it & course-correct along the way.
This week spend some time determining the decisions you need to make.
As you identify the traits and behaviors you want to grow in, interact with the people for whom that trait is normal. Watch them. Learn from them. Then live out what that looks like in your own life.
Who displays the trait you want to grow in? This week, initiate an interaction with them.
We live up to or down to our conscience and subconscious self-image. The likely reason we give up on a healthy habit only a few weeks later is because we live down to our self-perception of who we think we really are.
This week work on locking in a healthy vision of your self-image and define the behaviors that align with that image.
Research in performance psychology is indicating people's attention spans are shorter than ever. Therefore, it is becoming more important to package concepts tightly into easily digestible bites that can be explained in 15 seconds or less.
As a leader, this week work to reduce and simplify without losing substance and meaning.
You will never outperform your self-image.
Whether you're a leader or athlete, what would you need to believe about yourself to achieve your goals and be exceptional at what you do?
Do you need to work on your self-image? Take some time this week to write down what you would need to believe about yourself to achieve your goals.
Those who embrace the boredom of consistently doing the right things over and over again become exceptional at what they do. Think "rhythms", not "balance" or "more".
What rhythms do you need to establish or re-establish this week that put you in the best position to be successful at what matters to you.
Having good coaches, friends, and mentors in your life will accelerate your growth.
Thinking like you can do it on your own will decelerate your growth. Lack of input and isolation may stop your growth altogether and even send you into reverse.
This week think about getting more feedback to accelerate your growth.
Showing vulnerability as a leader is a sign of great strength. It's an opportunity to model that even the strongest people and best leaders can share their fears, doubts, hopes, and convictions.
This week experiment with being more vulnerable with others and notice the impact it has on them and you. Vulnerable leaders create dynamic cultures.
The most important thing you can work on this week is your mindset. It's the water at the roots of your life's fruit and performance. Everything else will fall into place.
If you have the right mindset, great! Water it daily. Need a change of mindset to get out of a mental rut? Reply and I'd be happy to share a few resources.
YOUR LIFE MOVES IN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR STRONGEST THOUGHTS.
Winning the battle of your mind is the precursor to any growth you want to see.
Pay far more attention to your mindset than your problem.
Your mindset needs to be watered and nurtured often.
Decreases in performance often come when we're not present mentally. Notice when performance drops off — what "time tense" is your mind in? Past? Future? Where are your thoughts geographically?
A great way to coach your mind is to invite yourself, in a non-judgemental way, to "come on back" to the present.
PRACTICE MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING ON YOURSELF
Deciding between two or more competing desires or outcomes is difficult. We can easily get paralyzed by tough choices.
Acknowledge this often: "I can't have both options. I want this, but I WANT THAT more."
This week, as an elite servant-leader, practice motivational interviewing on yourself.
YOUR PROCESS DETERMINES YOUR RESULTS
Anybody can do something difficult for a day. Show me your process, and I'll show you your future results. No process = limited results.
- Get your mind right.
- Identify the right actions & behaviors.
- Create a process to execute your actions & behaviors.
- Accept the boredom of continually taking the right steps.
LEADER TO LEADER AUTHENTICITY
3 Self-Preservation Questions:
- What are you afraid of losing?
- What are you trying to hide?
- What are you trying to prove? And to whom?
What if we aspired to live with nothing to fear? Nothing to hide? Nothing to prove?
ADVERSITY AS OPPORTUNITY
Elite leaders have a different mindset. Every adversity is an opportunity to show what your made of and who you are at your core. The more personal the adversity, the better the opportunity.
This week, when adversity hits, ask "What am I being invited into? What's the opportunity?"
CHALLENGE AND INSPIRE
Great leaders and performers all have one thing in common: they challenge and inspire themselves. FIRST take on the personal responsibility of challenging and inspiring yourself, then lead out of the overflow.
This week, set aside time every day to challenge and inspire yourself.
