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The Wake-Up Call

In our always on dimension of digital distraction, working at speed is often perceived as a badge of honor. Proceeding at all times with a sense of urgency has become coded into our operating systems. The driven Do More, Faster. We instantly respond to demands (usually delivered by email) that are not actually urgent, and often not important.

A couple of decades ago this mindset was something I aspired to and lived by, as a high-flying attorney. Until one morning in 2004 when my doctor called to inform me that blood tests indicated I had a month to live.

The Consequences

Most people don’t have such an extreme wake up call. But the consequences of operating at breakneck speed, whilst rarely pausing to take a breath, are many and significant. They include:

  • Poor quality work
  • Stress, exhaustion and burnout
  • Missed ideas and opportunities
  • Shallow meaningless engagement with colleagues
  • Compromised creativity
  • Ineffectiveness

The irony is that the intention behind moving fast is often enhanced productivity, but the research unequivocally demonstrates that our effectiveness and the quality of our work suffers – as do we.

Power Pause

If we choose to pause, take a breath, stand back from our tasks, ignore our devices and allow or minds to wander freely, we give our brain the recharge and reset it so desperately needs.

Good leaders know the value of a power pause and utilize it on daily basis. By way of example, Jack Welch, legendary GE CEO, was known for spending an hour of his working day engaged in what he called “looking out of the window time”. The Navy SEALs typically operate in situations where the stakes are highest yet live by the maxim ‘Slow is smooth, smooth is fast’.

Studies and experience show that pausing, even for a minute (but 5 is better) has many benefits including:

  • The avoidance of cognitive fatigue
  • Better problem-solving capabilities. Standing back, reflecting, and altering perspective works wonders.
  • Improved focus and attention.
  • Enhanced creativity.
  • Greater work satisfaction.

In short, better work and better you.

A further significant benefit from deliberate pausing is enhanced presence. Good leaders have good presence;
otherwise referred to as executive or leadership presence. Pausing facilitates calmness, a sense of being present and the ability to engage and connect with the audience.

So whether you schedule your pauses or take them when the moment feels right, raise your game and enhance your well-being by embracing the power of the pause.

Motivation Gets You Started- Habit Keeps Your Going. But Only This Quality Enables You to Finish and Succeed

 

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

Jim Rohn

There is much wisdom in the much-shared quote from Jim Rohn; but it is only two thirds of the picture. The third element is essential when it comes to achieving great things. It goes by the name of resilience.

Not as sexy as motivation. Not as easy to give practical advice for, as the concept of habits is. But if you don’t have resilience – then you’re unlikely to succeed. Just look around at the many individuals and organizations that started out with great energy, enthusiasm and promise but failed to reach the finishing line.

But I Did Everything Right

You may be highly motivated, have done the detailed planning with your Gantt chart, collated the necessary resources and done all of the right things at the right time and in the right way. But you can bet your bottom dollar you are going to face unexpected setbacks that push you to your limits.

There seems to be an equation which is something like the greater your goals and ambition, the more obstacles you will face along the way.

A Well Trodden Path

Most people are familiar with the account of Colonel Sanders and his bid to bring his Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe to the world. He was reportedly turned down 1009 times. Yes, you read right- 1009 rejections.

Agatha Christie faced 5 years of continual rejections and J K Rowling’s Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by 12 publishing houses. By contrast in terms of activity and time frame you might remember the resilience displayed by Kerri Strugg in the 1996 Olympics. If you don’t here’s the clip

I could go on with examples from the battlefield or the world of startups but you get the picture. It is rare for there to be gain without pain.

Prioritize Resilience

There is a debate amongst experts as to what is extent people are born resilient, how much is developed during childhood and what can be learned and developed. While the debate continues, what remains clear is that with effort and a willingness to experiment you can increase your resilience.

Whether it’s incorporating a daily practice of stepping out of your comfort zone, upgrading your mindset or using brain entrainment technologies there are plenty of options. One size doesn’t fit all hence my reference to a willingness to experiment.

