Defining Sucess

I recently saw a video that made me think about the power that gratitude can have in our psychological mindset.  It's interesting that when we thank someone for being so helpful/influential/inspirational in our lives, not only do they feel better, but we ourselves do also.  When things start to get cluttered in our minds, and we start to get lost in all the competition, taking time to thank someone could be all we need to get back on track.  Watch this quick video and pay attention to what it does for all involved. It is called The Steps to Success | The Success Series.

In order to achieve what you want in life, you must have an idea of what has made you successful in the past.  Our past successes can help fuel us for future trials we will face.  Many times there are people in our lives that have helped us on our path.  Referring back to my previous post about "Positive Competition", we know that us gaining success doesn't mean that we have to tear others down.  Taking time to appreciate those who have helped us in the past can refresh our minds, and get us ready to go out and succeed.

PEAK PERFORMANCE: Mental Space

Mental Space: Ideas take from Your Best You by Ia Jimenez

We need to clear up mental space in our minds.  A lot of the time we let little things clutter our minds which prevents us from performing at the level that we know we are capable of.  Things like fears, unresolved issues, and even false beliefs prevent us from excelling.  Fears can be fears of losing, fears of disappointing others or ourselves, even fears of winning.  

An acronym given for fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.  Fear cannot hurt you, but actual danger can.  By looking at what we fear critically, and evaluating it, we can decide if our fears are rational, or if they are holding us back.  The number one issue is that you cannot let your fear become your truth.

For more information on Your Best You visit http://www.yourbestyoucoaching.com

PEAK PERFORMANCE: Personal Beleif

Personal Belief: Notes from Your Best You.  Life and Career coach Ia Jimenez.

Do you know what you believe when it comes to yourself? Take a some time to look at what you believe about yourself.  What do you believe about your abilities, social skills, work ethic, etc.  A lot of times we believe things about ourselves that aren't true.  Think about when you messed up one time on an assignment.  You tell yourself, "I'm so dumb, and always miss little details."  Eventually you start to believe that you are that way, wehn in reality, you've done it only a few times.  It is not the pattern of your behavior, but an incident.  Believing the exceptions as complete truths will tear you down.  

If these beliefs aren't where you want them to be, start to change your expectations.  We have thoughts about ourselves, and the moment that we agree with these thoughts, they become our beliefs.  If you say, "I'm no good at ...." and you agree that it's the truth, it becomes your belief about yourself. "Your thoughts + your agreement = Your Beliefs.  Start to see things as they really are, and dont punish yourself.  Knowing your beliefs allows you to accept good and reject the bad.

By doing these things, you can now start to perform at your best.  Your own mind wont prevent you from being great.  It wont be easy, and it might take some time to change your thoughts and beliefs; however, it will produce great results.

For more information on Your Best You visit http://www.yourbestyoucoaching.com/

PEAK PERFORMANCE: Self-Talk

Your Best You.  Life and Career coach Ia Jimenez.

On October 29, Ia Jimenez, a life and career coach, came to SUU to talk to the students about mental toughness, and being the best you.  The title of the presentation she gave was called "BREAKTHROUGH MINDSET: FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE AND TEAM UNITY.  It really was an excellent presentation about getting out of your own way.  So much of the time our biggest obstacle in greatness is ourselves.

The language that we use has power in our lives!  Whether it is inner language that we use with just ourselves, or outer language that we audibly speak, there is power that comes from the things that we say.  Think about the words that you use.  Are you constantly being negative, hurtful, or not very confident with the things that you say about yourself?  These words can bring you down, and eventually you will start to believe these things you are saying.  Even if you say it in a joking manner, your mind cant tell the difference and will believe.

Start to think about the words that you are using consciously.  When you are going through self-talk, pay attention to the words that you use.  Not very often do we actually pay attention to what we are telling ourselves.  You can start to get rid of mental blocks by paying attention to the damaging things that you say to yourself.  "If you have the same old thinking, you will have the same old results."  By changing how you think, you can change the results that you are having.

For more information on Your Best You visit http://www.yourbestyoucoaching.com/

Staying Motivated in Tough Times

Sometimes to keep our heads focused, and ready for anything life has to throw at us, we need a little motivation.  When things start to get monotonous and boring, a little spark can change everything.  Here's a video that always gets me excited about going out and achieving.  It's worth the time to watch.

Psychology of Great Athletes Infographic

Here's an great infographic on the psychology of Great Athletes from http://footballmentaltoughness.com.  Whether or not you play a sport, we all aspire to be great at what we do. The principles found in this infographic can help any of us achieve our goals in whatever we do.

Keys for Mental Toughness

When it comes to getting an edge on the competition, mental strength is key.  It doesn’t matter what aspect of life you are in, there will be times that are hard.  There are challenges that push us in ways we never have been pushed before.  Obstacles stand in our way all the time. The ability to handle these hardships and persevere is key in accomplishing your goals.  When you think about the “Psychology of Competition”, being mentally tough is of the utmost importance.  What does it take to be a mentally tough person?

Understanding that these difficulties that you are facing really are only temporary is extremely important.  The way that you go about addressing and attacking problems is the first key in mental toughness.  A quote that really helps me is, “Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.”  A mentally tough person doesn’t dwell on their plight, they see a problem for what it is and work on solutions.  Choosing to feel bad for a long time only hinders you.  Accepting that a challenge is ahead of you, and realizing that it will be difficult are important in addressing problems.  Once you accept that something is hard, your expectations are appropriately set, and you can now overcome.

At times when it is hard to find the will to attack problems, you must remember the motives that brought you to this point.  A mentally tough person doesn’t let the pain of the moment get in the way of the potential joy that is ahead of them.  It is really easy to be “near sighted” when problems are in front of us.  We forget what is important, and just want to get rid of the pain in the easiest way.  Being mentally tough requires a long term perspective which allows you to push forward through problems you face.

If there are issues that you cant control, let them go.  Take care of things that you can control.  It does you no good to try to handle things that you cant control.  Things like a Boss’s attitude, or weather conditions are situations you don’t have much control over.  However, you do have control with how you face them.  To be mentally tough you must realize this, and not let these things affect how you want to continue on.

In life there will be a lot of critics. Don’t take everything they say personally.  There are a lot of people who will try to tear you down, and some who are actually trying to help.  Being mentally tough allows you not to see these criticisms as personal attacks.  Take them for what they are, and address problems that they bring up.  If a person tells you that you can do something in a better way, they (probably) aren’t telling you that you are dumb, inadequate person.  Look at their claim, and if it is better, change what you’ve done.  It is so easy to let pride get in the way, and not listen to other’s suggestions.  A mentally tough person can see criticism as a way to get better, and they don’t get upset when it’s not exactly how they imagined it.

When you get in the thick of it, and monotony starts to wear most people down, having strong habits will help you stay sharp.  Often times we are really excited to accomplish goals in the beginning, but by week 5 or 6, things start to become boring and hard.  This is where a lot of people let excuses get in the way.  Having secure habits can get you through this time.  When you are trying to improve to win, every day is an opportunity to get better.  Mentally weak people will miss out on many days over the course of their time because they don’t have habits that keep them focused.  By setting up daily/weekly routines that are in accordance to your goals, you will accomplish so much more.  You will be tested, and want to not do these habits.  However, if you start while the fire is still hot, routines set in and it starts to feel weird when you miss a day.  No one is perfect, but mentally tough people will rebound and continue on with their habits.