ONE BOULDER
It's easy to avoid moving a boulder that will require personal effort and courage. Give that boulder a name. Then decide what it would take to move that boulder out of your way. What action can you take?
What's the ONE BOULDER, that if you moved this week, would make a disproportionately positive impact in your life and leadership?
ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT
Outstanding leaders in sports, business, or life practice "Environment Management". These are the physical support networks, systems, or behaviors you can create or redesign to align you with your vision & goals.
This week, what can you create or redesign in your physical environment to help yourself perform at your next level?
CHIEF BELIEF OFFICER (CBO)
Every great team needs a CBO. Great leaders inspire others to believe in the eventual success of their goals.
This week, be the CBO of yourself, your marriage, your family, your team, your class, or your business or nonprofit. Get clear and convinced about what you believe and share it often.
Belief is powerful.
MANAGING YOUR EMOTIONS
In leading, working, or competing, there's a difference between "performing with emotion" and "performing emotionally". The better of the two is to lead, work, or compete with emotion. You can perform better using your emotions, not letting your emotions use you.
This week, perform with emotion, not emotionally.
YOUR LIFE'S CALLING
Leader — anything less than pursuing and executing your life's calling is a lesser pursuit.
Do you know your life's calling? Can you articulate it with precision?
Reorient your life around your calling. It never wears out or gets old.
The world around will benefit from the overflow of you living out your calling.
MINDSET
defn: "a conditioned set of beliefs that drive behavior."
Your mindset will determine your behaviors. Regardless of your circumstances, your mindset will determine your outcomes. Focus on your mindset, not the obstacles.
What is your mindset going into this week?
GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY
Your job or goal is already difficult — don't make it more difficult on yourself! You are your toughest opponent.
Don't sabotage yourself with your diet, lack of sleep, negative self-talk, or a defeatist outlook. Be intentional about showing progress.
This week, what reason(s) will you give yourself to be optimistic?
LEADER'S GUIDE TO LEADING:
Leadership in 6 stages:
- Make the vision clear.
- Make everyone's roles and job descriptions clear.
- Make the process to win simple and clear.
- Make daily execution the priority.
- Make celebrating WINS a habit.
- Make culture by defining winning behaviors.
PLAN YOUR SUCCESS
It's hard to achieve anything without a plan or strategy.
What would you like to accomplish this week and what is your plan or strategy to achieve it?
SCIENCE OF ADVERSITY
Starting difficult things makes you BETTER. Enduring difficult things make you STRONGER. Intentionally choosing to make yourself uncomfortable for the sake of growth makes you WISER. The only person you have to "prove it" to is yourself.
This week, intentionally make yourself uncomfortable and do something you consider difficult.
WILL YOU BE SUCCESSFUL?
It is common to hear, "The best predictor of future success is past performance."
This is only partially true.
If you've had past successes — good job! Build on them.
If your thoughts are weighing you down, then think the best predictor of future success is PRESENT BEHAVIOR.
Use both mental techniques to your advantage.
SUBTRACTION
In my work with high-performers, they often try to ADD something rather than SUBTRACT something to get better.
You can:
-
Get stronger/increase skill by ADDING.
AND
-
Remove resistance/weight/drag by SUBTRACTING.
Find performance in removing the drag that burdens you.
This week, what friction-making "drag" can you remove from your life to increase performance?
L.O.T. (LIVE ON TIME)
Much of the stress we experience comes from overthinking the past or the future. Without thinking, we unknowingly allow past or future experiences to impact the present moment.
One way we can deal with this is to RESET ourselves to perform at a high level at the present moment.
This week: start over often. Choose to L.O.T.
WAITING TILL YOU FEEL LIKE IT
If you wait till you FEEL like doing something productive and healthy, you may be waiting a long time.
Feelings are lousy DRIVERS. Good INDICATORS, but lousy DRIVERS.