At the end of the day, whether your planning to put a ding in the universe or want to provide a good lifestyle for your family, give as much thought to becoming resilient as you do to motivation and habits and your chances of crossing the finish line will increase dramatically.

Martin Soorjoo works with individuals and teams to improve their Performance, Focus and Pressure Management

How to Change Your Mindset and Achieve Your Potential

potential-1

THE PAST

For thousands of years it was believed by experts and athletes that the human body was not capable of running a 4-minute mile. In the 1940’s, the mile record was pushed to 4:01, where it stood for nine years. On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister decided to change things and broke the 4-minute barrier, running the distance in 3:59.4.  As part of his training, he relentlessly visualized the achievement in order to create a sense of certainty in his mind and body. Believing it was possible, Bannister planned and trained for success. He changed his training regimen, training more frequently and with harder intervals.

Barely a year after Bannister’s accomplishment, someone else ran a mile in under 4 minutes and then many more did. Now, it’s almost routine. The current fastest time is 3:43.13 by Hicham El Guerrouj. The 4 minute mile barrier was psychological not physical and it’s only a matter of time before the current record is broken.

THE PRESENT

Contrary to previous thinking, scientists now know we have a tremendous capacity for lifelong learning and development. While our genes and ‘natural talent’ may provide some advantages, our mindset, beliefs, efforts and approach will nearly always outweigh what we start out with.

World-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in her bestselling book ‘Mindset’, explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success–but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset.

People with a ‘growth mindset’ know they will get better through effort and embrace and learn from setbacks and failures. People with fixed mindsets believe they either are or are not good at something, based on their inherent nature and talents they are born with and see setbacks and failures as evidence that supports their beliefs.

Lessons From Sports, the Military, Medicine and a Legendary CEO

The importance of mindset is not news to the world of sports. Time and time again we see examples of athletes, who were not the most genetically advantaged beating stronger, faster athletes.

A case in point is the historic boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston. Liston was a feared fighter who had been world heavyweight champ since defeating Floyd Patterson in 1962. He was the most intimidating fighter of his day, and considered to be among the best heavyweights of all-time. Many boxers refused to meet him in the ring.

By contrast, Ali the inexperienced and lighter underdog, had only won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. While training for their fight, Ali, who was a master of his own mindset and psyching his opponents out, taunted Liston and told reporters that he would win by knockout. After the sixth round, Liston, suffering from cuts and bruises under his eyes, announced he couldn’t continue. Ali won by a technical knockout and announced to the world, “I am the greatest!”

The Warrior Mindset

The military are no strangers to the importance of mindset. In the excellent ‘The Way of the Seal’, Former Navy SEAL Commander Mark Divine, explains the importance of finding your 20X factor, in other words doing 20X better than you think you can. Commander Divine states

“The SEAL’s aren’t the first band of warriors to figure out the 20X factor. ..The Spartans used the agoge, a brutal training program for young warriors that forged mental and physical toughness. The Eastern martial arts, such as those of the Shaolin monks and ninjutsu, and native warriors such as the Apache scouts all embraced the 20X factor.”

Mindset and a Legendary CEO

Finally, achievement mindsets are by no means limited to athletes and warriors. Former GE CEO Jack Welch, regarded by many as the greatest CEO of all time is reported to have attached great weight to mindset when hiring executives. According to Dweck, Welch hired according to “runway,” not pedigree, preferring graduates and military veterans to Ivy Leaguers. Welch demonstrated his belief in people’s capacity for growth by spending thousands of hours grooming and coaching employees on his executive team.

Belief and its impact on Health

Belief is at the core of a growth mindset and perhaps the best-known example of the power of belief is that of the placebo effect. Thousands of studies have consistently established that if a person believes they are taking a medication that will have a specific effect e.g. stopping nausea or a headache, then it will, even if they have only taken a sugar coated placebo.

