Do you have an inner critic? A voice in your mind that points out your flaws, or belittles your goals?
In my experience in working with top performers of all stripes, it’s all too common. In fact, it can be especially common among talented, and driven people.
Being aware of your imperfections and constantly aiming to do better can be a good thing, but when this scale tips toward constant criticism, that’s when healthy self-reflection becomes paralyzing, toxic self-criticism.
When you look at high-level performers, people who’ve reached the top of their game, in any game – sports, business, science or technology; how do you explain how they got there?
Is it because they’re innately talented? Or is it because they’re persistent and have the right mindset?
Was Michael Phelps born the greatest Olympian of all time? Or did he learn to be, from experience?
How do you account for your own strengths and weaknesses?
How you answer these questions can be a sign of whether you have either a fixed or a growth mindset.
Are you trapped in the cycle of overwork? Feeling exhausted and uninspired as you grind through a laundry list of tasks that never seems to get any smaller?
What if I told you the key to being more productive was working less?
Author and productivity expert Cal Newport claims that most of us can only manage a total of 4 deep, focused hours of work each day. After 4 hours, our ability to work effectively decreases along with our overall performance.
If this is true, why do so many of us feel the need to do 10-hour workdays?
Could we just be playing catch up with our own inefficiencies?
We’ve all heard of company mission statements, but have you ever considered writing a personal mission statement?
If you want to increase your ability to be present, perform at a high level, and build a strong sense of purpose, writing a personal mission statement is an essential first step in your journey.
If you want to feel, relate with others, and perform better then one of the easiest things you can do is to adopt a more grateful attitude.
But if you’re highly ambitious and have your sights set on big goals, taking time out to be grateful for things the way they are might seem counterproductive. Even scary!
You might think that if you’re grateful for what you have, you won’t want to make anything better, and give up on all your goals and aspirations. While viewed through a certain lens this may make some sense, in reality, it is simply not the case! It is very possible, and indeed very useful, to inwardly accept and be grateful for things the way that they are, while outwardly working to make things better.
When a team of researchers analyzed over 1,100 parole board decisions and the factors that led to an unsuccessful appeal, one factor stood out.
It wasn’t the background or past criminal history of the applicant. Instead, it was the time of day the hearing took place.
Parole applicants appearing at 8:50 am were the most likely to be granted parole and rulings became harsher toward the end of the day.
This can be explained, according to the research, by decision fatigue.
The terms Burnout and Information Overload have become synonymous with the demands of the modern-day, post-pandemic workplace.
Of course, this is a conundrum. The same workplace that’s making so many of us feel drained and uninspired also requires us to bring our A-game to get ahead.
It begs the question:
How can we meet the demands of the times we’re living in if we’re operating at a fraction of what we’re capable of?
A team of people working together focused on a mission and without ego. This is where high-level creativity, productivity, and innovation occur. This is where magic happens.
We’re social creatures, hard-wired to enjoy working with groups on missions that are bigger than ourselves. This behavior is so essential to us that cognitive scientists have referred to it as Team Flow. If flow describes a state of consciousness where high performance is achieved automatically and without effort, Team Flow is when a group of people working together achieve this powerful state, simultaneously.
It used to be the case that mindfulness meditation was seen as an esoteric practice that few people in the western world took seriously. Though over the last decade, a mindfulness revolution has taken place. Meditation is now a mainstream practice with years of scientific research backing its efficacy in a wide range of domains.
With studies showing mindfulness can assist in improving cognition, focus, creativity as well as emotional and physiological regulation, developing a mindfulness practice is a must for anybody looking at reaching and maintaining peak performance. And indeed, everybody from artists to athletes are touting the benefits of mindfulness practice, but with the increasing pressures that are par for the course in modern leadership positions, mindfulness is especially important for leaders.
As a business leader, you understand the importance of peak performance on a professional level. To have a highly successful business, one must have a constant hunger to learn, adapt, and improve.
That same hunger also applies to your health.
Simple changes to your nutrition, lifestyle, and stress management can help repower your health and provide you with positive long-term results. Many studies have shown that healthy leaders make better decisions, and that greater health within organizations leads to better productivity overall. Read More
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