Change your mindset. Let your mind lead. Start with a small goal. Make progress. Perfect the simple first.
This week, start while you're waiting.
BIOFEEDBACK
Mentally and emotionally overriding your body too often will cause anxiety, a panic attack, or undue stress.
Learn to listen to your body. It's constantly talking to you. What is it saying? Be honest.
- "I need more sleep."
- "I need to rest more."
- "I need to move more."
- "I'm not well. Get help."
Your body is talking. Are you listening?
ADVERSITY TOLERANCE
In the world of elite sports, adversity tolerance is a common trait among the best of the best. Sports mental training can teach, no matter what our craft is, how to be better.
If you want to become better, increase your tolerance for adversity.
This week, increase your tolerance for adversity by running TO your discomfort.
NEUTRAL THINKING
For high-end performance, mental skills coach Trevor Moawad teaches "neutral thinking". Negative thinking, unfortunately, works. The impact of positive thinking is limited. Neutral thinking, being neither positive nor negative, clears your mind for optimal performance and increases focus to reach your potential.
Think in neutral.
WHERE TO START
People who want to perform better often ask me where they should start. Based on the pro & college athletes I've worked with, here's what I recommend:
- Progress Mindset (mental training)
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Exercise
- Optimal breathing
Where would you like to start this week?
YOUR EXAMPLE
People only need ONE EXAMPLE to model the way forward for them.
- Leadership.
- Discipline.
- Perseverance.
- Courage.
- Service.
- Wisdom.
- Faith.
- Love.
You might be their only example.
Opportunity
We can acknowledge the validity of many of our excuses. Many of us are going through difficult things or have formidable challenges. But excuses don't produce the results we're desiring.
A growth/progress mindset asks, "But what CAN I do?"
What CAN you do this week to move closer to the outcomes you are desiring?
DISTRACTION
Distraction is an energy sucker. Sometimes we know what they are, sometimes we're unaware of the diversion. High-level leaders and performers lock onto their goals.
This week, spend a moment asking yourself:
- What am I allowing myself to be distracting by?
- What am I allowing myself to be distracted from?
ADVERSITY
The greater the adversity, the greater the victory. Reframe your adversity to ask yourself "what is the opportunity?"
This week, spend a moment asking yourself:
- What are a few of the biggest battles I'm facing right now?
- What is the opportunity?
- What is at stake?
- What type of person do I want to be?
"MAKE A PLAY" MOMENTS
In sports, business, and life, momentum swings in a condensed moment when someone "makes a play". It is a single moment when someone does something unexpected and unusually good.
This week, look for momentum-changing moments when you can "make a play" for your team or in your own life's momentum.
BE MORE HUMAN
Leader… we often get "superhero" syndrome thinking we can do more than is humanly reasonable. Being more human is to rest proportionate to our expenditures. It is to respect our limitations.
This week, create space to be more human.
WHO, NOT HOW
Even though Michael Jordan was the best basketball player on the planet BEFORE he won championships, the Bulls needed to ask, "WHO do we need to come alongside Michael?", NOT "HOW do we strategize better to try to win a championship."
This week, WHO do you need to connect or invite into your experience to keep you from getting stuck?
3 GREAT QUESTIONS
High-level leaders and athletes have the ability to bring the best out of their teams. Here are 3 hopeful questions you can ask:
- What is your best trait/weapon?
- What do you believe is possible?
- What is the right thing to do right now?
Work on your weaknesses, but play to your strengths.
OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE
Whether you're leading yourself, a team, or an organization, good leaders often pursue an "outside perspective". It's not a sign of weakness, it's smart. Isolation is inefficient.
This week, WHO can you call to get an "outside perspective" on your situation or challenge?
CONSISTENCY
- No one goes to the gym once a sees results.
- No one eats well in a day and reaches their ideal weight.
- No athlete trains in 1 session and becomes great.
- No leader leads well in one meeting and gains the respect of the team.
