Trusting the process
- Thinking about the end goal and the final outcome can be overwhelming, so try to focus your mind on the present. What can you control at this very moment?
- Familiarise yourself with the acronym WIN – What’s Important Now. Referring back to this in daily challenges can help you refocus.
- Every day, try to pinpoint a task that’s achievable that day and take it step by step until it’s complete.
- Trust in your own ability and focus on techniques that have been successful for you in the past.
Finding your ‘why’
- When watching the news tonight, or thinking about your job at the end of the day, ask yourself what resonated with you the most. What excited you the most? What carried the most meaning?
- Make a note of it and stick it on your fridge door, or keep it in an accessible place.
- When you’re having a down day or a difficult time, look at the note to remind yourself what your ‘why’ is.
- Let the reason why you do what you do in life be a source of energy for you and a motivation to keep going.
Tactical body language
- Firstly, try and get a recording of yourself standing in front of people, maybe when you are presenting at work or talking within a group of friends.
- Look at your body language and analyse what message you were sending. Were your arms folded? Was your head up? Were your feet apart and parallel? Were your shoulders broad and relaxed? All these are examples of a positive and powerful body stance.
- Every day, stand in front of a mirror and practice just for two minutes holding yourself in this stance.
- Remember, the more you practice, the easier it will be to take back control of a situation through your non-verbal communication.
Using your anchor
- Ask yourself what routines help you perform at your best on any given day. Maybe it’s a cup of coffee in the morning? Or kissing your family members goodbye as you leave the door?
- Finding your anchor is about practice, patience and trying out new things. A routine and anchor that works for someone else might not work for you. So as Cédric explains: “You have to test and experiment."
- Remember, it’s not the duration or type of activity that’s important, but the effect it has on you. What makes you feel comfortable? What makes you feel good?
- Once you’ve identified a strong anchor, you can begin to consciously refer back to it the next time you face some adversity. Use it to ground yourself, return to your comfort zone, and perform your task to the best of your ability.
Meditation
- The type of meditation that sometimes happens by accident. We enter a state of flow while doing something, like running or hoovering at home and it becomes a form of meditation.
- A more intentional form of meditation, but only for brief moments throughout the day. A couple of minutes here or there.
- Very intentional, where you reserve specific time in the day to meditate. Many people like to do it in the morning, for up to two hours.
- The type of meditation that requires you to go to a retreat or classes where you spend 7-10 days or longer, specifically for meditation.
Avoiding mental overload
- Firstly, understand the signals your body can send if the brain is overloaded. Symptoms could be things like repeated headaches, not sleeping, waking up feeling unrested and stopping finding enjoyment in daily activities like walking outside.
- Secondly, learn what activities require high-frequency Beta brainwaves that are strenuous on the brain and other activities that use lower-frequency Alpha brainwaves and help the brain rest, recover, and recharge. For example, watching TV and scrolling through social media is strenuous, while light exercise and talking to a friend is more relaxing.
- Lastly, remember that a mental break can last just a few seconds, or for many days. During a busy day, finding a little moment to switch off just for a short moment can be very important for our mental health.
Reverse planning
- Firstly, write down a specific goal and by when you want to achieve it.
- Now ask yourself, what is the last thing you need to achieve just before reaching that goal?
- Now think about your second to last goal. What do you need to have done and by when?
- Keep repeating this process working backwards from the previous step and remember to set a date every single time.
- This will help you work out which tasks need to be done, but also the steps that require the most effort. It will also help you plan your time accordingly.
Developing patience
- If you’re able to do so, the first step is simply to close your eyes and remain still for 30 seconds. Maybe set a timer or an alarm to help you.
- When the 30 seconds is up, open your eyes. Ask yourself how did it feel? Did you get restless? Was it tempting to open your eyes and look at your phone?
- To help you get used to being still, we now need to push you further.
- Your challenge is to regularly take breaks like the above, but instead of only being calm for 30 seconds, go for longer: a minute, five minutes or even half an hour of just doing nothing.
- By practising being with your own thoughts and resisting the temptation to constantly do things, gradually you’ll begin to feel the benefits.
Bouncing back from failure
- Firstly, think of an occasion where things didn’t go as you hoped.
- Then, list all the things that actually went well despite the negative outcome.
- Now, list all the things that didn’t go well, but were IN your control.
- Next, list all the things that didn’t go well, but were OUT of your control.
- Once you’ve made your lists, think about which category was hardest or easiest to find items for.
- Finally, look back at the things that didn’t go very well, but were within your control; these are the things you can work on, and this is how you can improve.
Learning to compartmentalise
- Firstly, find a moment to close your eyes and imagine a filing cabinet.
- Next, visualise opening one of the drawers from the cabinet and emptying all the emotions you’re feeling into it.
- Now imagine closing the drawer (it could also be a box, or an imaginary cloud you push away to the side, whatever works for you).
- This process of imagining actually filing your emotions away for a short time helps you stay in the present, and divert focus back to the task at hand.
- Remember though, you must return to these feelings later on after the event, let them out, and start addressing them constructively.
Resetting and refocusing your mind
- First, to better understand the challenge now in front of you, you need to assess and analyse what just happened.
- Second, you need to adjust. This involves coming back to the present moment, making changes to your plan and determining the right next step.
- Finally, it’s time to act. Take a deep breath or say ‘reset’ out loud to help you to flip into action mode. This is where we put all our focus on the next right step.
- Remember, the more you practise, the more it will become second nature.
Finding enjoyment and satisfaction
- The next time something is at stake, try and put the end result to one side and concentrate on being in the moment.
- Kickstart your senses by trying to take in the smells, the sights and the sounds.
- Ask yourself questions like these: How much effort have you put into being there? What have you learned along the way? Have you already achieved part of the goal in getting this far? Are you solely responsible for being in this moment, or have you worked as part of a team?
- See if you can already find satisfaction in the experience and feeling of doing something you’re good at or enjoy, regardless of the eventual outcome.
Developing a growth mindset
- Grab a pen or open the notes app on your phone and write down a goal or something you want to achieve.
- Once the goal is set, really think about what you need to turn that goal into reality. Break them down into smaller micro goals and things you can already achieve in the coming days, weeks or months.
- Think about the manageable targets you can hit to stay on course and write them down. What aims can you set yourself and can you measure your progress over a short period of time?
- Remember, the clearer the process is, the easier it is to track the progress.
- Analyse your achievements and remember to reward yourself after progress has been made, this leads to added motivation and commitment.
Finding your flow state
- Determining a clear goal in your mind and practising the task – be it a guitar solo, reciting something from memory or cooking a meal – until you become familiar with it.
- Being aware of potential distractions and focusing on being present, nothing else.
- Avoiding the temptation to force it, your flow won’t come instantly.
- Repeating the task on a daily basis, consistency is key.
Cultivating persistence
- Think of something you want to get better at and brainstorm a phrase to help you succeed.
- Keep the phrase short, positive, actionable and in your mind at all times.
- Write it down so it physically exists and say it out loud, the more you say it, the easier it will become.
- In challenging times, remember to visualise your mantra for support.
Developing grit
- The first is: talent x effort = skill. When you apply effort to talent, you develop your skill.
- And the second is: skill x effort = achievement. To reach your goals, you need to keep on working hard and using your skills.