Perhaps more striking are those examples of people with multiple personality disorders having the symptoms of their diseases and conditions instantly vanish as they switch personality

THE FUTURE

Change your OS and Upgrade Your Beliefs and Mindset

Most of us have disempowering and baseless beliefs and mindsets that hold us back in life. Often we developed these beliefs at any early stage, sometimes as a result of what teachers or a parent repeatedly told us. Although there is nearly always no evidential basis for these negative beliefs their effects can be extremely damaging.

Fortunately, there are many highly effective strategies and techniques for rapidly eliminating negative beliefs and upgrading your mindset.

This simple 3-step process is a good starting point.

  • Identify and Rebut – Write down (more powerful than typing because of the connection between your hand and mind) your limiting beliefs on the left hand column of one side of a sheet of paper and on the right hand column, list all of the reasons that that belief is wrong. This may take some time at first as you are training your brain to think about something in a different way. Look for evidence that undermines your negative beliefs and mindset.
  • See – Write down your new, empowering beliefs on a sheet of paper. First thing in the morning and last thing at night visualize yourself implementing actions consistent with that belief in some way. It’s important not to make the mistake that many do on focusing on having achieved the goal e.g. completing a difficult task but to visualize yourself taking the steps that will result in a successful outcome.For more on this see Gabriele Oettingen’s ‘Rethinking Positive Thinking’. Your visualization can be a 60 second movie trailer of you working out in the gym or delivering a successful presentation. See the scene through your eyes and play full out and experience as though it were real. As with most things, consistency is key so practice visualizing it on a daily basis for maximum impact.
  • Act – Bannister didn’t break the 4-minute mile by simply visualizing. He took massive action on a consistent basis. Once you have determined your new beliefs, immediately take at least one meaningful action that is consistent with your new beliefs e.g. if you have decided that you’re a person who can give great presentations, then immediately buy and read the leading book on the topic. Taking instant action takes your belief out of your mind and into reality.

While our beliefs and mindset are not the only components of a winning strategy, there can be no doubt they are the first, and indeed are a precondition for success, achievement and growth.

The Power of Trade-Offs

Tradeoffs

Can You Have it all?

It took me several decades to fully appreciate that the myth that you can ‘have it all’ really is just that – a myth. This belief, often pedaled by personal development and success coaches, undermines fulfillment and meaningful achievement in our personal and work lives.

The belief that ‘you can have it all’ pervades our lives in various guises ranging from being busy rather than effective, multi-tasking rather than single tasking, working on multiple businesses and projects rather than one, having thousands of online ‘friends’ rather than enjoying a few deep ‘real world’ relationships.

Many Priorities vs One Real Priority

More than ever we live in an era where quantity is perceived as a triumph over quality. Always being busy, having plenty on the go and getting by on a few hours sleep are badges of honor. This thinking in part is driven by not wanting to miss out on the opportunity for something better. The reality is that living our lives this way means that better never comes.

At What Cost?

 Living life a life of over-commitment (as I did for much of my twenties and thirties) has many costs including:

  • Always being stressed
  • Always feeling exhausted
  • Always being late for meetings or deadlines
  • Letting family, friends, co-workers and clients down
  • Not completing important tasks and projects
  • Producing poor quality work
  • Not having any downtime and playtime
  • The undermining of creativity and clarity
  • Not feeling fulfilled and happy

When I look back, my greatest regrets are not spending more time with the people who mattered most to me and my greatest failures were often contributed to by spreading myself too thinly, consequently not giving 100%.

Unlocking the Power of Our Most Valuable Asset

Time is our most valuable asset. While we can make more money we cannot make more time. This logically means we cannot have it all. When presented with several attractive options it is natural to want to explore them all. The key, however, to making the most of what we currently have and the many opportunities that lie before us, is to consciously utilize the power of ‘trade-offs’.

When presented with several opportunities at once, rather than proceed with the mindset of having your cake and eating it, decide which of the available options you most want and put your energies and focus into that option only. While this approach is not easy, not least because we are twice as averse to loss as we are to making an equal gain, it’s better to consciously decide to take this path than have the negative consequences of trying to have it all foisted on you.