The treasure is found in consistency. What area do you want to be more consistent in this week?
Here's your Monday Morning Elite Mindset Text:
ENERGY
High-level leaders create and sustain their personal and organizational energy levels.
- Discouragement is energy DRAINED.
- Frustration is energy DEPLETED.
- Anger is energy DISPLACED.
As an exceptional leader, what can you do this week to create and maintain an overflowing, contagious energy level?
FUTURE-MINDSET
What you believe about your future has a greater impact than your recollection of the past.
Our mindset determines our actions.
SAFETY: AN OVERRATED MINDSET
- "Stay safe".
- "Safety first".
- "Be safe."
The constant message of "staying safe" has a downside. " Playing it safe" as a primary strategy in competition and business leads to regression.
This week take a healthy risk. Be courageous. Define the win and go after it.
SEEK WISDOM, NOT VALIDATION.
Validation has some limited value, but it doesn't expand your mind in the long run. Wisdom has treasures for a lifetime.
High-level leaders and performers seek wisdom, not validation.
This week consider where you are getting your validation from. Where can you find wisdom?
AIM HIGHER
When we experience rejection or a door closes, we can feel discouraged. But that rejection could lead to something even greater!
High-level leaders and performers see rejection, failure, & closed doors as an opportunity to improve our mindset.
Don't let discouragement get the better of you. Aim even higher.
PAIN POINT
The place where you're feeling pain is THE hint as to where your greatest area of potential growth is. Focus your most and best energy on your biggest obstacle in 2022. Make your problem your priority.
Take a moment to list your 5 greatest strengths. Now leverage these best traits to attack your biggest problem.
STRONG DESIRE VS DEEP DESIRE
A strong desire is what you want in the short-term. A deep desire is what you want long-term. Boxing champion Mike Tyson looked at his trophies recently and said, "I don't care about this garbage anymore. I want different things."
Focus on fulfilling your deep desires instead of your strong desires.
CULTURE BEGINS WITH CHARACTER
The character of a leader becomes the culture of the people. Leaders never stop working on parts of their character because they know it gets adopted by those around them. The culture of a team or business is a direct reflection of the character of its leader.
We don't "show" character — we exude it.
ACCLIMATION
The longer you stay in an environment the more you acclimate yourself to it.
What is a new or life-giving environment you can explore this week that you can let "climatize you"?
BETTER THAN FEAR
The greatest obstacle to better performance is internal fear and intimidation. They are always present. But you must overcome them.
There must be something that calls you beyond fear and intimidation.
What set of ideals calls you to live above fear and intimidation? Can you name 2 or 3 of them?
HIGH-PERFORMANCE FORMULA
Here is a quick formula many pro athletes use to deal with stressful situations — it's called the C.A.P.E. method:
- Control: Control yourself FIRST.
- Assess: Gather circumstantial information.
- Plan: Make a plan.
- Execute and Trust: "Go for it" and trust your instinct, skills, & training.
Try it!
DIRECTING YOUR THOUGHTS
Thinking about the worst possible outcome or what could go wrong can be a useful endeavor. But it's better to direct your thoughts on what could go right and the best possible outcome.
This week, with an obstacle in mind, direct your thoughts to think about a positive outcome and work toward it.
DEFINITION OF A WINNER
Losing (like winning) is an outcome we often can't fully control. The definition of a winner is someone who never lets losing stop them. But we can control our attitudes and actions.
Where have you taken some losses and have or are tempted to give up?
This week, what do you need to take another crack at?
PRUNING PREVENTS FIRES
Being willing to be pruned (the cutting off of dry, dead or sickly branches) prevents the tree from being fodder for a fire.
What thoughts, attitudes, or actions do you need to prune (cut off or eliminate) this week so you can be at your best?
LIFT MORE THAN YOU CAN BEAR
You're a high performer with a good mindset. Lift slightly more than what you think you can bear. That's how you get stronger. That's how you build tolerance. Muscle. Resilience. Strength. Let it cost you something.
