As a health and performance coach I support individuals developing a performance mindset. You say, what’s that? In simple terms, focus on the future and keep a steady eye on your goals.
In certain coaching and business circles performance mindset equates with “growth mindset.” That is opposed to a fixed mindset trapped in a box with no vision beyond the walls.
First and foremost, we are all “performers” in life. This is not just a title applicable to athletes and performing artists. Each and every day you seek to “perform” at the best of your abilities, physically, mentally and spiritually. From a health perspective an overarching goal is vibrancy and maximum performance in the totality of wellbeing.
Why Should You Care?
Here’s a sampling of issues on the rise. Whether the rise is caused by or related to Covid or just rising in general, these problems are affecting individuals across the age spectrum.
- Mental health issues
- Weight gain
- Alcohol abuse
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Heart problems
- Back and neck pain
Giving your wellbeing a priority with an enhanced mindset and focus could be a winning support strategy. While you might think your mindset doesn’t have anything to do with your health, there is reason to think different.
I highly encourage you to read the research of Stanford University Professor Alia Crum on Performance Mindset. She talks about how our mindset helps distill and shape our beliefs about goals. Thus, if you’ve got some health goals think about applying a performance mindset.
Let’s look at some components that support a performance mindset to enhance health. The Leadership Institute states the following three components vital to performance mindset.
- Master Discipline and Excellence
- Maintain Laser-Like Focus
- Dare to Think Differently
Discipline and Excellence
How does one become good at something? In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers he states it takes 10,000 hours to become proficient in something. Whether you believe the number or not we know our skills increase with the level of practice accumulated.
Let’s take a concrete example. Health Goal #1 = I want to lower my stress level
What elements of the “stress-lowering” process need practice?
- Structured time away from news and social media
- Setting time boundaries for consistent sleep hygiene
- Participating regularly in outdoor activities
- Building time in your calendar to be quiet or meditating
- Eating nutritious foods that are less inflammatory and stress inducing
Performance mindset would entail choosing one or two of the above and setting actual time to practice those skills. Putting items on the calendar to commit to and evaluating your efforts 1 or 2 months down the road. Vibrant health is not magical or mysterious. It demands deliberate planning and practice.
Maintain Laser-Like Focus
How many times a day do you check your email or phone? How many news broadcasts or TV programs do you watch in a day? How much time do you spend just being quiet? How much time did you spend on your health and wellness this week?
All pertinent questions to answer and decide are you investing in your health wisely. What can you do to cultivate stronger focus on your health? Here’s 3 ideas.
- Prioritize your health and wellness schedule
- Over-scheduling leads to stagnation and stress
- Focus on solutions, not the problem
The first two above are pretty straight forward. What about focus on problem vs. solution?
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Dare to Think Different
A colleague and friend of mine, Frank Zito, told me once, if you come away from a workshop with 1 key point it was a WIN. If you read through this blog and you’ve got 1 focus point to work on, it’s a WIN.
Dare to try something new, repeat something old with a new twist and maybe work on being quiet. There are plenty of fear campaigns around us, dare to think different. Approach your wellbeing with a focus on maximum performance and vibrancy.
~If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.
Seth Godin
For more reading on performance, check out these blogs; Food for Performance, Mindset, Momentum, and Resilience.
