Strong is a mindset…not just how you take your coffee

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strong is a mindset

It can take a lot of self-discipline to get yourself feeling good

I don’t drink coffee, but I do rely on a supersize shot of positive mental attitude every day. It’s amazing that it’s still not taught in schools and I wish I’d known years back that I had the power to change my own thoughts and instantly feel different. Instead, it took me a long time to get to that point but now I make the most of it. As far as I can, I control what goes in to my conscious mind, feeding it with podcasts and programmes that are going to educate and stretch me rather than make me feel fearful, anxious and overwhelmed (like the News, for example!). Strong is definitely a mindset, and with much out there set to distract and lure us, it can take a lot of self-discipline to get yourself feeling good and sustain it.

For an athlete it is important to have a super-charged mind

A strong mindset may seem like an optional extra to most of us, but for those Olympic athletes just back from Rio, it is every bit as important to have a super-charged mind as a highly-tuned body. According to Rebecca Symes, sports psychologist with Team GB Paralympians, who was recently interviewed by The Telegraph, athletes are constantly focusing on 3 types of goals:

-Outcome goals – the ultimate achievement such as Olympic or World Champion. This could be several years in the making.

-Performance goals -key milestones for assessing performance along the way to the ultimate outcome goal.

-Process goals – the day to day training, diet, sleep, mental focus precision goals that ensure success from the micro-level.

These goals allow an athlete a vital sense of control that is complimented by having a supportive and trusted ‘Team Me’ and an ability to re-use successful past experiences to motivate future success.

Top tactics for a positive mindset

Dr Kate Hays, Head of Psychology for Team GB recommends the following tactics for creating a disciplined, focused and positive mindset:

1. Trigger words – using the name of a place where you have been successful in the past to recall that positive emotion

2. Let go of what you can’t control. Worry only about the things you can.

3. Plan – do- review. Understanding where and how you can improve is key to moving forwards.

4. Accept your mistakes. Grieve them, accept them and let them go. You can’t change them but you can influence your ‘right now’.

5. Breathing. A rapid way to bring ourselves back to just us in the present moment is to focus solely on our breathing.

Remember – you are in control

Author of Evolve Your Brain, Dr Joe Dispenza D.C., writes that “it is where we place our attention and what we place [it] on that maps the course of our very state of being”. Are we actually then self-sabotaging by not taking enough care about what we allow to permeate our minds? Just as when you are stood in Costa or Starbucks you make a conscious choice as to whether it is latte, cappuccino or espresso that is going to pep you up next, so too you have a conscious choice over the positive feed you give your mind. Try it – change what you put in and notice how it changes what you get out. It takes self-discipline and commitment, but it will change the way you feel and show up in the world. After all, strong is a mindset…not just how you take your coffee.

 

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“We believe that success is a journey that everyone should be able to travel. We show you how that journey begins, equip you with the confidence and resilience to go the distance and deliver you to your ultimate vision destination. We provide great personal development and business performance coaching.” 

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Get Your Trainers. We’re Going Manhattan!

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I’ve noticed a lot of dogs getting extra walks at the end of the day round where I live and although I’d like to put it down to the longer daylight hours, I have a sneaking suspicion that by 6pm people are desperately trying to make sure they reach their daily Fitbit target. I’m impressed at the commitment to their 10,000 steps-a-day goal they are showing and reassured that there are a lot of happier, healthier dogs out there, but even more intrigued at the desire to get outside to get moving.

We are so flat out and on the go most of the time that most of our steps are taken in the office, on the stairs (when we’re not running so late we have to take the elevator) or shuttling between the car and the car park, or in the confines of the gym where we complete them on a treadmill without even going anywhere!

It is no wonder that people are so desperate to reconnect with the outside world that Fitbit has inadvertently started a ‘get-outdoors-get-moving’ revolution. And I’m starting to see the knock-on effect not just in the way the residents of Bedford are walking their dogs, but also in the way that people are doing business. Where meetings used to be huge swathes of your time that would get lost in a claustrophobic, light-starved rooms that left you struggling to keep your eyes open and devoid of all inspiration, now meetings are being seen as conversations that can be had, well, anywhere. Our time is precious and so is our wellbeing so what better way of operating then walking and talking when you get the opportunity. Only last week I had just such a meeting at the Forest of Marston Vale – heads got cleared, business got done, fresh ideas were had, moods were lifted, heart rates were elevated, dogs were walked and Fitbits were happy.

Our minds and bodies respond to being outdoors, our senses get stimulated and we come alive whatever the weather. There is something about being outside that roots us, grounds us, and reminds us what it is to be fully present in the world. We relax, we breathe more deeply, we fill our lungs, our hearts and our minds, we feed our soul. And as a result, we are able to think more clearly, allow ourselves to be inspired more creatively, spend time thinking, talking and dreaming without distraction. All of this lends itself to clients now also wanting coaching sessions outdoors and on the move – something which I believe in wholeheartedly as when the mind and body are synchronous, the results you can achieve are unbelievably powerful.

So kick off your work shoes, swap them for your trainers – the more brightly-coloured, the better. And work your mind, your body (and your Fitbit). Not only will you be getting the results you want faster, you will feel energised, motivated and a deep sense of achievement. The ‘Manhattan’ look of trainers on the end of your suit or office attire will become stylishly normal as you power through your coaching session while ‘changing up’ both your environment and your thinking. Get your trainers – we’re going Manhattan!

 

I’m currently offering a limited number of walk-and-talk #PowerHour coaching sessions at a discounted rate of £25 to my readers – just head to my website to book using discount code PHWT25.

Have a good weekend!

Sarah

 

What we do

I Am Strong Coaching provides bespoke personal and business performance coaching in Bedford, London and the South East to support talented individuals, executives and business owners to move up a gear when they need it most. As a specialist service, we also support military leavers with cv refining, cover letter writing, interview technique and business start-up to set them on their way for a strong second career. We have a range of coaching packages on offer on our I Am Strong Coaching website, spanning confidence, change and military transition as well as business start-up and performance.

 

 

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