This week, in what area can you push yourself just slightly beyond your limit?
YOUR LEGACY
As a leader and high-performer, what legacy do you want to leave behind?
This week, put into action the legacy you want to leave behind.
Success always leaves clues.
NARROW YOUR FOCUS
When things feel complicated and you're tempted to be overwhelmed, high-performers have the ability to narrow their focus that results in a single action to take.
As you consider your week, what is ONE ACTION you can take to simplify a complex circumstance?
#1 Goal-Getting Strategy
Ever set goals only to fall behind on accomplishing them? Try this method:
- Goal: Set a goal.
- Obstacle: Identify the goal's biggest obstacle.
- Plan: Make a plan to overcome the biggest obstacle.
Focusing your attention on de-powering your obstacle will make "goal-getting" more attainable.
PARKINSON'S LAW
Parkinson's Law is: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." If something must be done in a year, it'll be done in a year. If it must be done in 6 months, then we'll do it in 6 months.
Expedite your goals by giving yourself or your team a shorter time to accomplish the goal.
MENTAL HABITS
You can have mental habits for the moments before you sleep and after you wake up. Assemble a protocol of thoughts that are UPLIFTING and PROFITABLE for you on a daily basis.
- What are 3 things you can think about before you sleep?
- What are 3 things you can think about immediately when you wake up?
WORK ON STRENGTHS OR WEAKNESSES?
Strengths are like the wind in your sails and weaknesses are like water leaks in your boat.
Rely on the wind of your strengths to take you places. Fix the weaknesses that will sink you.
ONE WORD TO INCREASE FOCUS
It's hard to focus.
Whether you're a high-level leader or athlete, distractions are all around us. But great performers all have one thing in common: they say the word "no" to themselves and others OFTEN.
What good thing could you say "no" to this week to pursue what's better?
START
- Start where you are.
- Start imperfectly.
- Start badly.
- Start making mistakes.
- Start giving yourself permission to fail.
- Start with your insecurities.
- Start with your fears.
You'll course-correct along the way.
INTENTIONAL FLEXIBILITY
What makes a high-level leader excel is not toughness or grit, but flexibility. A stiff tree will break in a storm, but a flexible tree will bend in the wind and even strengthen its roots in a storm.
This week, which situations can you project that you may need flexibility and strength?
RADICAL COMMITMENT
High-level leader,
Radical commitment is often the difference between success and failure. Prolonged frustration is a sign of competing commitments.
This week, if you tried upgrading your commitment level to "radical", what action step would you take?
PREPARATION WITHOUT A PLAN
Leader… sometimes we are put in situations where we cannot have a plan because there are dynamic, moving, unpredictable parts. But we can prepare ourselves to excel and rise to the occasion in the moment when we are well prepared.
Today, how can you prepare yourself for unpredictable situations?
THE POWER OF AN ACTION STEP
Leader… one decision can create a cascade of movement that is not generated without a radical commitment expressed in ONE ACTION STEP. You are one step away from a different situation because you took one courageous step.
This week, what is one ACTION that could start a wonderful domino effect?
SHEEP AND LIONS
We often work hard to wake up sheep. But our job is to wake up other lions.
This week, what can you do to activate under-activated or potential leaders in your circle?
SELF-DIRECTED PERSONAL CHALLENGE
It's easy to coast. We simply have to do nothing! But high-achievers are constantly challenging themselves. Challenges provide short-term goals that keep us focused on what our next steps are.
What is one thing you'd like to personally challenge yourself to do this week?
BE A PROFESSIONAL
- Amateur: Latin- from love; casual, fondness, liking
- Professional: Latin- to profess whole-hearted devotion
- Passion: Latin- to suffer
- Dilettante: Latin- a person who has a casual interest without real commitment or knowledge
Amateur habits get amateur results. Professional habits get professional results.