This may mean deciding whether you choose to spend 2 hours on social media having snatches of conversations with people you have never met or deciding to have a drink or dinner with one of your closest friends whose company you always enjoy. Deciding whether to take just one more call or send one more email or turn up on time for that important meeting? Making the decision not to spread yourself thinly across 3 business that all have potential or putting your time energy and focus into the business your heart is really in, thereby increasing its chances of success.

An Empowering Mindset and Approach

When faced with several attractive opportunities at once, frame your choice in terms of which opportunity (whether personal or work related) you will choose to give 100% to in order to increase the likelihood of success and fulfillment.

This approach is consciously adopted by outperformers across every field. On his return to Apple Steve Jobs famously slashed the number of product lines and focused the company’s time, energies and resources on a select few. Those who excel in sport and athletics, rarely focus on more than one event, even though they might actually be good at 2 or 3. A jack of all trades is rarely a master of one.

Embracing and utilizing the power of trade-offs, not only increases the chances of you succeeding in those endeavors that you fully invest your time, energy and focus in but it also results in less stress and more fulfillment. Saying ‘no’ is liberating. Fewer tasks, projects and businesses and not rushing from one thing to another, inevitably results in greater clarity and creativity. You can breathe again.

Choosing to spend your time with those you love and those whose company you value, as well as spending time doing the things you love, inevitably results in greater happiness and fulfillment. I didn’t have the foresight to live my live this way in the past, but I now have the benefit of hindsight, and while remaining relentless in my desire to succeed and be fulfilled, I will never again be seduced by the myth of having it all.

Martin Soorjoo works with individuals and teams to increase their Performance, Focus and Ability to Manage Pressure

How to Stop Being a Slave to Your Emotions and Change How Your Feel

 

Slaves to Emotion

There is a prevalent view in Western societies that it is ‘normal’ that our emotions and feelings influence and in many cases drive our actions. Excuses and justifications from ‘I didn’t feel like doing it’ or ‘I couldn’t help myself’ are the norm and often viewed as acceptable responses and justifications.

We believe that our emotional state is critical to whether we succeed or fail because, so the flawed reasoning continues, because our emotions influence or determine our actions.

Taking this reasoning to its logical conclusion, it is sometimes assumed that emotions ultimately determine our identity e.g. ‘I felt angry (emotion) and lashed out (action) and consequently I am an angry person (identity). We and others identify ourselves by our feelings and behavior.

The Prevalent But Flawed Model

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Acting As If

The above approach not only undermines our ability to influence or determine our future but it overlooks the fact that our actions change how we feel. Psychologists have known this for centuries. William James, regarded as the founder of American Psychology, believed that emotions arise from the physical actions we take in response to what is happening in our lives. In other words, behavior creates emotion.

In recent times psychiatrists have started encouraging patients suffering from depression to smile for a few minutes at a time. One recent study found that smiling can double the chances of recovering from depression. You don’t need to feel happy, just make smile irrespective of how you feel inside and your emotions will soon start to match your external representation. Similarly, it has also been repeatedly demonstrated that exercise or even movement changes our emotional state both for the short and long term.

The 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Professor Zimardo powerfully demonstrated when people took on certain roles and acted in a certain way they began to feel the way people in those roles felt and began to act consistently with those roles.

Over time, the more consistently you begin to act and consequently feel a certain way, the more you will take on that desired identity. To bring this point to life; if every morning you tackled your most important task first, worked through your priorities using the Pomodoro technique and blocked out distractions with noise canceling headphones and turning off all notifications you would be plainly be productive. If you were consistent in this behavior, over time your would begin to define and be defined as a productive person.

A Virtuous Cycle

None of the above should be taken as suggesting that emotions are irrelevant to our ability to succeed or fail. People often achieve greatness when they are fueled by emotion – both good and bad. By understanding and utilizing the power of action to influence emotion you can create a virtuous cycle where your actions determine your emotions and over time begin to shape your identity.

virtuous cyle

Martin Soorjoo works with individuals and teams to increase their Performance, Focus and Ability to Manage Pressure