How do we achieve more? Live with passion and purpose? Be our authentic selves and find our best?
That’s been my life effort – to study (and hopefully inform) both science and applied innovations of how people flourish; living life to its fullest.
There is no singular path, no one right way, no hacks, secrets or tricks. However, there is one thread that consistently weaves throughout the most extraordinary thinkers and doers: the way they use their mind.
It’s the way they use their mind to find their very best – to be their very best – to do their very best. It’s how they make sense of their inner world and how they organize their outer life to explore their potential.
In short, it’s their mindset.
In psychology, mindset involves the cognitive processes, attitudes, beliefs and expectations a person holds. It’s the outlook and approach we hold relative to a circumstance or a task. You can have a global mindset, a learning mindset, a rigid mindset, a competitive mindset, an aggressive mindset, a high performance mindset, and the list of adjectives goes on.
A high performing mindset is available to everyone, without exclusion of experience, age, gender, ethnicity, or social economic status. It’s not reserved for the athletically or intellectually gifted. It’s not about winning, or being “the best,” or getting world class results. It’s about the ability to create the most optimized internal-posture for you to be your best.
A high performance mindset is one that is authentic to you — and at the same time is optimal for a specific circumstance.
Intentional thoughts are the foundation of a high performance mindset. What you say to yourself matters. The repetition and consistency of those thoughts turn into thought patterns. And over time, patterns of thought influence how you see the world; how you think about yourself and what’s possible in your life; how you approach challenges, let downs, successes; and even the quality of your relationships.
Essentially, our thoughts shape our experiences and have a massive impact on our ability to express our genetic gifts and our hard-earned skills. Training a high performance mindset is an essential skill for living well, whatever that may mean to you.
If there are limits to the human experience, we are far from them. There is so much more inside of us.
While there are a variety of approaches to a high performance mindset, here are a few psychological principles to invest in:
1. Mindfulness: begin by increasing your awareness of your inner-world. A core component of mindfulness and meditation is the process of paying attention, on purpose, without judgement of your thoughts and emotions.
2. Self-Discovery: the process of developing deep clarity about your guiding principles and personal philosophy which, in turn, influences your thoughts, words and actions.
3. Mental Skills: much like we shape and develop our physical body, we can develop and train mental skills. We can learn how to generate confidence, a sense of calm, and deep focus — all mental skills that come into play during difficult situations when it’s hard to maintain poise and high performance. Mindfulness: first begin with increasing your awareness of your inner-world. That’s one of the primary reasons why mindfulness can be so powerful. A core component of mindfulness and meditation is the process of paying attention, on purpose, without judgement to your thoughts and emotions.
Many who excel in life know how to set their mind to authentically express themselves. Independent of their chosen craft, whether it be in sports, the arts, relationships, or business, they have command of their mind. They consistently perform well because they know how to consistently think well. They are able to live a high performing life because they understand how to generate a high performing mindset.
Ready to train your mind and unlock a high performance mindset? Check out our exclusive online course.
With fire,
Mike
Training mindset principles is important for anyone looking to improve personal performance. These principles are covered in the Finding Your Best course. Apply today to join the next cohort.